conditions. Would not every jurist—indeed, every rational person—judge that the remaining beneficiaries’ entitlement to the deceased’s share is subject to this condition, and that this condition contained in the statement must be taken into account? A statement is complete only when its end is reached, and its qualified wording may not be considered apart from its unqualified wording. Allah has made this something rational people cannot fail to recognize, unless an impediment stands between their insight and their understanding. Allah does whatever He wills. Our case is clearer still than these examples.

Another example is to say:

“An endowment for my children, then for their children, on condition that, if any of them dies while upright, his share shall pass to his child.”

May the endowment then pass to the child regardless of whether the deceased was a Muslim or a disbeliever, upright or sinful? Anyone who imagines that it passes to the child because he falls within the general wording should be told:

“The general wording was not brought to an end and left there so that it could be acted upon independently. Rather, it is connected to wording that qualifies it and restricts its scope. One part of a single statement may not be considered apart from another.”

This is clearer than daybreak. Yet whoever Allah has not granted light has no light.

Anyone wishing to overwhelm his interlocutor on this point should multiply examples in which general or unrestricted wording is connected to wording that restricts its scope and qualifies it. For instance, you might say:

“I have established an endowment for jurists, on condition that whoever attends the lesson each morning shall be entitled to benefit.”

Or: “I have established an endowment for the poor, on condition that those among them who take up residence in the two Holy Sanctuaries shall be entitled to benefit.”

Or you may say:

“On condition that