one of the two general terms after the other. He may intend that the second group as a whole is to succeed the first group as a whole and every individual within it, so that no one covered by the second general term becomes a beneficiary of the endowment until all those covered by the first have passed away. Alternatively, he may intend an order of succession that matches individuals with individuals, so that each grandchild becomes a beneficiary upon the death of his own parent, not upon the death of someone else’s parent. This is like His saying:

“Mothers shall breastfeed their children.”

And the expression, “People love their children.” The wording readily admits both meanings. One, however, may be preferred over the other on additional grounds, just as the majority of scholars favoured succession of one group as a whole to another in the statement: “I have made an endowment for Zayd, ʿAmr, and Bakr, then for the poor.” The poor and those three are not equal in number, such that each individual in one group could be made to succeed an individual in the other. Nor is there any relationship requiring that this poor person be assigned to Zayd, that one to ʿAmr, and another to Bakr.

This differs from our saying, “People love their children,” for what is meant here is people who have children. Thus, the two general terms correspond to one another. Moreover, the possessive construction in “their children” requires that each person be associated with his own child, rather than someone else’s child.

Likewise, the second meaning is preferable in His saying, glorified is He:

“Forbidden to you are your mothers, your daughters, and your sisters,”

and so forth. For He did not forbid every person addressed from marrying all the mothers and daughters of those addressed; rather, He forbade each person from marrying his own mother and daughter.