anticipating the statement that follows; anna and its predicate are construed as a verbal noun. The resulting sense is thus: “I establish an endowment on this basis.”

Fourth: The preposition ‘alā (“upon”) denotes elevation. Thus, if a man says, “I establish an endowment on condition that such-and-such be the case,” or “I sell this to you on condition that you provide me with collateral,” the meaning is that he establishes an endowment resting upon this condition. The condition therefore becomes the foundation and basis of what rests above it, and a foundation precedes what is built upon it. This is characteristic of a condition. For this reason, those who distinguish between a condition and an exception do so on the grounds that a condition logically precedes that which is made conditional upon it. Even when placed later in the wording, it is treated as though it stood at the beginning. Were it placed at the beginning, all the clauses would be subject to it; the same therefore applies when it comes last.

Thus, if he says, “I establish an endowment for my children, then for their children, then for their children’s children, if they are poor,” this is equivalent to saying, “provided that they are poor.” Since one of these two formulations requires the pronoun to refer to all the generations, the other does likewise. Know that these proofs establish that the pronoun refers to all the generations in this case, both according to those who hold that an exception following several clauses applies to them all and according to those who hold that it applies only to the last, just as they agree on the corresponding rule concerning a condition.

Seventh argument: This objection is invalid according to al-Shāfi‘ī’s school in particular, and according to the schools of others as well. For if a man were to say to his wife: