According to the second view, the remainder goes to the public treasury. This is the position of many of al-Shāfi‘ī’s followers and of Ahmad according to one reported view.

Underlying this issue is the scholars’ disagreement concerning “distant kindred”—blood relatives who are neither entitled to a prescribed share nor residuary heirs. The position of Mālik, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Ahmad according to one reported view is that the estate of someone who leaves neither an heir entitled to a prescribed share nor a residuary heir goes to the Muslim public treasury. The position of most of the early generations, Abū Hanīfa, al-Thawrī, Ishāq, and Ahmad according to the well-known view reported from him is that the remainder goes to these blood relatives:

“They have a greater claim upon one another in the Book of Allah.”

And because the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“The maternal uncle is the heir of one who has no heir: he inherits his wealth and secures his release from captivity.”

He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked about a man who died leaving a wife, a full sister, and three daughters of a full brother: Are the brother’s daughters entitled to anything alongside them? What share does each woman receive?

He replied:

The wife receives one-quarter, and the full sister receives one-half. The brother’s daughters receive nothing. The remaining quarter goes to any residuary heirs, if there are any. Otherwise, it reverts to the sister according to one of the two scholarly views; according to the other, it goes to the public treasury.