that he succeeded him with respect to his wealth, his wife, his sovereignty, or any other matter.
The Thirteenth Point:
It may be said that the inheritance meant here is the inheritance of knowledge, prophethood, and the like—not the inheritance of wealth.
This is because Allah said:
“Solomon inherited David.”
[Surah al-Naml: 16]
It is well known that David had many children besides Solomon, so Solomon would not have been the sole heir to his wealth.
Moreover, there would be nothing praiseworthy in his inheriting David’s wealth, whether for David or for Solomon, since Jews and Christians also inherit their fathers’ wealth (1). The verse was revealed to extol Solomon and describe the blessing with which Allah singled him out.
Furthermore, inheriting wealth is among the ordinary matters common to all people, such as eating, drinking, and burying the dead. Such things are not recounted about the prophets, since they offer no benefit (2). Rather, what is recounted is that which contains a lesson and yields some benefit. Otherwise, saying:
“So-and-so died, and his son inherited his wealth” (3)
is like saying, “They buried him,” or saying, “They ate, drank, and slept” (4), and similar things that are not fittingly made part of the Quranic narratives.
Likewise, His words [concerning Zechariah] (5):
“who will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Jacob”
[Surah Maryam: 6]
[do not refer to inheritance of wealth, for he would not inherit anything of] (6)