In this regard, Zayd ibn Thābit—and the majority of scholars, among them the three imams, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad according to his most famous view—allow the grandfather to inherit jointly with the brothers, following the detailed regulations found in its proper chapter.

Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, followed by Abū Ḥanīfah, a second narration from Imām Aḥmad, and the preference of Shaykh al-Islām and his disciples, exclude the brothers whenever the grandfather is present, treating him as though he were the father.

4- The second issue is the kalālah: a person who dies leaving neither child nor parent. This is the explicit wording of the verse at the end of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ regarding the absence of offspring; careful reflection also shows the absence of a parent, for a sister is never allocated half of the estate when a parent survives. Allah the Exalted says, “If a man dies leaving no child but has a sister, then for her is half of what he left” (Qurʾān 4:176).

This is the interpretation of kalālah given by Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and upheld by the overwhelming majority of the Companions, the Successors, early and later imams, the seven jurists of Medina, and the four canonical imams—may Allah be pleased with them all.

5- The third concerns certain forms of ribā (usury). On this point the scholars differed: some prohibited them, convinced they were ribā, while others permitted them, believing they were not.

In short, the Prophet ﷺ left this world having placed us upon the clear, radiant path whose night is as bright as its day. Yet scholars’ understandings vary; one may reach a hadith that another has not, and from such excusable reasons their differences arise. Each intended good—may Allah have mercy on them all.

Second Ḥadith

ʿĀʾishah (Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet ﷺ was asked about al-bitaʿ, and he said, “Every drink that intoxicates is unlawful.” She explained, “Al-bitaʿ is a beverage made from honey.”

Overall meaning:

The Prophet ﷺ was asked about drinking al-bitaʿ (1)—honey mead—and replied with a comprehensive principle: the variety of names carries no weight so long as the reality is the same. Every drink that intoxicates is wine and is therefore forbidden, whatever its source. This is among the concise yet all-encompassing statements of the Prophet ﷺ and a testament to the clarity with which he conveyed his Lord’s message. Through such guidance his mission furnished the knowledge that secures human happiness in this world and the next.