The grandmother’s sixth — and whether a living father shuts out his own mother

The father excludes his own mother. She reaches the estate through him, so while he lives she takes nothing — the Hanafi text puts it as “the grandmothers on the father’s side fall by the father”, the Maliki as “the father drops the grandmother on his own side only”, and the Shafi’i as “the father drops his own mother” because “she connects through him”. The consequence is the one the arithmetic turns on: with a living father only one grandmother can inherit, the mother’s mother, and if she is not among the survivors no sixth is carved out at all. What the father does not do is touch the maternal line — al-Nawawi records that as ijma‘, near or far.

Sources: al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, fasl on exclusion — “wa tasqutu al-jaddatu mutlaqan, abawiyyatin am ummiyyatin, bi’l-ummi; wa’l-abawiyyatu bi’l-abi; wa kadha bi’l-jaddi illa umma al-abi wa in ‘alat fa-innaha tarithu ma‘a al-jaddi li-annaha laysat min qibalihi bal hiya zawjatuhu fa-kana ka’l-abawayn”; followed by “wa tahjubu al-qurba min ayyi jihatin kanat al-bu‘da” (Muhammad Amin b. ‘Abidin (d. 1252 AH)) · al-Haskafi, al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Fara’id — “wa’l-sudusu li’l-jaddati mutlaqan (ka-ummi ummin wa ummi abin) fa-sa‘idan yashtarikna fihi idh kunna thabitatin (ay sahihatin) mutahadhiyatun fi’l-darajati li-anna al-qurba tahjubu al-bu‘da”; Ibn ‘Abidin’s definition — “al-jaddatu al-sahihatu man laysa fi nisbatiha ila al-mayyiti jaddun fasid: al-mudliyatu bi-mahdi al-inathi ka-ummi ummi al-umm, aw bi-mahdi al-dhukuri ka-ummi abi’l-ab, aw bi-mahdi al-inathi ila mahdi al-dhukuri ka-ummi ummi al-ab, bi-khilafi al-‘aksi ka-ummi abi’l-ummi fa-innaha fasida”; and that umm al-ab is either an heir when the father is absent “aw mahjubatan bi’l-abi ‘inda wujudihi” (Muhammad Amin b. ‘Abidin (d. 1252 AH)) · al-Dardir, al-Sharh al-Kabir with Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, Bab fi’l-fara’id — “wa’l-jaddatu fa-aktharu: fardhuha al-sudusu, illa annahu la yarithu ‘indana aktharu min jaddatayn: ummu al-ummi wa ummuha wa in ‘alat, wa ummu al-abi wa ummuha … fa-man adlat bi-dhakarin min jihati al-ummi aw min jihati al-abi ghayri al-abi lam tarith. Wa asqatatha al-ummu mutlaqan wa law min jihati al-ab; wa asqata al-abu al-jaddata min qibalihi faqat”, with the nearer maternal excluding the further paternal and otherwise “ishtarakata fi’l-sudus”; and al-Dasuqi’s summary of the four grandmothers, of whom umm abi’l-abi “la tarithu ‘inda Malik” and umm abi’l-ummi “la tarithu ijma‘an” (Ahmad al-Dardir (d. 1201 AH) with Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Dasuqi (d. 1230 AH)) · Mughni al-Muhtaj — “wa’l-jaddatu li’l-abi yahjubuha al-abu (li-annaha tudli bihi) awi al-ummu (ay tahjubu al-jaddata li’l-abi aydan bi’l-ijma‘)”, with “wa li-dhalika tahjubu al-ummu jami‘a al-jaddati mina al-jihatayni bi-khilafi al-ab”; the nearer maternal excluding the further paternal; and, fi’l-azhar, the nearer paternal NOT excluding the further maternal — “bal yakunu al-sudusu baynahuma nisfayn” (al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH)) · Mughni al-Muhtaj, fasl fi bayan irth al-ab wa’l-jadd wa irth al-umm — the Minhaj’s “wa’l-abu yusqitu umma nafsihi wa la yusqituha al-jadd”, glossed “li-annaha tudli bihi” and, of the grandfather, “li-annaha zawjatuhu, wa’l-shakhsu la yusqitu zawjata nafsihi, fa’l-abu wa’l-jaddu siyyani fi anna kullan minhuma yusqitu umma nafsihi”; with the counting rule “al-aba la yarithu ma‘ahu illa jaddatun wahida” while two inherit beside a grandfather, three beside his father, and so on; and “wa li’l-jaddati al-sudusu … wa kadha al-jaddat” (al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH)) · al-Nawawi, Rawdat al-Talibin, Kitab al-Fara’id, on the exclusion of the ascendants — “fa’l-ummu tahjubu kulla jaddatin sawa’un kana min jihatiha aw min jihati al-ab … wa’l-abu yahjubu kulla jaddatin min jihatihi, wa kadha kullu jaddin yahjubu umma nafsihi wa umma aba’ihi, wa la yahjubu umma man dunahu, wa’l-abu wa’l-ajdadu la yahjubuna al-jaddata min jihati al-ummi qaribatan kanat aw ba‘idatan bi’l-ijma‘”; and the nearer of each side excluding the more remote of that side (Yahya b. Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH)) · al-Khatib al-Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj, Kitab al-Fara’id, fasl fi’l-hajb — on the Minhaj’s “wa’l-jaddatu li’l-ummi la yahjubuha illa al-umm”: “idh laysa baynaha wa bayna al-mayyiti ghayruha fa-la tuhjabu bi’l-abi wa la bi’l-jadd” (al-Khatib al-Shirbini (d. 977 AH)) — each school stated from its own books — al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Ibn ‘Abidin, al-Dardir with al-Dasuqi, and Mughni al-Muhtaj with Rawdat al-Talibin.

No — she inherits beside her living son. Ibn Qudama reports this as zahir al-madhhab, the school’s settled position, and al-Buhuti states it flatly: “the father does not exclude his own mother, nor his father’s mother; and likewise the grandfather does not exclude his mother.” The reasoning is that the grandmothers inherit as mothers, taking a mother’s share and not a father’s, so a father no more blocks them than he blocks the mother’s mother. It is Companion-attested — Ibn Qudama names ‘Umar, Ibn Mas‘ud, Abu Musa, ‘Imran b. al-Husayn and Abu’l-Tufayl. There is a second riwaya from Ahmad, “narrated from him by a group of his companions”, agreeing with the other three schools; a Hanbali user should know the school itself carries both.

Sources: al-Mughni, mas’ala 4863, al-jaddatu tarithu wa-ibnuha hayy — the paternal grandmother beside her living son: ‘Umar, Ibn Mas‘ud, Abu Musa, ‘Imran b. al-Husayn and Abu’l-Tufayl gave her a share with him, “wa huwa zahiru madhhabi Ahmada b. Hanbal”; against them Zayd b. Thabit, reported also from ‘Uthman and ‘Ali, “wa bihi qala Malikun … wa’l-Shafi‘iyyu … wa ashabu al-ra’y, wa huwa riwayatun ‘an Ahmada rawahu ‘anhu jama‘atun min ashabih”; the reasoning “li-anna al-jaddati ummahatun yarithna miratha al-ummi la miratha al-abi fa-la yuhjabna bihi ka-ummahati al-umm”; and “wa la khilafa fi tawrithiha ma‘a ibniha idha kana ‘amman” (Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)) · Kashshaf al-Qina’ — “wa tarithu al-jaddatu (ummu al-ab) wa tarithu ummu al-jaddi wa-ibnuhuma hayyun, sawa’un kana aban aw jaddan — fa-la yahjubu al-abu umma nafsihi, wa la umma abihi, wa kadhalika al-jaddu la yahjubu ummahu (kama law kana ‘amman)”, with the reports from ‘Umar and Ibn Mas‘ud; and the enumeration of the mutahadhiyat (Mansur b. Yunus al-Buhuti (d. 1051 AH)) — zahir al-madhhab in al-Mughni and Kashshaf al-Qina’, with the contrary riwaya from Ahmad named in the same passage.