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If Ali and Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) knew that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "We do not inherit; what we leave is charity," then why did they request inheritance, and why was Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) angry with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)? And what is the proof that they believed the generality of the hadith was specific to some of what he left behind, but not all of it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

One must think well of the Companions, and positive interpretations suffice in this regard. Fatimah, Al-Abbas, and Ali all affirmed the hadith: "We do not inherit; what we leave is charity." Scholars have explained this in several ways, including: that they ceased demanding inheritance after hearing the hadith, or that they understood the hadith was not general to all wealth, or that they intended to oversee the lands and distribute their benefits rather than divide them as inheritance. Ali and Al-Abbas submitted to the Prophet's saying and agreed to manage the wealth according to his sunnah.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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