Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib 231
Ya'qoob; rather those who would inherit from the posterity of
Ya'qoob are their children and other heirs, if they did inherit.69
Similarly, the words of Allah: #And verily, I fear my relatives
after me, and my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an
heir,# (Qur'an 19: 5) do not indicate that the inheritance in this
case was inheritance of wealth, because Zakariya was not afraid
that they would take his wealth after he died. That is not what he
was worried about, because Zakariya (,g%) was not known to
have any wealth, he was a carpenter who ate from what his own
hands earned, as it says in Saheeh ~uslirn.'~ He did not have any
more savings than what he needed to keep him going; therefore,
his asking Allah (@) for a son to inherit from him indicates that
what is meant in these two verses is inheritance of prophethood
and taking over his position.71
Al-Qwbi said in his commentaq on this verse: "Based on that,
he did not ask for someone to inherit his wealth, because the
Prophets are not inherited from. This is the more correct of the
two opinions concerning the interpretation of this verse. What
Zakariya (m) meant was inheritance of knowledge and
prophethood, not inheritance of wealth, because it is proven that
the Prophet (g) said: 'We prophets are not inherited from; what
we leave behind is
In light of this hadith, we can
understand the verse in which Allah (s) says, *And Sulaymh
[Solomon] inherited [the howledge ofl Diiwood [David].)
(Qur'an 27: 16) This is similar to what Zakariya (,@) said: (Who
shall inherit me, and inherit [also] the posterity of Ya'qoob
[Jacob] [inheritance of the religious knowledge and
prophethood, not of wealth]. And m&e my Lord, one
with whom You are Well-Pleased!'b (Qur'an 19: 6)
The second verse explains what is meant in the first verse.
Sulaymih did not inherit the wealth that Diiwood left behind;