We read in Quran:
“And indeed, I fear the successors after me, and my wife has been barren, so give me from Yourself an heir/successor. Who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, pleasing [to You].” (Maryam 5-6).
In these verses of Quran we see that Zakariya(ra) asked for a successor to inherit him, which implies, to inherit like a successor not as a biological heir.
Ali al-Kaya al-Harrasi (450-504) states:
فطلب من الله تعالى ولداً يقوم بالدين بعده, فيرثه النبوة, ويرث من آل يعقوب, ولا يجوز أن يهتم بالدعاء هذا الاهتمام, ومراده أن يورثه المال, فإن ذلك مباين لطريقة الأنبياء, ولأنه جمع وراثته إلى وراثة آل يعقوب, ومعلوم أن ولد زكريا لا يرثهم
So he asked Allah most high for a son to take his place in religion, he’d inherit his prophet-hood and he’d inherit from the family of Ya`qoub. It is not permissible that he’d be so desperate in his Du`a’ if his intention was to inherit money, this opposes the way of prophets, also what proves our point is that he combined his inheritance with that of the family of Ya`qoub
although it is known that his son is not entiteled to inherit (wealth) from them.( AHKAM AL-QUR’AN LIL-KAYA AL-HARRASI)
We read in Quran:
Yarithunee wayarithu min ali yaAAqooba
Who will inherit me and inherit from the family of Jacob.(Quran 19:6).
Here the conjuction “wa(And)” denotes that the inheritance from Zakariya(as) and from the family of Yaqoob(Jacob) would be the same. If it was something else, then it must be questioned that why didn’t Zakariya(as) inherit it from the family of Yaqoob? The correct view is that, Zakariya(as) had also inherited the same from family of Yaqoob(as), which is Prophethood, Thus the correct interpretation of the verse, “inherits me and inherits the family of Ya`qub” is that, ‘Inherits my prophet-hood and the prophet-hood of the family of Ya`qub, and he would be a Prophet like his forefathers were Prophets’.
As we showed that the inheritance from Zakariya(as) and the family of Jacob(as) would be the same, then it cannot be material inheritance for both, since Yahya(son of Zakariya) couldn’t have inherited the material wealth of the family of Yaqoob(as), which could only be inherited by their near relations and not by Yahya(as).
It is against the law of inheritance for distant relations to receive any part of inheritance in the presence of close relatives.Secondly, Zakariya(as) made the supplication for a successor not a biological heir. We read in Quran:
Wa-innee khiftu almawaliya min wara-ee wakanati imraatee AAaqiran fahab lee min ladunka waliyyan
“Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor”
Al-Qur’an, Surah 19, Ayah 5, translated by Pickthal
Zakariya asked his Lord for a successor to succeed him in prophet-hood. Zakariya being the pious prophet that he is, wished for Allah to grant him a successor to support him and carry on his teachings, he also asked God to honor him and favor him by keeping the prophet-hood within his lineage.
And the Prophethood was never inherited by all of the sons of Prophet Yaqub(as), but only by his successor, who was his son. So the other children of Yaqub(as) has no relevance in this case, since Prophethood was inherited only by successor of Yaqub(as) not by all the biological heirs of Yaqub(as).
Mufti Mohammad Shafi Uthmani explains the same, stating:
In the verse after (Yarithunee/ Who will inherit me) the addition of the words (wayarithu min ali yaAAqooba/and inherit from the family of Jacob) confirms the view that here material inheritance is not implied because the son of Zakariyyah(i.e Yahya) could not have inherited the material wealth of the family of Yaqoub(as), which could only be inherited by their near relations, not by Yahya(as). It is against the law of inheritance for distant relations to receive any part of inheritance in the presence of close relatives. (Tafseer Maarif ul Quran).
Zakariya’s son is not entitled to inherit the material possessions of the entire family of Ya`qoub, they died long ago and according to laws of inheritance he can only inherit from his own fathers not the whole family of Ya`qoub. We ask the following question: Was the house of Ya`qoub famous for anything so that Allah may mention them?
Yes they were. The house of Ya`qoub was a house of prophet-hood and wisdom, having a rightly guided prophet among them is what set them apart and made them unique, thus the meaning here is that his son carried on the prophet-hood and knowledge of this blessed man Ya`qoub.
Concluding that this is an inheritance of prophet-hood and religious leadership not material possessions, otherwise he wouldn’t have mentioned the house of Ya`qoub which is a house of prophet-hood.
WHAT DID YAHYA RECEIVE FROM ZAKARIYA?
To prove through the Qur’anic context that what Yahya(son of Zakariiya) received was authority and knowledge, we quote what Allah told Yahya(as) in the next verse:
{O Yahya hold fast to the scripture with determination and we have given him the (authority of) judgment while still a boy} [19:12]
From the verse we see Yahya(as) was given the scripture, meaning the mastery of its teachings and the wisdom to guide others through it, Yahya(as) was also given when still a boy the ability to rule between people and judge.
Also if Zakariya(as) was so worried about the inheritance of money from the family of Ya`qoub then why would Allah grant him a son who wouldn’t have kids such as Yahya? And Yahya was never married, so does this mean all wealth from Zakariya and the family of Ya`qoub was lost? Not at all, for Yahya ruled and spread the message then died without a son but was succeeded by `Isa (as).Taken from:
https://youpuncturedtheark.wordpress.com/2014/09/11/7-sunni-answers-to-shiapens-article-on-fadak-and-inheritance-of-prophetsaw-chapter-seven-2/
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May 06, 2015, 09:45:36 PM