Opening chapter: who ar-Rahabi was, why a 176-line poem has survived nine centuries as the most widely used faraidh textbook in the world, and whose system it actually teaches (answer: Zayd ibn Thabit’s). Plus how this bundle sits relative to the two previous Warismatika bundles.
Who ar-Rahabi was
Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ar-Rahabi (497–577 AH / 1104–1182 CE), Abu Abdillah, a faraidh scholar of the Shafi’i madhhab from Rahbah of Malik ibn Tawq (a town on the banks of the Euphrates, now in Syria) — born and died there. He is remembered for a single work: an arjuzah (a poem in rajaz meter) titled “Bughyat al-Bahits ‘an Jumal al-Mawarits”, famously known as ar-Rahbiyyah — 176 lines covering the science of faraidh from the causes of inheritance through to calculation.
Why a poem, and why it lasted 9 centuries
Before the era of cheap books, knowledge was transmitted through memorization — and nazham (versified composition) was the technology of memorization: rhythmic, dense, and durable in the mind. Ar-Rahbiyyah became the standard faraidh text of madrasahs and pesantrens from Morocco to the Nusantara; memorized first, then understood through commentary (the most famous commentary: Sibt al-Mardini, with the marginalia of al-Baqari). Scholars continue teaching it to this day — including Saudi-line scholars such as Ibn Baz, whose audio commentary has been recorded — while noting the lines on which their preferred rulings differ.
Whose system does ar-Rahbiyyah teach?
This is the key to reading the text: ar-Rahbiyyah presents faraidh according to the madhhab of Zayd ibn Thabit — the Companion praised by the Prophet ﷺ: “the most knowledgeable of you in faraidh is Zayd” (Tirmidhi, an-Nasa’i; graded sahih) — as adopted by the Shafi’i madhhab. Three major consequences follow, and they are also what set this bundle apart from the two previous ones:
| Issue | Ar-Rahbiyyah (Zayd/Shafi’i) | The line of the Uthaymin & Fawzan bundles |
|---|---|---|
| Residue with no ‘ashabah | No radd — residue goes to bayt al-mal | Radd to fixed-share holders other than spouses |
| Dzawil arham | Do not inherit — bayt al-mal has priority | Inherit (via tanzil) when there is no furudh & no ‘ashabah |
| Grandfather with siblings | Muqasamah (Zayd’s system, computed in full) | Preferred ruling: siblings are blocked by the grandfather |
| Mushtarakah | Tashrik — full siblings join in sharing the 1/3 | No tashrik (full siblings get nothing) |
These four table rows are the reason this third bundle exists: after two bundles following the contemporary Saudi line, ar-Rahbiyyah completes the map of the classical madhhabs — the system used by Shafi’i pesantrens in Indonesia.
Structure of the text
flowchart TB
classDef big fill:#1e3a8a,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#dbeafe
classDef core fill:#134e4a,stroke:#14b8a6,color:#ccfbf1
classDef how fill:#713f12,stroke:#ca8a04,color:#fef9c3
classDef khas fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fee2e2
A["Introduction + causes of inheritance<br/>+ impediments (3)"]:::big --> B["Male heirs (10)<br/>& female heirs (7)"]:::core
B --> C["The six fixed shares<br/>& their holders"]:::core
C --> D["Ta'sib & hajb"]:::core
D --> E["Chapter on the grandfather with siblings<br/>(Zayd's system, incl. al-Akdariyyah)"]:::khas
E --> F["Calculation: base of the case,<br/>'awl, tashih"]:::how
F --> G["Munasakhat & closing"]:::how
This bundle follows the flow of the text, with dedicated chapters for the three Shafi’i distinctives (chapter 07, 08, 09) and six case studies worked through in full (chapter 10–12).
One line, to get a feel for its cadence
The line on impediments to inheritance — among the most memorized lines of ar-Rahbiyyah:
وَيَمْنَعُ الشَّخْصَ مِنَ الْمِيرَاثِ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْ عِلَلٍ ثَلَاثِ رِقٌّ وَقَتْلٌ وَاخْتِلَافُ دِينِ فَافْهَمْ فَلَيْسَ الشَّكُّ كَالْيَقِينِ
“A person is barred from inheritance by one of three causes: slavery, killing, and difference of religion — understand this, for doubt is not the same as certainty.”
Fourteen Arabic words hold a whole chapter — that is the power of nazham, and the reason this text deserves to be studied directly, not just through summaries.
Sources: The text of ar-Rahbiyyah (Shamela 11372; author profile); Syarh ar-Rahbiyyah al-Hazimi (Shamela 36125); the Prophet’s praise of Zayd: Tirmidhi no. 3790-ish/an-Nasa’i (al-Kubra); the Shafi’i position on dzawil arham: al-Fiqh al-Muyassar, Shamela. Full list in 15-references.