It is narrated from Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him) that when Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about kalalah, he said: I will express my opinion about it; if it is correct, then it is from Allah (the guidance), and if it is wrong, then it is from myself and from Satan. In my view, (kalalah is the deceased) who has neither left a father nor a son. Then, when Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became the caliph, he said: I feel shy before Allah to reject what Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has said.

Uqbah bin Amir al-Juhani said: Nothing wearied the companions of the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) as much as the issue of kalalah wearied them.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Kalalah is the one who does not leave behind a father or a son (as his heir).

It is narrated from Sa'id (in some narrations, Sa'd) that he recited this verse: «وَإِنْ كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ . . . . . .» ‏‏‏‏ [نساء: 12/4] meaning: Those whose inheritance is taken are a man or a woman who is kalalah (i.e., who has neither father nor son), and if he has a brother or a sister, then each of them shall have a sixth share. This is the verse, but Sa'id has recited it as «فله أخ أو أخت لأم» , meaning: if he leaves a brother or a maternal sister.