The paternal uncle ('amm) in inheritance, guardianship and custody

العَمّ

'Amm, the paternal uncle, is the father's brother, and the plural is a'mam or 'umumah ¹. In inheritance the full-blood paternal uncle takes precedence over the half-blood one; when alone he takes the whole estate as agnate, and when there is a sharer he takes what remains; the father, grandfather, brothers and sons of brothers block him, while the maternal uncle is among the distant kin ^{1 2}. The jurists differ on the order of the uncle in washing and praying over the dead ². In marriage guardianship his place follows the father, grandfather, brothers and nephews by school; the majority hold he may compel his ward to marry, while the Hanafis deny compulsion of an adult woman ^{2 3}. In custody he is ranked by inheritance, and the full-blood uncle precedes the half-blood one ³.