How is the inheritance distributed among multiple surviving grandmothers from different lines, especially when one is closer in degree?
Chapter on the Roots of Inheritance Shares that Increase (Awl)
Al-Mughni
Book of Inheritance Shares (Farā'id)
Primary text
When grandmothers are immediate predecessors to each other (one is the mother of the other), the inheritance belongs exclusively to the closest one, and the more distant one is veiled (excluded). If they are from different lines and the closest is from the mother's side, she inherits and veils the more distant one, according to the general opinion. The rule is that among any group of relatives inheriting the same portion, the inheritance goes to the closest relative, as seen with fathers, sons, brothers, and daughters.
Supporting text
There is a debate concerning whether the closest grandmother from the father's side veils the more distant grandmother from the mother's side. Ahmad has two narrations: one where the father's side closest veils the mother's side distant, supporting Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i’s view; the second narration, supported by Malik, holds that they share the inheritance, because the father through whom the paternal grandmother connects does not veil the maternal grandmother, so the grandmother connecting through him should not veil the maternal grandmother either.