إن الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه و نستغفره ونتوكله إليه ، ونعوز بالله من شرور أنفسنا و سيئات أعمالنا ، من يهده الله فلا مضل له و من يضلل فلا هادي له ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أنّ محمد عبده و رسوله ، و صلي الله على سيدنا محمد و على آله و آصحابه و سلم - أما بعد:

Indeed all praises are due to Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we rely solely on Him. We seek His refuge from the evil in our souls and from our wicked deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah, He is One, with no partners, and I testify that Mohammad (ﷺ)  is His Messenger and His slave. 

This article is published in 6 parts:

  1. Introduction & General Rules: Inheritance in Islam (1)
  2. Primary Heirs: Inheritance in Islam (2)
  3. Secondary Heirs: Inheritance in Islam (3)
  4. Other Rules: Inheritance in Islam (4)
  5. Share Distribution & Examples: Inheritance in Islam (5)
  6. Islamic Will: Inheritance in Islam (6)
  7. Conclusion: Inheritance in Islam (7)

PART 7: CONCLUSION

Inheritance in an integral part of Islamic Shariah Law and its application in Islamic society is a mandatory aspect of Devine teaching of Islam. Hence, there is a legal share for relatives of the deceased in his estate/property. 

When a person dies there are four rights that needs to be performed his property:

  1. Right # 1: Firstly, Pay his/her funeral and burial expenses
  2. Right # 2: Secondly, Pay his/her debts
  3. Right # 3: Thirdly, Execute his/her Will/bequest if the deceased left a Will. Will must not exceed 1/3 of his/her total estate/property.
  4. Right # 4: Lastly, Distribute remainder of his/her estate/property according to Islamic Shariah Law amongst the legal heirs or claimants.

DISTRIBUTION OF INHERITANCE.

In order to distribute the inheritance, follow these steps:

  1. Identify all legal heirs or claimants.
  2. Eliminate those who are excluded due to impediment or disqualified. See Section “Impediments to Inheritance:”
  3. Divide the claimants into four groups:
    1. Primary Heirs, See Section “Ashab-ul-Furud (أصحاب الفروض)”, these includes 12 relatives:
      1. Husband / Widow (s)
      2. Father / Mother
      3. Real Grandfather / Real Grand Mother
      4. Sister (s) (Full, Half on father side, Half on Mother’s side)
      5. Brother (s) (Half on Mother’s side)
      6. Daughter (s)
      7. Son’s Daughter (s)
    2. Secondary Heirs, See Section “A. Al-Asabat Nasabiyyah (العصبات نسبية) – Blood Relative:” These are all near relatives (all male agnates and four specified female agnates)
      1. Male Agnates: Al-Asbah binafsihi (العصبة بنفسه)
        1. Priority 1: Descendants of the deceased: sons of deceased, sons of the sons and further down. 
        2. Priority 2: Ascendants of the deceased: father of deceased, then real grandfather, then real great grandfather, then so on
        3. Priority 3: Descendants of the father: They are brothers of deceased, then the sons of the brothers, and their sons.
        4. Priority 4: Descendants of the grandfather: They are uncles of the father’s side, then their sons and son’s son, and further lower in the chain.
      2. Female Agnates:
        1. Al-Asbah bighayriha (العصبة بغيرها) is one who becomes a “residuary” in the right of another heir. E.g. daughter with son, son’s daughter with son’s son, full sister with brother, consanguine sister with consanguine brother. These are female agnates
        2. Al-Asbah ma’a ghayriha (العصبة ما غيرها) is Heir who becomes a “residuary” when inheriting Al-Asbah bighayriha (العصبة بغيرها). E.g. full sister and consanguine sister inheriting with daughter or son’s daughter. (Based on tradition of the prophet (ﷺ)).
    3. Distant Kindred, See Section “a) Dhawul-Arham (ذو الرحام) - Distant kindred”. These include near relatives are not part of Secondary heirs.
      1. Descendants of the deceased (who are excluded from residuaries). (Children of daughter(s)).
      2. Ascendants of the deceased (who are excluded from residuaries)
      3. Descendants (however low in chain) of the siblings of the deceased. (children of sister(s), daughter(s) of brothers, and son(s) of half sister on mother side etc)
      4. Descendants (however low in chain) of ascendants (uncles/aunts)
    4. Public treasury (بيت المال)

 

Sequence:
  1. First distribute the shares amongst Ashab-ul-Farood, and if there is residue, it goes to Secondary Heirs.
  2. If there are no Secondary heirs, then distribute the residue amongst Distant Kindred.
  3. If there are no distant kindred or still some residue left, then it goes to Bait-ul-Maal.
Inheritance is distributed one of the following four ways, See Section “Share Distribution - Step by Step”,
  1. Inheritance is distributed only amongst Dhul-Furud (ذو الفروض)
  2. Inheritance is distributed amongst Dhul-Furud (ذو الفروض) and Al-Asabat Nasabiyyah (العصبات نسبية) 
  3. Inheritance is distributed only amongst Al-Asabat Nasabiyyah (العصبات نسبية)
  4. Inheritance is distributed amongst Dhawul-Arham (ذو الرحام)
Abusing one’s Will and Inheritance is serious crime in Shariah.
Quran
فَمَن بَدَّلَهُ بَعْدَمَا سَمِعَهُ فَإِنَّمَا إِثْمُهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ يُبَدِّلُونَهُ إِنَّ اللّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
2:181 “Whoever changes the bequest after hearing it, the sin will be upon those who make the change. Truly, Allah is Hearing and Knowing” [Quran]<

 

REFERENCES
  1. The Islamic Law of Succession – Dr A Hussain
  2. Islamic Inheritance Law – Dr Yusuf Ziya Kavakci
  3. The Final Bequest – Muhammad Al-Jibaly
  4. (تفهيمُ الاقرآن ) - Tafheem ul Quran, Abu Ala Al-Mawdudi
  5. (تفسير ابن كثير ) - Tafsir Ibn Khatir, Ibn Khatir
  6. (تقسيم ميراث ) – Syed Shawkat Ali
  7. (فقة الحديث ) – Translation & Commentary of Imam Shawkani’s “الدّررالبهيـّة” with additions from Sh Albani.
  8. (منهج المسلم ) - Minhaj Muslim, Abu Bakar Jazairi
  9. (اسلامی قانون وراثت )– Abu Nauman Bashir Ahmed
  10. (قانون وراثت )– Salahuddin Haider Lukhnawi