Question:
I know how my assets need to be distributed among my immediate family, but I’m not sure about distribution if something happens to all of us. How will my assets be distributed according to Islam because both my and my wife’s parents have passed and we have brothers and sisters but most of them live in Pakistan.
If you could guide me on this I would really appreciate it.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Your question refers to inheritance when one has no immediate family. Islamic inheritance can be difficult but is important as the Prophet ﷺ said, “Learn inheritance and teach it, for it is half of knowledge. It will be forgotten, and it will be the first thing to be taken away from my nation.”[1] What follows is a brief overview of those who may inherit a Muslim’s wealth after his death.
General Guidelines of the Hierarchy of Inheritance
After a Muslim passes away, the Sharī`ah outlines four rights to be fulfilled from the wealth left by the deceased: the rights of the deceased, the rights of his debtors, the rights of a bequest’s beneficiary, and the rights of the inheritors.[2]
As for the rights of the deceased, his wealth will first be used to cover his burial expenses. What is left will next be used to pay off his debts and fulfill the rights of his debtors. Next, whatever wealth is left over is distributed among beneficiaries of bequests made by the deceased. Every Muslim has the option to allocate one-third of their wealth as a bequest (al-waṣiyyah) to any individual(s) for whom the Sharī`ah has not allocated a portion from his inheritance. Before discussing the details of inheritance further, there are two people in our time who are prevented from inheriting: the killer of the deceased and a Muslim from a non-Muslim. In the past, there were other categories of people prevented from inheriting, but they are generally not applicable today.[3]
Once the burial expense and debts are paid and the waṣiyyah distributed, the remaining amount will go to the inheritors. There are three types of inheritors: dhawī al-furūd, al-`asabāt, and dhawī al-arḥām. The right of inheritance follows this order.
Dhawī al-furūḍ are those for whom the Sharī`ah has stipulated fixed shares. The inheritance is first assigned to them based on those fixed shares. They include four males (father, grandfather, husband, maternal half-brother) and eight females (wife, daughter, son’s daughter, sister, paternal half-sister, maternal half-sister, mother, grandmother through paternal lines). The amount of the share may change or even be removed based on the presence or absence of others in the dhawī al-furūḍ category.
Al-`Aṣabāt are those that inherit anything left over after the dhawī al-furūd receive their share. If there is no relatives surviving from the dhawī al-furūd, they will inherit everything. There are four classes:
- male progeny (son, grandson, great-grandson, and so on)
- male ancestry (father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on)
- father’s male progeny (brother, paternal half-brother, brother’s son, paternal half-brother’s son, and so on)
- grandfather’s male progeny (paternal uncle, paternal half-uncle, paternal uncle’s son, paternal half-uncle’s son, and so on)
Note: The classes are in a hierarchy, starting from #1 and going to #4 and going left to right within a class. If any is present, then he (along with any sisters) will inherit and prevent anyone else after them from inheriting. In other words, the closest relative will have the full right of inheritance among the `aṣabāt. For example, if the deceased has a son, the son will inherit along with any sisters, and no one else from the `aṣabāt will inherit.
Dhawī al-arḥām are those that inherit if the deceased left no inheritors from the dhawī al-furūḍ or al-`aṣabāt. They inherit everything and like the `aṣabāt, there are four classes and the closest relative blocks everyone else.[4]
- female progeny (daughter’s children, son’s daughter’s children, their children, etc.)
- grandparent(s) through maternal lines
- father’s female progeny (sister’s children, brother’s daughters, maternal half-brother’s children, etc.)
- grandparent’s progeny (father’s sisters, father’s maternal half-brother, mother’s siblings, their children, father’s brother’s daughter, etc.)
If a person doesn’t have any of the above relatives, then he or she may form a pact with another individual called a mawla al-mawālāt. If the individual agrees, he becomes the person’s inheritor. In return, he agrees to take on any penalties that one’s relatives would normally incur on their behalf. New Muslims would often do this with those who helped them accept Islam.[5]
If none of the above exists, then the money will be placed into a bayt al-māl, if available.[6]
If a bayt al-māl doesn’t exist, then the money can be given to needy people associated with the deceased (eg., the family of a milk sibling) or any other deserving institution involved in good.[7]
Case-Specific Response:
The above is a general outline of the hierarchy by which Islam assigns inheritance. Keep in mind that this hierarchy will be applied to your estate and your wife’s separately. If you both were to die simultaneously, each estate will be evaluated separately for the presence of inheriting relatives. You mentioned the presence of siblings in Pakistan. As outlined, they along with other distant blood relatives are eligible to inherit from you in the case of death. If you wish to learn the specifics of how your estate would be divided among them, please provide a detailed account of survivors to the estate. Alternatively, you can nominate a particular Dār al-Iftā’ in your will to draw up your estate’s distribution and carry it out.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed al-Mahmudi (S1)
[1] سنن ابن ماجه، كتاب الفرائض
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: “يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ تَعَلَّمُوا الْفَرَائِضَ وَعَلِّمُوهَا فَإِنَّهُ نِصْفُ الْعِلْمِ وَهُوَ يُنْسَى وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ شَىْءٍ يُنْتَزَعُ مِنْ أُمَّتِي”
[2] اسراجي في الميراث، مكتبة البشرى، ص 5
الاختيار لتعليل المختار، مطبعة الحلبي – القاهرة، ج 5 ص 85
(يُبْدَأُ مِنْ تَرِكَةِ الْمَيِّتِ بِتَجْهِيزِهِ وَدَفْنِهِ عَلَى قَدْرِهَا ثُمَّ تُقْضَى دُيُونُهُ، ثُمَّ تُنَفَّذُ وَصَايَاهُ مِنْ ثُلُثِ مَالِهِ، ثُمَ يُقْسَمُ الْبَاقِي بَيْنَ وَرَثَتِهِ)
[3] المرجع نفسه، ص 86
(وَالْمَانِعُ مِنَ الْإِرْثِ: الرِّقُّ وَالْقَتْلُ وَاخْتِلَافُ الْمِلَّتَيْنِ، وَاخْتِلَافُ الدَّارَيْنِ حُكْمًا.)
[4] معین الفرایض، مفتی محمود حسن اجميري، جامعہ حسینیہ راندیر
[5] المرجع نفسه، ص 112
فَصَارَ مُسْتَحِقًّا لِلْمَالِ فَلَا يُوضَعُ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ ; لِأَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا يُوضَعُ فِي بَيْتِ الْمَالِ عِنْدَ عَدَمِ الْمُسْتَحِقِّ لَا أَنَّهُ مُسْتَحَقٌّ «وَسُئِلَ – عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ – عَنْ رَجُلٍ أَسْلَمَ عَلَى يَدِ رَجُلٍ وَوَالَاهُ فَقَالَ: هُوَ أَحَقُّ النَّاسِ بِهِ مَحْيَاهُ وَمَمَاتُهُ» يُشِيرُ إِلَى الْعَقْلِ وَالْإِرْثِ فِي هَاتَيْنِ الْحَالَتَيْنِ.
[6] الاختيار لتعليل المختار، مطبعة الحلبي – القاهرة، ج 5 ص 86
(وَالْمُسْتَحِقُّونَ لِلتَّرِكَةِ عَشَرَةُ أَصْنَافٍ مُرَتَّبَةٌ: ذَوُو السِّهَامِ ثُمَّ الْعَصَبَاتُ النَّسَبِيَّةُ ثُمَّ السَبَبِيَّةُ وَهُوَ الْمُعْتِقُ، ثُمَّ عَصَبَتُهُ، ثُمَّ الرَّدُّ، ثُمَّ ذَوُو الْأَرْحَامِ، ثُمَّ مَوْلَى الْمُوَالَاةِ، ثُمَّ الْمُقَرُّ لَهُ بِنَسَبٍ لَمْ يَثْبُتْ، ثُمَّ الْمَوصَى لَهُ بِمَا زَادَ عَلَى الثُّلُثِ، ثُمَّ بَيْتُ الْمَالِ)
[7] احسن الفتاوی، تسھیل المیراث، ج ۹ ص ۳۹۳ الی ۳۹۹