WorldOfIslam.info - Malik's Muwatta Hadith
Malik's Muwatta
Book 27 - Fara'id
Section: Inheritance of Descendants
Book 27, Number
27.1.0a:
Yahya related to me from Malik, "The
generally agreed upon way of doing things among us and what I have seen the
people of knowledge doing in our city about the fixed shares of inheritance of
children from the mother or father when one or other of them dies is that if
they leave male and female children, the male takes the portion of two
females. If there are only females, and there are more than two, they get two
thirds of what is left between them. If there is only one, she gets a half. If
someone shares with the children, who has a fixed share and there are males
among them, the reckoner begins with the ones with fixed shares. What remains
after that is divided among the children according to their inheritance.
"When there are no children, grandchildren
through sons have the same position as children, so that grandsons are like
sons and grand-daughters are like daughters. They inherit as they inherit and
they overshadow as they overshadow. If there are both children and
grandchildren through sons, and there is a male among the children, then the
grandchildren through sons do not share in the inheritance with him.
"If there is no surviving male among the
children, and there are two or more daughters, the granddaughters through a
son do not share in the inheritance with them unless there is a male who is in
the same position as them in relation to the deceased, or further than them.
His presence gives access to whatever is left over, if any, to whoever is in
his position and whoever is above him of the granddaughters through sons. If
something is left over, they divide it among them, and the male takes the
portion of two females. If nothing is left over, they have nothing.
"If the only descendant is a daughter, she
takes half, and if there are one or more grand-daughters through a son who are
in the same position to the deceased, they share a sixth. If there is a male
in the same position as the granddaughters through a son in relation to the
deceased, they have no share and no sixth .
"If there is a surplus after the allotting of
shares to the people with fixed shares, the surplus goes to the male and
whoever is in his position and whoever is above him of the female descendants
through sons. The male has the share of two females. The one who is more
distant in relationship than grandchildren through sons has nothing. If there
is no surplus, they have nothing. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the
Exalted, said in His Book, 'Allah charges you about your children that the
male has the like of the portion of two females. If there are more than two
women they have two thirds of what is left. If there is one, she has a half.'
(Sura 4 ayat 10)
Section: Inheritance of Husbands from Wives
and Wives from Husbands
Book 27, Number
27.2.0b:
Malik said, "The inheritance of a husband
from a wife when she leaves no children or grandchildren through sons is a
half. If she leaves children or grandchildren through sons, male or female, by
her present or previous husbands, the husband has a quarter after bequests or
debts. The inheritance of a wife from a husband who does not leave children or
grandchildren through sons is a quarter. If he leaves children or
grandchildren through sons, male or female, the wife has an eighth after
bequests and debts. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted! said in
His Book, 'You have a half of what your wives leave if they have no children.
If they have children, you have a fourth of what they leave after bequests and
debts. They have a fourth of what you leave if you have no children. If you
have children, they have an eighth after bequests or debts.' " (Sura4ayat 11).
Section: Inheritance of Fathers and Mothers
from Children
Book 27, Number
27.3.0c:
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us about which there is no dispute and what I have seen the
people of knowledge in our city doing is that when a father inherits from a
son or a daughter and the deceased leaves children, or grandchildren through a
son, the father has a fixed share of one sixth. If the deceased does leave any
children or male grandchildren through a son, the apportioning begins with
those with whom the father shares in the fixed shares. They are given their
fixed shares. If a sixth or more is left over, the sixth and what is above it
is given to the father, and if there is less than a sixth left, the father is
given his sixth as a fixed share, (i.e. the other shares are adjusted.)
"The inheritance of a mother from her child,
if her son or daughter dies and leaves children or male or female
grandchildren through a son, or leaves two or more full or half siblings is a
sixth. If the deceased does not leave any children or grandchildren through a
son, or two or more siblings, the mother has a whole third except in two
cases. One of them is if a man dies and leaves a wife and both parents. The
wife has a fourth, the mother a third of what remains, (which is a fourth of
the capital). The other is if a wife dies and leaves a husband and both
parents. The husband gets half, and the mother a third of what remains, (which
is a sixth of the capital). That is because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted,
says in His Book, 'His two parents each have a sixth of what he leaves if he
has children. If he does not have children, and his parents inherit from him,
his mother has a third. If he has siblings, the mother has a sixth.' (Sura 4
ayat 11). The sunna is that the siblings be two or more."
Section: Inheritance of Maternal Half-Siblings
Book 27, Number
27.4.0d:
Malik said, "The generally agreed upon way of
doing things among us is that maternal half-siblings do not inherit anything
when there are children or grandchildren through sons, male or female. They do
not inherit anything when there is a father or the father's father. They
inherit in what is outside of that. If there is only one male or female, they
are given a sixth. If there are two, each of them has a sixth. If there are
more than that, they share in a third which is divided among them. The male
does not have portion of two females. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the
Exalted, says in His Book, 'If a man or woman has no direct heir, and he has a
brother or sister, by the mother, each of them has a sixth. If there are more
than two, they share equally in a third.' " (Sura 4 ayat 12).
Section: Inheritance of Full Siblings
Book 27, Number
27.5.0e:
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us is that full siblings do not inherit anything with sons
nor anything with grandsons through a son, nor anything with the father. They
do inherit with the daughters and the granddaughters through a son when the
deceased does not leave a paternal grandfather. Any property that is left
over, they are in it as paternal relations. One begins with the people who are
allotted fixed shares. They are given their shares. If there is anything left
over after that, it belongs to the full siblings. They divide it between
themselves according to the Book of Allah, whether they are male or female.
The male has a portion of two females. If there is nothing left over, they
have nothing.
"If the deceased does not leave a father or a
paternal grandfather or children or male or female grandchildren through a
son, a single full sister gets a half. If there are two or more full sisters,
they get two thirds. If there is a brother with them, sisters, whether one or
more, do not have a fixed share. One begins with whoever shares in the fixed
shares. They are given their shares. Whatever remains after that goes to the
full siblings. The male has the portion of two females except in one case, in
which the full siblings have nothing. They share in this case the third of the
half-siblings by the mother. That case is when a woman dies and leaves a
husband, a mother, half-siblings by her mother, and full siblings. The husband
has a half. The mother has one sixth. The half-siblings by the mother have a
third. Nothing is left after that, so the full siblings share in this case
with the half-siblings by the mother in their third. The male has the portion
of two females in as much as all of them are siblings of the deceased by the
mother. They inherit by the mother. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the
Exalted, said in His Book, 'If a man or a woman has no direct heir and he has
a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth. If there are more
than that, they share equally in the third. ' (Sura 4 ayat 12) . They
therefore share in this case because all of them are siblings of the deceased
by the mother."
Section: Inheritance of Paternal Half-Siblings
Book 27, Number
27.6.0f:
Malik said, "The generally agreed on wayof
doing things among us is that when there are no full siblings with them,
half-siblings by the father take the position of full siblings. Their males
are like the males of the full siblings, and their females are like their
females except in the case where the half-siblings by the mother and the full
siblings share, because they are not offspring of the mother who joins these."
Malik said, "If there are both full siblings
and half-siblings by the father and there is a male among the full siblings
none of the half-siblings by the father have any inheritance. If there is one
or more females in the full siblings and there is no male with them, the one
full sister gets a half, and the half sister by the father gets a sixth,
completing the two-thirds. If there is a male with the half-sisters by the
father, they have no share. The people of fixed shares are given their shares
and if there is something left after that it is divided between the
half-siblings by the father. The male has the portion of two females. If there
is nothing left over, they get nothing. If the full siblings consist of two or
more females, they get two-thirds, and the half-sisters by the father get
nothing with them unless there is a half-brother by the father with them. If
there is a half-brother by the father with them, the people of fixed shares
are given their shares and if there is something left over after that, it is
divided between the half-siblings by the father. The male gets the portion of
two females. If there is nothing left over, they get nothing. Half-siblings by
the mother, full-siblings, and half-siblings by the father, each have a sixth
(when they are onlyone). Two and more share a third. The male has the same
portion as the female. They are in the same position in it."
Section: Inheritance of Grandfathers
Book 27, Number
27.7.1:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn
Said that he had heard that Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan wrote to Zayd ibn Thabit
asking him about the grandfather. Zayd ibn Thabit wrote to him, "You have
written to me asking me about the grandfather. Allah knows best. That is part
of what is only determined by the amirs, i.e. the khalifs. I was present with
two khalifs before you who gave the grandfather a half with one sibling, and a
third with two. If there were more siblings, they did not decrease his third."
Book 27, Number
27.7.2:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn
Shihab from Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayba that Umar ibn al-Khattab gave the grandfather
"what people give him today."
Book 27, Number
27.7.31:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had
heard that Sulayman ibn Yasar said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan,
andZayd ibn Thabit gave the grandfather a third with full siblings". Malik
said, "The generally agreed on way of doing things among us and what I have
seen the people of knowledge in our city doing is that the paternal
grandfather does not inherit anything at all with the father. He is given a
sixth as a fixed share with the son and the grandson through a son. Other than
that, when the deceased does not leave a mother or a paternal aunt, one begins
with whoever has a fixed share, and they are given their shares. If there is a
sixth of the property left over, the grandfather is given a sixth as a fixed
share."
Malik said, "When someone shares with the
grandfather and the full siblings in a specified share, one begins with
whoever shares with them of the people of fixed shares. They are given their
shares. What is left over after that belongs to the grandfather and the full
siblings. Then one sees which is the more favourable of two alternatives for
the portion of the grandfather. Either a third is allotted to him and the
siblings to divide between them, and he gets a share as if he were one of the
siblings, or else he takes a sixth from all the capital. Whichever is the best
portion for the grandfather is given to him. What is left after that, goes to
the full siblings. The male gets the portion of two females except in one
particular case. The division in this case is different from the preceding
one. This case is when a woman dies and leaves a husband, mother, full sister
and grandfather. The husband gets a half, the mother gets a third, the
grandfather gets a sixth, and the full sister gets a half. The sixth of the
grandfather and the half of the sister are joined and divided into thirds. The
male gets the share of two females. Therefore, the grandfather has two thirds,
and the sister has one third."
Malik said, "The inheritance of the
half-siblings by the father with the grandfather when there are no full
siblings with them, is like the inheritance of the full siblings (in the same
situation). The males are the same as their males and the females are the same
as their females. When there are both full siblings and half-siblings by the
father, the full siblings include in their number the number of half-siblings
by the father, to limit the inheritance of the grandfather, i.e., if there was
only one full sibling with the grandfather. They would share, after the
allotting of the fixed shares, the remainder of the inheritance between them
equally. If there were also two half-siblings by the father, their number is
added to the division of the sum, which would then be divided four ways. A
quarter going to the grandfather and three-quarters going to the full siblings
who annex the shares technically allotted to the half-siblings by the father.
They do not include the number of half-siblings by the mother, because if
there were only half-siblings by the father they would not inherit anything
with the grandfather and all the capital would belong to the grandfather, and
so the siblings would not get anything after the portion of the grandfather.
"It belongs to the full siblings more than
the half-siblings by the father, and the half-siblings by the father do not
get anything with them unless the full siblings consist of one sister. If
there is one full sister, she includes the grandfather with the half-siblings
by her father in the division, however many. Whatever remains for her and
these half-siblings by the father goes to her rather than them until she has
had her complete share, which is half of the total capital. If there is
surplus beyond half of all the capital in what she and the half-siblings by
the father acquire it goes to them. The male has the portion of two females.
If there is nothing left over, they get nothing."
Section: Inheritance of Grandmothers
Book 27, Number
27.8.4:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn
Shihab from Uthman ibn Ishaq ibn Kharasha that Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb said, "A
grandmother came to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and asked him for her inheritance. Abu
Bakr said to her, 'You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and I do not know
that you have anything in the sunna of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace. Go away therefore, until I have questioned the
people.' (i.e.the Companions). He questioned the people, and al-Mughira ibn
Shuba said, 'I was present with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, when he gave the grandmother a sixth.' Abu Bakr said,
'Was there anybody else with you?' Muhammad ibn Maslama al-Ansari stood up and
said the like of what al-Mughira said. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq gave it to her. Then
the other grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab and asked him for her
inheritance. He said to her, "You have nothing in the Book of Allah, and what
has been decided is only for other than you, and I am not one to add to the
fixed shares, other than that sixth. If there are two of you together, it is
between you. If eitherof you is left alone with it, it is hers."
Book 27, Number
27.8.5:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn
Said that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said, "Two grandmothers came to Abu Bakr
asSiddiq, and he wanted to give the sixth to the one who was from the mother's
side, and a man of the Ansar said, 'What? Are you omitting the one from whom
he would inherit if she died while he was alive?' Abu Bakr divided the sixth
between them.~
Book 27, Number
27.8.6:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdu
Rabbih ibn Said that Abu Bakr ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Harith ibn Hisham only
gave a fixed share to two grandmothers (together).
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us in which there is no dispute and which I saw the people
of knowledge in our city doing, is that the maternal grandmother does not
inherit anything at all with the mother. Outside of that, she is given a sixth
as a fixed share. The paternal grandmotherdoes not inherit anything along with
the mother or the father. Outside of that she is given a sixth as a fixed
share." If both the paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother are alive,
and the deceased does not have a father or mother outside of them, Malik
said,."I have heard that if the maternal grandmother is the nearest of the two
of them, then she has a sixth instead of the paternal grandmother. If the
paternal grandmother is nearer, or they are in the same position in relation
to the deceased, the sixth is divided equally between them."
Malik said, "None of the female
grand-relations except for these two has any inheritance because I have heard
that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave the
grandmother inheritance, and then Abu Bakr asked about that until someone
reliable related from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, that he had made the grandmother an heir and given a share to her.
Another grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, and he said, 'I am not one to
add to fixed shares. If there are two of you together, it is between you. If
either of you is left alone with it, it is hers.' " Malik said, "We do not
know of anyone who made other than the two grandmothers heirs from the
beginning of Islam to this day."
Book 27, Number
27.8.7:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn
Aslam that Umar ibn al-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, about someone who died without parents or offspring,
and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to
him, "The ayat which was sent down in the summer at the end of the Surat
an-Nisa (Sura 4) is enoughfor you."
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us, in which there is no dispute, and which I saw the
people of knowledge in our city doing, is that the person who leaves neither
parent or offspring can be of two types. As for the kind described in the ayat
which was sent down at the beginning of the Surat an-Nisa in which Allah, the
Blessed, the Exalted! said, 'If a man or a woman has no direct heir, but has a
brother or a sister by the mother, each of the two has a sixth. If there are
more than that, they share equally in a third.' (Sura 4 ayat 12) This heirless
one does not have heirs among his mother's siblings since there are no
children or parents. As for the other kind described in the ayat which comes
at the end of the Surat an-Nisa, Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in it,
'They will ask you for a decision. Say, "Allah gives you a decision about the
indirect heirs. If a man perishes having no children, but he has a sister, she
shall receive a half of what he leaves, and he is her heir if she has no
children. If there are two sisters, they shall receive two-thirds of what he
leaves. If there are brothers and sisters, the male shall receive the portion
of two females. Allah makes clear to you that you might not go astray. Allah
has knowledge of everything" ' " (Sura 4 ayat 176).
Malik said, "If this person without direct
heirs (parents) or children has siblings by the father, they inherit with the
grandfather from the person without direct heirs. The grandfather inherits
with the siblings because he is more entitled to the inheritance than them.
That is because he inherits a sixth with the male children of the deceased
when the siblings do not inherit anything with the male children of the
deceased. How can he not be like one of them when he takes a sixth with the
children of the deceased? How can he not take a third with the siblings while
the brother's sons take a third with them? The grandfather is the one who
overshadows the half-siblings by the mother and keeps them from inheriting. He
is more entitled to what they have because they are omitted for his sake. If
the grandfather did not take that third, the half-siblings by the mother would
take it and would take what does not return to the half-siblings by the
father. The half-siblings by the mother are more entitled to that third than
the half-siblings by the father while the grandfather is more entitled to that
than the half-siblings by the mother."
Section: Paternal Aunts
Book 27, Number
27.9.8:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Muhammad
ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Amribn Hazm that Abdar-Rahman ibn Hanthala
az-Zurqi was informed by a mawla of Quraysh,who used to be known as Ibn Mursi,
that he was sitting with Umar ibn al-Khattab, and when they had prayed dhuhr,
he said, "Yarfa! Bring that letter! (a letter which he had written about the
paternal aunt.) We asked about her and asked for information about her." Yarfa
brought it to him. He called for a small vessel or a drinking-bowl in which
there was water. He erased the letter in it. Then he said, "Had Allah approved
of you as an heir, we would have confirmed you. Had Allah approved of you, we
would have confirmed you."
Book 27, Number
27.9.9:
Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad
ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm heard his father say many times, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab
used to say, 'It is a wonder that the paternal aunt is inherited from and does
not inherit.' "
Section: Inheritance of Paternal Relations
Book 27,
Number 27.10.9a:
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us, in which there is no dispute, and which I saw the
people of knowledge in our city doing, about paternal relations is that full
brothers are more entitled to inherit than half-brothers by the father and
half-brothers by the father are more entitled to inherit than the children of
the full brothers. The sons of the full brothers are more entitled to inherit
than the sons of the half-brothers by the father. The sons of the
half-brothers by the father are more entitled to inherit than the sons of the
sons of the full brothers. The sons of the sons of the half-brothers by the
father's side are more entitled to inherit than the paternal uncle, the full
brother of the father. The paternal uncle, the full brother of the father, is
more entitled to inherit than the paternal uncle, the half-brotherof the
father on the father's side. The paternal uncle, the half-brother of the
father on the father's side is more entitled to inherit than the sons of the
paternal uncle, the full brother of the father. The son of the paternal uncle
on the father's side is more entitled to inherit than the paternal great
uncle, the full brother of the paternal grandfather."
Malik said, "Everything about which you are
questioned concerning the inheritance of the paternal relations is like this.
Trace the genealogy of the deceased and whoever among the paternal relations
contends for inheritance. If you find that one of them reaches the deceased by
a father and none of them except him reaches him by a father, then make his
inheritance to the one who reaches him by the nearest father, rather than the
one who reaches him by what is above that. If you find that they all reach him
by the same father who joins them, then see who is the nearest of kin. If
there is only one half-brother by the father, give him the inheritance rather
than more distant paternal relations. If there is a full brother and you find
them equally related from a number of fathers or to one particular father so
that they all reach the genealogy of the deceased and they are all
half-brothers by the father or full brothers, then divide the inheritance
equally among them. If the parent of one of them is an uncle (the full-brother
of the father of the deceased) and whoever is with him is an uncle (the
paternal half brother of the father of the deceased), the inheritance goes to
the sons of the full brother of the father rather than the sons of the
paternal half-brother of the father. That is because Allah, the Blessed, the
Exalted, said, 'Those related by blood are nearer to one another in the Book
of Allah, surely Allah has knowledge of everything.' "
Malik said, "The paternal grandfather, is
more entitled to inherit than sons of the full-brother, and more entitled than
the uncle, the full brother of the father. The son of the father's brother is
more entitled to inherit from mawali retainers (freed slaves) than the
grandfathers."
Section: People who do Not Inherit
Book 27,
Number 27.11.9b:
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us in which there is no dispute and which I saw the people
of knowledge in our citydoing, is that the child of the half-sibling by the
mother, the paternal grandfather, the paternal uncle who is the maternal
half-brother of the father, the maternal uncle, the great-grandmother who is
the mother of the mother's father, the daughter of the full-brother, the
paternal aunt, and the maternal aunt do not inherit anything by their
kinship."
Malik said, "The woman who is the furthest
relation of the deceased of those who were named in this book, does not
inherit anything by her kinship, and women do not inherit anything apart from
those that are named in the Qur'an. Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, mentioned
in His Book the inheritance ofthe mother from her children, the inheritance of
the daughters from their father, the inheritance of the wife from her husband,
the inheritance of the full sisters, the inheritance of the half-sisters by
the father and the inheritance of the half-sisters by the mother. The
grandmother is made an heir by the example of the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, made about her. A woman inherits from a slave she frees
herself because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'They are
your brothers in the deen and your mawali.' "
Section: Inheritance from People of Other
Religions
Book 27,
Number 27.12.10:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn
Shihab from Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali from Umar ibn Uthman ibn Affan from Usama
ibn Zayd that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "A muslim does not inherit from a kafir."
Book 27,
Number 27.12.11:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn
Shihab that Ali ibn Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib told him that Aqil and Talib
inherited from Abu Talib, and Ali did not inheritfrom him. Ali said, "Because
of that, we have given up our portion of ash Shab." (A house belonging to Banu
Hashim).
Book 27,
Number 27.12.12:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn
Said from Sulayman ibn Yasar that Muhammad ibn al-Ashath told him that he had
a christian or jewish paternal aunt who died. Muhammad ibn al-Ashath mentioned
that to Umar ibn al-Khattab and said to him, "Who inherits from her?" Umar ibn
al-Khattab said to him, "The people of her deen inherit from her." Then he
went to Uthman ibn Affan, and asked him about that. Uthman said to him, "Do
you think that I have forgotten what Umar ibn al-Khattab said to you? The
people.of her deen inherit from her."
Book 27,
Number 27.12.13:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn
Said from Ismail ibn Abi Hakim that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz freed a christian who
then died. Ismail said, ''Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered me to put his property
in the bayt al-mal."
Book 27,
Number 27.12.14:
Yahya related to me from Malik from a
reliable source of his who had heard Said ibn al-Musayyab say, ''Umar ibn
al-Khattab refused to let anyone inherit from the non-arabs except for one who
was born among the arabs."
Malik said, "If a pregnant woman comes from
the land of the enemy and gives birth in arab land so that he is her (an arab)
child, he inherits from her if she dies, and she inherits from him if he dies,
by the Book of Allah."
Malik said, "The generally agreed on way of
doing things among us and the sunna in which there is no dispute, and what I
saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, is that a Muslim does not
inherit from a kafir by kinship, clientage (wala'), or maternal relationship,
nor does he (the Muslim) overshadow any (of the kafirs) from his inheritance.
Malik said, "Similarly, someone who forgoes
his inheritance when he is the chief heir does not overshadow anyone from his
inheritance."
Section: People Killed in Battle or Otherwise
whose Situation in Inheritance is Not Known
Book 27,
Number 27.13.15:
Yahya related to me from Malik from Rabia ibn
Abi Abd ar-Rahman from more than one of the people of knowledge of that time,
that those who were killed on the Day of the Camel, the Day of Siffin, the Day
of al-Harra, and the Day of Qudayd did not inherit from each other. None of
them inherited anything from his companion unless it was known that he had
been killed before his companion.
Malik said, "That is the way of doing things
about which there is no dispute, and which none of the people of knowledge in
our city doubt. The procedure with two mutual heirs who are drowned, or killed
in another way, when it is not known which of them died first is the same -
neither of them inherits anything from his companion. Their inheritance goes
to whoever remains of their heirs. They are inherited from by the living."
Malik said, "No one should inherit from
anyone else when there is doubt, and one should only inherit from the other
when there is certainty of knowledge and witnesses. That is because a man and
his mawla whom his father has freed might die at the same time. The sons of
the free man could say, 'Our father inherited from the mawla.' They should not
inherit from the mawla without knowledge or testimony that he died first. The
living people most entitled to his wala' inherit from him."
Malik said, "Another example is two full
brothers who die. One of them has children and the other does not. They have a
half-brother by their father. It is not known which of them died first, so the
inheritance of the childless one goes to his half-brother by the father. The
children of the full-brother get nothing."
Malik said, "Another example is when a
paternal aunt and the son of her brother die, or else the daughter of the
brother and her paternal uncle. It is not known which of them died first. The
paternal uncle does not inherit anything from the daughter of his brother, and
the son of the brother does not inherit anything from his paternal aunt."
Section: The Inheritance of the Child of Lian
and the Child of Fornication
Book 27,
Number 27.14.16:
Yahya related to me from Malik that he had
heard that Urwa ibn az-Zubayr said about the child of lian and the child of
fornication, that if they died, the mother inherited her right from them
according to the Book of Allah, the Mighty, the Majestic! The siblings by the
mother had their rights. The rest was inherited by the former masters of the
mother if she was a freed slave. If she was a free woman by origin, she
inherited her due and the siblings by the mother inherited their due, and the
rest went to the Muslims.
Malik said, "I heard the same as that from
Sulayman ibn Yasar."
Malik said, "That is what I saw the people of
knowledge in our city doing."
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