Reverts Inheriting from Non-Muslim Parents (Answer 2)!
Asslamo Allaikum,
Shaykh Abu `Abdillaah Muhammad al-Jibaly replied to me from Madinah this morning and below is his opinion in BOLD RED in answer to a query!
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Q) As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu
I have a question regarding inheritance. I found this
QA on islam qa/shaykh munajid, and I am confused about
the last paragraph in his answer regarding the
difference in a will of a non-Muslim and inheritance
with a rule that a muslim can take less than one
third. Could someone please explain.
jazakum Allaahu khaira
Question:
I am a Muslim and my parents are not. They have
written in their will that whatever assets they have
will be divided between myself, my brother and my
sister (who are also not Muslims).
What is the Islamic ruling on inheritance for Muslims
whose parents are non-Muslim?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah.
A Muslim is not permitted to inherit anything of the
wealth of a non-Muslim relative, as the Prophet
(Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The
believer does not inherit from a kaafir (disbeliever)
and the kaafir does not inherit from a believer."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath 4283). According to
another report, he said: "The Muslim does not inherit
from a kaafir and the kaafir does not inherit from a
Muslim." (al-Bukhaari, 6764). The Messenger of Allah
(Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) also said:
"People who belong to two different religions do not
inherit from one another." (Reported by Abu Dawud in
al-Sunan, Kitab al-Faraa’id, and deemed hasan by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 7614) - because when
the ties of religion are cut, the ties of inheritance
are also cut, because the former is the basis of the
latter.
However, if a non-believer makes a will leaving
one-third or less of his wealth to his child (son or
daughter), one is entitled to take it, because this is
a will as opposed to inheritance according to a
non-Islamic system. This difference is well-known in
Islamic fiqh.
And Allah knows best
IslamQ&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
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As-salaamu `alaykum wa-rahmat Ullaah.
1. The Prophet's (S) statement: "A Muslim does not inherit from a kaafir, and a kaafir does not inherit from a
Muslim," is a negating statement and not a prohibitive statement (Laa an-naafiyah and not laa an-naahiyah). It describes the common state of affairs, and not necessarily how things should be -- especially for the first part (see next point).
2. The first part of the Prophet's (S) statement cannot mean: "A kaafir is not allowed to give inheritance to a Muslim". Obviously, the Prophet's commands are only applicable to Muslims, and non-Muslims are not bound by them: Non-Muslims do not fulfill the basic requirements of faith, so how can we expect them to abide by what is based on faith?
3. Similarly, the limit that the Prophet (S) set for will allocations is only binding for Muslims. It is not conceivable that the Prophet (S) would command non-Muslims: "Do not allocate more than 1/3 of your estate to your Muslim relatives."
4. Based on the above, the Prophet's (S) statement: "A Muslim DOES NOT inherit from a kaafir" should not be interpreted as "A Muslim MAY NOT inherit from a kaafir". Furthermore, I do not know of any clear-cut "prohibitive" command in which the Prophet (S) said something to the effect: "A Muslim is not allowed to inherit from a non-Muslim."
5. Any "inheritance" given to a Muslim by a non-Muslim should be treated as a gift. The correct opinion among the `ulamaa is that it is (generally) permissible to take gifts from non-Muslims. Therefore, I do not see any reason to set a limit on what a Muslim may take from a non-Muslim's bequeathal.
For additional information on this, I suggest reading in my book: "Inheritance, Regulations & Exhortations".
Wallaahu a`lam (Allaah knows best).
Abu `Abdillaah Muhammad al-Jibaly
Al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah