Inheritance

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ between societies and have changed over time.

48040

Mohammed Al-Hilli, Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli, originally from Iraq, has a Masters in Pharmacy from the University of London. He completed his Hawza degree from the ICAS in London under the supervision of Ayatollah... Answered 5 years ago

No, since the siblings are the entitled to the inheritance according to Sharia law.

47893

Based on the information that I have come across, the wives of the Prophet (s) did not receive an inheritance from his estate, but rather were given a 'provision' or stipend. This was either left for them in the lifetime of the Prophet (s) or was given by Abu Bakr as the first defacto caliph.

So were the wives not entitled to any inheritance? There is an interesting narration in the Mu'jam al-Buldan of Yaqut al-Hamawi that after the demise of the Prophet (s) the wives considered sending 'Uthman (presumably bin 'Affan) to Abu Bakr as their representative to demand their eighth share. But 'Aisha, the daughter of Abu Bakr and one of the wives of the Prophet (s), opposed it and all the wives withdrew from such a demand. 

This is important because had the wives been entertained in their claim for inheritance, then Lady Fatima's (a) claim to Fadak could not have been refuted on the grounds that the Prophets do not leave heirs as was claimed by the first caliph Abu Bakr.

Fadak, in any case, was a lifetime gift that the Prophet (s) had made to Fatima (a).  That estate was not handed over to her by Abu Bakr despite her claims to it. This is widely documented in the hadith and historical sources.

For more details on the estate of Fadak and the politics that was at play behind it being withheld from Fatima (a) please refer to:

https://www.al-islam.org/fadak-allamah-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/fadak

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Zeinab Donati, Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining... Answered 5 years ago

Assalamu aleykum,
Thanks for your question.
If the son is illegitimate he has no right to inherit, so yes, the will is completely valid.
Please refer at the texts here below.

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- The Illegitimate Child (Walad al-Zina)
The lmamiyyah say: There is no mutual inheritance between an illegitimate child and its fornicator mother, in the same manner as there is no such inheritance between the child and its fornicator father, because there is a common impeding cause between the two, i.e. fornication.
https://www.al-islam.org/inheritance-according-five-schools-islamic-law-...

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- Views of Imamye scholars concerning inheritance of the illegitimate child
1. Most Imamye scholars assume lack of inheritance between the illegitimate child and his natural parents. In this regard Sheikh Toosi states:" child of adultery does not have lineage and does not inherit from the adulterer and the one who bore him and his heritage reaches his children and in case children do not exist, the property [inheritance] belongs to the Imam. Contemporary scholars assume lack of inheritance between the child of adultery and his parents (Khoee, 1996:414). Thus, what causes inheritance is relation and lineage where relation is connection of somebody with another by means of the latter whether relation is led to him or not (Imami 1993)
http://www.worldscientificnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/WSN-44-201...

- Custody of Illegitimate Child

Jurists see that hidana and nafaqa (expenditure) of an illegitimate child must be undertaken by the child biological parents, although the child does not inherit from them. Makārim Shīrāzī, Istiftāʾāt-i Jadīd, vol. 3, p. 266.

- Imam Khomeini, Tahrirol Wasaail in English, Volume 4, Section 44: Laws on Inheritance, Fourth Impediment, birth by Fornication (Zina), page 29 onwards.
 

47034

Saleem Bhimji, Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at... Answered 5 years ago

You can find more details - the jurisprudential rulings - on inheritance at https://www.al-islam.org/islamic-laws-ayatullah-ali-al-husayni-al-sistan...

I found this explanation from Ayatullah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani useful:

"The reason that the inheritance of man is more is because the upkeep of women is upon the shoulders of men. In other words, aside from the fact that a man must look after himself, he is also responsible for the upkeep and expenses of his wife and children. From another point of view, it is the man who gives the dowry to the woman and she is the one who takes it from him.

In reality, it is possible to say that what the woman takes in the form of inheritance and dowry is tantamount to her savings, whereas the portion of the inheritance of the man is spent on the expenses of his daily life and that of his wife and children. Aside from this, certain other responsibilities have been placed on the shoulders of a man, which necessitate his spending money in order to carry them out.

For example a man must spend money in the way of war, or if one of his relatives accidentally kills someone or injures someone he must pay certain monies to the family of the victim, whereas a woman has no responsibility in this regard. So even though what is apparent is that the share of a man in inheritance is two times that of a woman, in all practicality his share in the sum total of personal wealth is far less than hers. While on the other hand, in exchange for the “excess” inheritance, man has heavier responsibilities to shoulder than a woman. So in brief it can be said that the inheritance of men and women being different is so as to implement a sort of balance between the rights and responsibilities of each group."

Source - https://www.al-islam.org/faith-and-reason-ayatullah-mahdi-hadavi-tehrani...