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Fatwa CenterDied leaving five sons and an illegitimate daughter
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 5 - Additional information : my late father had a daughter out of marriage with another woman whom he never married. This happened while he was married to my mother.Is the daughter also eligible for inheritance ?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The daughter born out of wedlock does not inherit from the man who committed Zina (fornication/adultery) with her mother because he is not her legitimate father and thus she is not traced back to him and there is no cause to make her inherit from him.
It is known that inheritance has three causes; marriage, Walaa’ (allegiance of an ex-slave to his ex-master), and blood ties (kinship). For more benefit, kindly refer to Fatwa 85430 which clarifies that the child of Zina is not traced back to the fornicator/adulterer and does not inherit from him; but rather, he is traced back to his mother, inherits from her and she inherits from him.
Based on this, if the deceased did not leave heirs except five sons only and did not have a wife or any other heirs, then all the estate will be for them (the five sons) by Ta‘seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share; so they get what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed). So, the estate will be divided into 5 shares; one share for each of them.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is a very complex and serious issue, so a mere Fatwa which is an answer issued according to the question is not enough. Rather, the matter should be taken to an Islamic court to look into the case, or it should be presented orally (in person) to the scholars if there are no Islamic courts. It might be that there is an heir who would not be known except after investigation, and there might also be a will, debts, or other dues that are not known to the heirs. It is known that these rights come in priority over the right of the heirs. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if available, in order to fulfill the interests of both the dead and the living.
Allaah Knows best.
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