No inheritance between a Muslim husband and his non-Muslim wife

30-4-2007 | IslamWeb

Question:

As-salamu A'laykum! Dear Brother, there is a question of a Christian which I had conveyed some teachings of Islam and he raised this question: He said, If he has a wife Muslim and Christian Wife and he has wealth Is it equal to distribute the wealth of his husband to the non -muslim wife? Jazakallahukhair... Abu Imran

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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.

 

It is absolutely not permissible for a Christian man to marry a Muslim woman, but if a Muslim man marries a Christian woman, he does not inherit her and she does not inherit him. It is confirmed that the Prophet said: “A Muslim does not inherit a non-Muslim, and a non-Muslim does not inherit a Muslim.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The above Prophetic narration is evidence that there is no inheritance between a Muslim and a non-Muslim. If a Muslim man dies, his non-Muslim woman does not inherit him. Similarly, if she dies before him, he does not inherit her.

At the death of a Muslim who has two wives, one of whom is a Muslim and the other is a non-Muslim, whether a Christian or a Jew, then his non-Muslim wife does not inherit him and it is only his Muslim wife who inherits him. She gets one-eighth if her husband has a child –whether a male or a female, and she gets one-fourth if her husband does not have children to inherit him.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 89594.

Allaah Knows best.