GeneralPrinciplesofSuccessionand

InheritanceunderMuslimLaw:

Thegenerallawrelatingtotheinheritanceandsuccessioncaneasilybe
referred to The Indian Succession Act, 1925. Under this Act every
Indianisentitledtoequalsharesoninheritingthepropertyonthedeath
of a person. The exceptions are Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and
Muslimsastheyaregovernedunderseparatelawsofsuccession.Asfor
thepersonsofdifferentfaithsthanHinduismandMohammedan,the
IndianSuccessionAct,1925applies.Wecaneasilysegregatethelawsof
nontestamentaryorintestatesuccessionandinheritanceaswouldbe
applicable to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist and with Parsis,
ChristiansandJewswiththatofMuslimsandwithpersonsofinterfaith
marriages.

LawsofsuccessionapplicabletoHindus,Sikhs,JainsandBuddhist;for
thenontestamentaryorintestatesuccession/inheritance,thegoverning
lawistheHinduSuccessionAct,1956.Lawsofsuccessionapplicableto
Parsis; for the intestate succession the governing law is the Indian
SuccessionAct,1925specificallyundersection50to56oftheIndian
SuccessionAct,1925.LawsofsuccessionapplicabletoChristiansand
Jews;fortheintestatethegoverninglawistheIndianSuccessionAct,
1925specificallyundersection31to49oftheAct.Lawsofsuccession
governing Muslims; for nontestamentary succession the The Muslim

PersonalLaw(Shariat)ApplicationAct,1937isapplicableandwherea
Muslimhasdiedtestate,theissuehastobegovernedundertheIndian
SuccessionAct,1925whereaWillrelatestoimmovablepropertysituate
within the State of West Bengal, and that of Madras and Mumbai
Jurisdiction.

The Holy Quran states"Allah haspurchasedfrom the believerstheir

persons and their wealthin lieuofJannah."Manisatrustee ofthe
wealththatheownsforhedurationofhislife.Whenhistermoflife
expires,histrusteeshipoverhiswealthandpropertyexpires.Ithasthen
to be redistributed in accordance with the directive of The Absolute
Owner Allah Taala. Directives regarding the distribution of wealth
afterthedemiseoftheprovisionalownerareexplicitlydetailedinthe
HolyQurann.

Inheritance Lawsdealswithdistributionofone'swealthafterhe/she
expires.Itdealswithtwokeyissues:
1.Providelawspertainingtodistributionofwealthamongstheirs,so
heirsdon'tfight.
2. Ensurethatajustsystemcanbeestablishedandthewealthisnot
accumulatedintosingleentity.

GeneralInheritanceLawinIslamisbasedonfollowingconsiderations:
1.Breakuptheconcentrationofwealthanddistributionofwealthin
society

2.Respectrightofownershipofanindividualthatheearnedthrough
legal means, andnot allowany individual,grouporgovernmentto
confiscatehispropertyafterhisdemise
3.Endorseandconsolidatestrongfamilysystembyjustlydistributing
wealthamongsttheheirs
4. By asking individual to write his will and providing detailed
inheritancelaw,iteducateusthatwearenotanabsolutemasterofthis
wealth, rather,its amanah(trust)ofAllahthatweare authorizedto
spendaccordingtoHisinstructions.
5.Providepeaceofmindthatafterourdemiseourfamilywillbegiven
theirjustrightofinheritance
6. Itpaysespecialfocusonwomen'sinheritance,aswomenweredenied
theirrighttoinheritanceinothersystems.

GeneralPrinciplesofSuccessionandInheritanceunderMuslimLawcan
besummariesasunder:
(1)NatureoftheHeritableProperty:
Heritablepropertyisthatpropertywhichisavailabletothelegalheirs
forinheritance.AfterthedeathofaMuslim,hispropertiesareutilised
forthepaymentoffuneralexpenses,debtsandthelegaciesi.e.wills,if
any. After these payments,the remainingproperty is called heritable
property.UnderMuslimlaw,everykindofpropertymaybeaheritable
property.
Forpurposesofinheritance,Muslimlawdoesnotmakeanydistinction

betweencorpusandusufructor,betweenmovableandimmovable,or,
corporealandincorporealproperty.UnderEnglishlaw,thereissome
differenceintheinheritanceofmovableandimmovableproperty.
But,underMuslimlawthereisnosuchdistinction;anyproperty,which
wasintheownershipofthedeceasedatthemomentofhisdeath,may
bethesubjectmatterofinheritance.
ShiaLaw:
UndertheShialaw,achildlesswidowisentitledtogethershare(1/4)
intheinheritanceonlyfromthemovablepropertyleftbyherdeceased
husband.
(2)JointorAncestralProperty:
The concept of a joint family or of coparcenaries property (as is
recognised under Hindu law) is not known to Muslims. Whenever a
Muslim dies, his properties devolve on his heirs in definite share of
which each heir becomes an absolute owner.Subsequently,upon the
deathofsuchheir,hispropertiesareagaininheritedbyhislegalheirs,
andthisprocesscontinues.
Thus,unlikeHindulaw,thereisnoprovisionforanyancestralorjoint
family property. Accordingly, under Muslim law of inheritance, no
distinctionhasbeenmadebetweenselfacquiredandancestralproperty.
Allproperties,whetheracquiredbyaMuslimhimselforinheritedbyhis
ancestors,areregardedasanindividualpropertyand,maybeinherited
byhislegalheirs.

(3)NoBirthRight:
InheritanceopensonlyafterthedeathofaMuslim.Nopersonmaybe
anheirofalivingperson(Nemoesthaeresviventis).Therefore,unlessa
persondies,hisheirshavenointerestinhisproperties.UnlikeHindu
law,theMuslimlawofinheritancedoesnotrecognisetheconceptof
rightbybirth(Janmaswatvavad).
UnderMuslimlaw,anheirdoesnotpossessanyrightatallbeforethe
deathofanancestor.ItisonlythedeathofaMuslimwhichgivesthe
rightofinheritancetohislegalheirs.
Asamatteroffact,unlessapersondies,hisrelativesarenothislegal
heirs;theyaresimplyhisheirapparentandhavemerelyachanceof
succession, (spes successions). If such an heirapparent survives a
Muslim,hebecomeshislegalheirandtherightofinheritanceaccrues
tohim.IftheheirapparentdoesnotsurviveaMuslim,hecannotbe
regardedanheirandhasnorighttoinherittheproperty.
(4)DoctrineofRepresentation:
Doctrineofrepresentationisawellknownprinciplerecognisedbythe
Roman,EnglishandHindulawsofinheritance.Undertheprincipleof
representation,asisrecognisedbythesesystemsoflaws,thesonofa
predeceasedsonrepresentshisfatherforpurposesofinheritance.The
doctrine of representation may be explained with the help of the
examplegivenbelow.PhastwosonsAandB.Ahasgottwosons and
DandhasasonE.
DuringthelifeofP,hisfamilymembersarehistwosons(AandB),and
threegrandsons(C,DandE).Unfortunately, predeceasesP,i.e.

dies before the death of P. Subsequently, when P also dies, the sole
survivingmembersofthefamilyofPareAandthreegrandsons,C,D
andE.
Underthedoctrineofrepresentation,Ewillrepresenthispredeceased
fatherandwouldbeentitledtoinheritthepropertiesofPinthesame
manneras wouldhaveinheritedhadhebeenaliveatthetimeofPs
death.
But, Muslim law does not recognise the doctrine of representation.
UnderMuslimlaw,thenearerexcludestheremoter.Accordingly,inthe
illustrationgivenabove,Ewillbetotallyexcludedfrominheritingthe
propertiesofP.Both,underShiaaswellasunderSunnilaw,Ehasno
righttoinheritthepropertiesofP.TheresultisthatEcannottakethe
plea that he represents his predeceased father () and should be
substitutedinhisplace.
UnderMuslimlaw,thenearerheirtotallyexcludesaremoterheirfrom
inheritance.Thatistosay,iftherearetwoheirswhoclaiminheritance
from a common ancestor, the heir who is nearer (in degree) to the
deceased,wouldexcludetheheirwhoisremoter.Thus,betweenAand
E,AwilltotallyexcludeEbecauseAisnearertoPindegreewhereas,E
belongstotheseconddegreeofgeneration.TheMuslimjuristsjustify
thereasonfordenyingtherightofrepresentationonthegroundthata
personhasnotevenaninchoaterighttothepropertyofhisancestor
untilthedeathofthatancestor.
Accordingly,theyarguethattherecanbenoclaimthroughadeceased
personinwhomnorightcouldhavebeenvestedbyanypossibility.But,
itmaybesubmittedthatnonrecognitionofprinciplesofrepresentation

under the Muslim lawof inheritance,seemsto be unreasonable and

harsh.Itiscruelthatason,whosefatherisdead,isunabletoinherit
thepropertiesofhisgrandfathertogetherwithhisuncle.
(5)PerCapitaandPerStripDistribution:
Successionamongtheheirsofthesameclassbutbelongingtodifferent
branches may either be percapita or perstrips. In a percapita
distribution,thesuccessionisaccordingtothenumberofheirs(i.e.
heads).Amongthemtheestateisequallydivided;therefore,eachheir
gets equal quantity of property from the heritable assets of the
deceased.
On the otherhand, in aperstripdistribution,the severalheirswho
belong to different branches,get theirshare onlyfromthatproperty
whichisavailabletothebranchtowhichtheybelong.Inotherwords,
inthestripitalsuccession,thequantumofpropertyavailabletoeach
heirdependsonthepropertyavailabletohisbranchratherthanthe
numberofalltheheirs.
UnderSunnilaw,thedistributionoftheassetsispercapita.Thatisto
sayanheirdoesnotinanyrespectrepresentthebranchfromwhichhe
inherits.Thepercapitadistributionmaybeillustratedbythefollowing
diagram.
MhasgottwosonsAandB.Ahasthreesons,S 1,S2andS3.hastwo
sonsS4andS5.WhenMdiestherearetwobranchesofsuccession,one
ofAandtheotherofB.Suppose,Aand bothdiebeforethedeathof
MsothatthesolesurvivingheirsofMarehisfivegrandsons.

Now,underthepercapitaschemeofdistribution(asrecognisedunder
Sunni law) the total number of claimants (heirs) is five and the
heritable property would be equally divided among all of them
irrespectiveofthebranchtowhichanheirbelongs.
Therefore,eachofthemwouldget1/5ofthetotalassetsofM.Itmay
be noted that under Sunni law the principle of representation is
recognisedneitherinthematterofdeterminingtheclaimofanheir,nor
indeterminingthequantumofshareofeachheir.
ShiaLaw:
UndertheShialaw,ifthereareseveralheirsofthesameclassbutthey
descend from different branches, the distribution among them isper
strip.Thatistosay,thequantumofpropertyinheritedbyeachofthem
dependsuponthepropertyavailabletothatparticularbranchtowhich
they belong. In the abovementioned illustration, A and constitute
two branches, each having 1/2 of Ms property. Both, A and pre
deceaseM.
But,thequantumofpropertyavailabletoeachoftheirbranchwould
remainthesame.Therefore,thesurvivingheirsofAnamely,S 1,S2,53
would get equal shares out of 1/2 which is quantum of property
availabletothebranchofA.ThusS 1,S2andS3wouldget1/6each.
Similarly,thequantumofpropertyavailabletothebranchof isalso
1/2butthedescendantsfromthisbranchareonlytwo.Accordingly,the
1/2propertyofwouldbeequallysharedbyS4andS5.
Therefore,54 andS5 wouldget1/4each.Itissignificanttonotethat

foralimitedpurposeofcalculatingtheshareofeachheir,theShialaw
acceptstheprincipleofrepresentation.Moreover,undertheShialaw
thisruleisapplicablefordeterminingthequantumofsharealsoofthe
descendants of a predeceased daughter, predeceased brother, pre
deceasedsisterorthatofapredeceasedaunt.
(6)FemalesRightofInheritance:
Malesandfemaleshaveequalrightsofinheritance.Uponthedeathofa
Muslim,ifhisheirsincludealsothefemalesthen,maleandfemaleheirs
inheritthepropertiessimultaneously.Maleshavenopreferentialrightof
inheritanceoverthefemales,butnormallytheshareofamaleisdouble
theshareofafemale.
In other words, although there is no difference between male and
female heir in so far as their respective rights of inheritance is
concernedbutgenerallythequantumofpropertyinheritedbyafemale
heirishalfofthepropertygiventoamaleofequalstatus(degree).
Theprinciplethatnormallytheshareofamaleisdoubletheshareofa
femalehassomejustification.UnderMuslimlaw,whileafemaleheir
gets(orhopestogetinfuture)anadditionalmoneyorpropertyasher
Mehrandmaintenancefromherhusband,hermalecounterpartgets
noneofthetwobenefits.Moreover,themaleheirisprimarilyliablefor
themaintenanceofhischildrenwhereas,thefemaleheirmayhavethis
liabilityonlyinanextraordinarycase.
(7)AChildintheWomb:
Achildinthewombofitsmotheriscompetenttoinheritprovideditis

bornalive.Achildinembryoisregardedasalivingpersonand,assuch,
thepropertyvestsimmediatelyinthatchild.But,ifsuchachildinthe
wombisnotbornalive,thesharealreadyvestedinitisdivestedand,it
ispresumedasiftherewasnosuchheir(inthewomb)atall.
(8)Primogeniture:
Primogenitureisaprincipleofinheritanceunderwhichtheeldestsonof
the deceased enjoys certain special privileges. Muslim law does not
recognisetheruleofprimogenitureandallsonsaretreatedequally.
However,undertheShialaw,theeldestsonhasanexclusiverightto
inherit his fathers garments, sword, ring and the copy of Quran,
providedthatsucheldestsonisofsoundmindandthefatherhasleft
certainotherpropertiesbesidesthesearticles.
(9)StepChildren:
Thestepchildrenarenotentitledtoinheritthepropertiesoftheirstep
parents. Similarly, the stepparents too do not inherit from step
children.Forexample,whereaMuslimHmarriesawidowWhavinga
sonfromherprevioushusband,thesonisastepsonofH,whoisstep
fatherofthisson.
Thestepfatherandstepson(ordaughter)cannotinheriteachothers
properties.Thatstepchildiscompetenttoinheritfromitsnaturalfather
ornaturalmother.Similarly,thenaturalfatherandnaturalmothercan
inheritfromtheirnaturalsonsordaughters.
However, the stepbrothers (or sisters) can inherit each others
properties.Thus,intheillustrationgivenabove,ifason(ordaughter)is

bomoutofthemarriageofHandW,thenewlybornchildwouldbea
stepbrother(orsister)ofthesonfromwifesprevioushusband.
Thesesonsordaughtersarecompetenttoinheriteachothersproperty.
The stepbrothers or sisters may either be, uterine or consanguine.
Muslimlawprovidesformutualrightsofinheritancebetweenuterine
andconsanguinebrothersorsisters.
(10)SimultaneousDeathoftwoHeirs:
Whentwoormore personsdieinsuchacircumstancethatitisnot
ascertainableastowhodiedfirst(i.e.whosurvivedwhom)then,both
ofthemceasetobeanheirforeachother.Inotherwords,wheretwoor
moreheirsdiesimultaneouslyand,itisnotpossibletoestablishasto
whodiedfirstthenunderMuslimlaw,alltheheirsarepresumedto
havediedjustatonemoment.Theresultisthatsuchheirsareregarded
asiftheydidnotexistatall;theinheritanceopensomittingtheseheirs.
Forexample,Aandareeachotherslegalheirsinsuchamannerthat
afterthedeathofanyoneofthem,thesurvivingpersonwouldinherit
thepropertyofthedeceasedone.But,bothAand diesimultaneously
say,inanaeroplanecrash,anditcouldnotbeestablishedastowho
survivedwhom.UnderMuslimlaw,neitherAwouldinherit nor
wouldinheritA.
Thus,thelegalheirsofAwouldinheritAspropertyasiftherewasno
atall.Similarly,theheirsof wouldinheritBspropertyasifAdidnot
existatall?

(11)MissingPersons:
AccordingtothetextsofHanafilaw,amissingpersonwassupposedto
havebeendeadonlyafterninetyyearsfromthedateofhisbirth;till
thentheinheritanceofhispropertiesdidnotopen.But,nowthisrule
has been superseded by Sec. 108 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872
whichprovidesasunder:
Whenthequestioniswhetheramanisaliveordead,anditisproved
that he has not been heard of for seven years by those who would
naturallyhaveheardofhimifhehadbeenalive,theburdenofproving
thatheisaliveisshiftedtothepersonwhoaffirmsit.
Accordingly,whereaMuslimismissingforatleastsevenyearsandifit
could not be proved that he (or she) was alive then, that person is
legally presumed to be dead and the inheritance of his (or her)
propertiesopens.
IthasbeenheldbythecourtsthatHanafiruleofninetyyearsoflifeofa
missing person was only a rule of evidence and not any rule of
succession;therefore,thisHanafirulemustbetakenassupersededby
theprovisionsofIndianEvidenceAct1872.
(12)Escheat:
Where a deceased Muslim has no legal heir under Muslim law, his
propertiesareinheritedbyGovernmentthroughtheprocessofescheat.
Stateisregardedastheultimateheirofeverydeceased.
(13)MarriageundertheSpecialMarriageAct,1954:
WhereaMuslimcontractshismarriageundertheSpecialMarriageAct,

1954,heceasestobeaMuslimforpurposesofinheritance.Accordingly,
afterthedeathofsuchaMuslimhis(orher)propertiesdonotdevolve
underMuslimlawofinheritance.Theinheritanceofthepropertiesof
suchMuslimsis governedbytheprovisionsoftheIndianSuccession
Act,1925andMuslimlawofinheritanceisnotapplicable.