Liaison office of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Al Sistani (L.M.H.L) in London, Europe, North and South America.
2788. The Holy Qur'an, a ring, and a sword of the deceased, and the
clothes worn by him, belong to the eldest son. And if of the first three things,
the deceased has left more than one - for example, if he has left two copies of
the Qur'an, or two rings, the obligatory precaution is that his eldest son
should make a compromise with the other heirs in respect of those things.
The travel baggage, the gun, the dagger and other such weapons may also be
included in the above list, but, as an obligatory precaution, the eldest son may
compromise with other heirs in that regard.
2789. If the deceased has two eldest sons, for example, if his two
sons are born of two wives at one and the same time - they should divide his
clothes, Qur'an, ring and sword equally between themselves.
2790. If the deceased is indebted, and if his debt is equal to his
estate or more, the four things which belong to the eldest son, as mentioned in
the preceding rule, should be given by him for the settlement of the debt, or he
should pay equal value from his own wealth. And if the debt is less than the
estate, and if the debt cannot be set off by what remains of the estate after
setting apart the four things for the eldest son, the eldest son should give
those four things, or from his own wealth to set off the debt of the deceased.
And if the balance is adequate to clear the debt fully, even then the eldest
son should participate, as an obligatory precaution, to clear the debt as
explained above. For example, if the entire estate of the deceased is US $60,
and the articles given to the eldest son are worth $20, and the deceased has a
debt worth $30, the eldest son will proportionally pay $10 from the four things
he received from the deceased.
2791. A muslim inherits from a non-Muslim, but a non-Muslim does not
inherit from a deceased Muslim, even if he be his father or son.
2792. If a person kills one of his relatives intentionally and
unjustly, he does not inherit from him. But, if it was due to some error, for
example, if he threw a stone in the air and by chance, it hit one of his
relatives and killed him, he inherits from him. Nevertheless, it is a matter of
Ishkal for him to inherit from the diyah (blood money) for the killing.
2793. Whenever it is proposed to divide the inheritance, as a
precaution, the share equal to that of one son, should be set aside for a child
who is in its mother's womb, expected to be a son, and would inherit if he is
born alive (when it is expected that only one child will be born) and the
remaining parts should be divided among the others heirs.
In fact, even if
the children in the womb are expected to be more than one, for example, if the
woman is expected to give birth to twins or triplets, as a precaution, their
shares should be set aside for them. And if, contrary to expectation, one boy or
one girl was born, then other heirs should divide the surplus among themselves.