Sheikh Dr. Faizal Ahmad Manjoo

Laws of Succession & Inheritance in Islam

Islamic law of Inheritance (‘ilm al-Farā’idh), is crucial for ensuring fair and organised distribution of assets after death. Despite its importance, failure to leave a will leads to family disputes and inefficient wealth distribution. The Islamic law of inheritance emphasises justice, solidarity and charity/bequest. This newsletter aims to revive the understanding of ‘ilm al-Farā’idh by enlightening readers on its principles and intricacies. Supported by scholars and professionals globally, this newsletter series will explore the relevance and application of Islamic law of inheritance in the modern world.

Last year, Minarah Academy proudly hosted its highly anticipated Second Annual Estate Planning Forum. The theme for that year was estate planning for family businesses, and it drew attendees from numerous countries. This distinguished forum convened experts from various jurisdictions to delve into the complexities of business succession planning. The speakers illuminated a range of challenges that high-net-worth individuals may encounter, including the improper drafting of wills, offshore investments, multijurisdictional taxation policies, fiqhi considerations, and the essential documentary precautions one should under take. We anticipate publishing a comprehensive booklet based on the presentations.

BY SHEIKH DR FAIZAL AHMAD MANJOO
DIRECTOR OF MINARAH ACADEMY, LAWYER AND ACADEMIC

Human beings are considered the most intelligent creation in the animal kingdom due to an advanced intellectual capability which is used to manage and navigate the world.

A fundamental human aim during life is to amass wealth. After death, surviving family, community, members of society is mandated to administer the deceased’s assets and liabilities, through a variety of approaches that vary according to cultural, religious, moral and ethnic sensibilities.

Devolution of a deceased person’s estate can become a source of contention where concerned parties fight to obtain or secure gain. By adopting an approved approach justice may be realised.

To determine the nature, constituents and context of a just settlement when dissolving an estate, laws of succession and laws of inheritance are essential to satisfactory resolution

Since the Enlightenment, social reformers have been concerned with regulating estate transfer – mortis causa. However, in light of contemporary considerations over the bequest of wealth from generation to generation, the tendency no doubt remains politically uncontroversial. Nevertheless, court cases defy this stance in many countries where differing rationale apply.

Questions arise concerning equitable cross-state resolution especially in a global context where people hold assets across different countries, which are subject to divergent law dictating the dissolution of estates.

To appreciate such variance, engagement with philosophical debates can elucidate the need and rationale for a law of succession and also law of inheritance. This article relates to the relevant philosophy within these branches of law and their raison d’être, despite divergent jurisdictional views. It highlights some of the concepts subject to diverse interpretation and offers a way to develop the law of succession and the law of inheritance.

Other approaches utilised in the law of succession can be observed within agricultural economies such as primogeniture and ultimogeniture.

Here, preference in inheritance is given by law, custom, or usage to the eldest son and his issue, (primogeniture) alternatively to the youngest son (ultimogeniture).

The motivation for such a practice is to keep the deceased’s estate intact, or elements of it. The rationale for such practice prevents the partitioning of land into segments that become too small to sustain farming.

Some cases demonstrate that designation of a sole heir generates territorial expansion by forcing the offspring who are not beneficiaries of the will to fend for themselves, a situation that has arisen at various times among Europeans and the Maori and other Polynesian people.

For over 200 years the regulation of the transfer of estate mortis causa remained a major concern of social reformers. Legal inheritance reformation became an important topic in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for thinkers and politicians. This includes Montesquieu, Rousseau, Mirabeau, Thomas Jefferson, Alexis de Tocqueville, Blackstone, Hegel, Fichte, and John Stuart Mill.

These men agreed on the importance of inheritance law for the transformation of the social and family order, based on principles of individuality, social justice, democracy, and equality before the law. In fact, reform of inheritance law was perceived as a key instrument of social reform, undoing feudal regimes of the past and realizing the bourgeois order.

Two quotes of the centrality of inheritance law reform are exemplified here: Alexis de Tocqueville considered the questions of inheritance as vital to a society’s development – when “once the legislator has regulated the law of inheritance, he may rest from his labour”

The argument in favour of the right to bequest wealth is motivated by an interesting methodological claim, namely, that the morality of a bequest ought to be evaluated from the perspective of the donor, and not evaluated in ways that invoke the effects of bequest on the distribution of wealth.

Arguably, this donor-centric approach ultimately tends to favour restricting the right of bequest.

A bequest generally carries a lower opportunity cost than other uses of property.

Accordingly, inheritance tax is less coercive than other taxes, and a bequest is less obviously as generous an act as gift giving.

Counterarguments contend that one works hard to build an estate, therefore, it is a proprietary right to gift it to whoever one wishes. Hence, the law of bequest appears restrictive in some countries while generous in others.

There are three fields of inheritance law reform of crucial importance to liberal reformers enacted since the late eighteenth century: changes in statutory law; the abolition of entail (law leading to primogeniture as discussed above), and the introduction of progressive estate taxation.

These steps arguably brought legal changes and support the recognition and value of equality, meritocracy and social justice.

Hence, these reforms drive debates pertaining to the laws of succession and inheritance. Obviously these two interconnected branches of legal disciplines facilitate equilibrium to such philosophical debate. Without these legal elements it would be difficult to stabilise the transfer of an estate from one generation to another.

Consequently, the Laws of Succession and Inheritance introduce components of consistency in a given legal system based on what is considered to be “just” for that jurisdiction, thereby, enhancing certainty.

These facets can be based on religious attitude, political ethos, economic demands and so forth.

For some countries the rule remains immutable while in others change is observed.

A set of procedures to decide who inherits and how to transfer an estate to heirs are required globally. This is fulfilled by the law of succession and law of inheritance.

These issues are often dictated by public international law and private international law coupled with taxation agreements between jurisdictions.

In Islam, the law of inheritance and succession is governed by the Qu’ran: click and discover the ayah.

Every Muslim is obliged to prepare for the administration of his or her estate, as prescribed by Divine Law.

In this section you will find in each edition a fatwa allowing you to appreciate the practical application of the law of inheritance regarding the thematic of the edition. Click here to read the fatwa.

Minarah Academy is your portal to an enriching online learning experience, offering courses and seminars on Islamic ethics, family law, finance, jurisprudence, and entrepreneurship. Our expert-led modules provide practical insights grounded in ethical principles, helping you achieve your personal and professional goals. Let Minarah Academy guide you on a path of growth, with integrity at its core.

• Annual Estate Planning Forum #3 – 2025 (venue & date tbc)
• Seminar on clauses to consider Nikkah contract – 2025 (venue & date tbc)
• Conference on Microfinance Senegal – July 2025 (venue & date tbc)
• Morning coffee session 5 – March 2025 (venue & date tbc)

The law of succession regulates how a person’s estate is administered following his/her death. This area of law embraces tax paying mechanisms and payment to creditors.

It determines entitlement to inherit from the deceased’s estate and encompasses regulation detailing how estate is to be transferred to heirs or legatees.

Matters tend to become more intricate when multijurisdictional issues are involved. The probate officers or Masters of the High Court might not concur on some points, particularly where taxation policies conflict.

The law of inheritance is more focused on the distribution of the estate to the rightful heirs or legatees once the law of succession has addressed procedural aspects.

Inheritance implies anything received from the estate of a deceased person, whether via laws of descent or as beneficiaries of a will or trust. Some academics consider succession as synonymous to inheritance – this debate falls outside the ambit of this article.

Historically, different societies and civilisations have adopted dissimilar approaches to deal with a deceased’s estate. Some are based on myth, others on religious ethos, or are influenced by political or tribal affiliation. Determination of heirs is often problematic as particular cultures, laws or religions adopt different approaches.

Usual to most modern societies are parliamentary acts which address this issue. Such approaches appear premised on what people of a particular era and country understand with regard to morality, justice and natural law. Examples of variance can be seen within the case of the Pharoahs, whose wealth were buried with them in their tombs

W John Stuart Mill, considered inheritance law as the most critical area of law, equal in significance only via contract law and the status of workers.

While social relationships in traditional societies are symbolised by affectivity, collectivism, orientation, particularism, diffuseness, and ascription; contrasting relationships in modern societies are typified mainly by affective-neutrality, self-orientation, universalism, specificity, and achievement.

Ascription allocates social status based on attributes ascribed to a person at birth.

Certain rights, obligations, roles, or privileges are conferred based on the social position of his or her parents or based on gender, age, ethnicity, or nationality. Achievement, by contrast, means that the distribution of wealth and social status is based on the actual contribution or performance of the individual.

From this perspective, there is a philosophical debate regarding the bequest of wealth from generation to generation.

It can be argued that inherited property comes to the heir “effortlessly,” via the death of another person. Consequently, the institution of inheritance runs counter to the justification of unequal distribution of wealth based on individual merit and achievement and perpetuates social privilege.

From an alternate viewpoint, such an approach violates the principle of equality of opportunity, which asserts that the starting conditions should be as equal as possible for all, so that differences in wealth can reflect the actual accomplishments of individuals. It questions how “unearned” acquisition of wealth is justified within a social order that legitimizes social inequalities as products of the different contributions its members make through personal achievement.

This article was written by Sheikh Dr Faizal Ahmad Manjoo. Dr Faizal Ahmad Manjoo is the Director of Minarah Consulting, and Minarah Academy.

He is a lawyer, an academic and a Doctor of Islamic Finance, and has been working with leading industry players for the past 15 years. As a practitioner, he has developed a strong expertise in the field of inheritance and family law.

Minarah Academy in collaboration with Al Maktoum College of Higher Education are excited to announce the launch of a range of innovative postgraduate accredited Scottish Qualification Authority diploma programs.

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• Muslim Family Law
• Pastoral Care and Muslim Chaplaincy
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