What to do if a person has no heirs?
Question
If a person who lives alone passes away who has no known relatives, what happens to his wealth and belongings?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If a person passes away and he has no known relatives, all efforts should be made to locate any and all potential heirs.
If the deceased has no heirs, then his wealth belongs to the Baytul Maal, in the absence of which, it will be distributed amongst the poor and needy.[1]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hasan Ahmed Razzak
Student – Darul Iftaa
Paterson, New Jersey, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
2021-01-25
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
[1]
الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) (4/ 284)
وَفِي الْحَاوِي: غَرِيبٌ مَاتَ فِي بَيْتِ إنْسَانٍ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ وَارِثَهُ فَتِرْكَتُهُ كَلُقَطَةٍ، مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ كَثِيرًا فَلِبَيْتِ الْمَالِ بَعْدَ الْفَحْصِ عَنْ وَرَثَتِهِ سِنِينَ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْهُمْ فَلَهُ لَوْ مُصْرَفًا
الاختيار لتعليل المختار (3/ 34)
غَرِيبٌ مَاتَ فِي دَارِ رَجُلٍ لَيْسَ لَهُ وَارِثٌ مَعْرُوفٌ وَخَلَّفَ مَالًا وَصَاحِبُ الْمَنْزِلِ فَقِيرٌ فَلَهُ الِانْتِفَاعُ بِهِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ اللُّقَطَةِ
الجوهرة النيرة على مختصر القدوري (1/ 350)
غَرِيبٌ مَاتَ فِي دَارِ رَجُلٍ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ وَارِثٌ مَعْرُوفٌ وَخَلَّفَ شَيْئًا يَسِيرًا يُسَاوِي خَمْسَةَ دَرَاهِمَ وَنَحْوَهَا وَصَاحِبُ الدَّارِ فَقِيرٌ فَلَهُ أَنْ يَأْخُذَهَا لِنَفْسِهِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ فِي مَعْنَى اللُّقَطَةِ وَاَللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ
فتاوی دار العلوم زکریا ج-6 ص-93
بصورت مسئلہ اسکا حکم لقطہ کی طرح ہے اگر خود فقیر ہے تو وہ خود استعمال کر کے ورنہ فقراء میں تقسیم کرے
- Answered by
- Hasan Ahmed Razzak
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah (AskImam). It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.