Chapter

If a person dies and his estate has not yet been divided when some of his heirs also die, then, if they inherit him in the same manner as the first—for example, siblings—divide it among those who remain. …

The author devoted this chapter to successive-death inheritance cases. And what can make you understand what such cases are? They are the most difficult area of inheritance law. Shaykh Mansūr al-Buhūtī—may Allah have mercy on him—said in his commentary on al-Iqnāʿ: “It is among the most difficult subjects in the law of prescribed shares.” How excellent an aid in dealing with it is al-Shubbāk by Ibn al-Hāʾib—may Allah have mercy on him.

His statement, “If a person dies and his estate has not yet been divided when some of his heirs also die”: the interval may be long or short. They may die in an accident, with only an hour—or even less—between one person’s death and the next. Thus, when some of the heirs die before the estate is divided, who inherits them? Is it those who were present with them, or others? The author says:

“Then, if they inherit him in the same manner as the first, for example, siblings,” meaning: they inherit the second deceased just as they inherited the first.

His statement, “divide it among those who remain”: an example is where he has ten brothers. The first dies, so divide it among the nine. The second dies, so divide it among the eight. The third dies, so divide it among the seven. The fourth dies, so divide it among the six. The fifth dies, so divide it among the five. Thus, if the heirs of the second deceased are the remaining heirs of the first, without any difference, divide it among those who remain.

If someone asks: Why is this called a successive-death inheritance case when the case requires no calculation? We reply: because the second case superseded the first. Instead of saying that the case is based on ten, we say that it is based on five. This is called abbreviation before calculation.