This is also because the Prophet ﷺ said, “A maternal aunt holds the status of a mother,” (1) and he said, “The maternal uncle is the heir of one who has no heir.” (2) This is an explicit text.

The view that they do not inherit is weak. Glory be to Allah! Would we deprive the maternal uncle or the maternal grandfather of his relative’s estate, then place it in the public treasury for the most distant people to consume?! Such a ruling could never be brought by the Sacred Law. The unquestionably correct view is that distant kindred do inherit, but only when there is no fixed-share heir or residuary heir. Thus we say: distant kindred are every relative who is neither a fixed-share heir nor a residuary heir.

But how do they inherit? The scholars differed concerning the manner of their inheritance. Some held that the nearest relative inherits without qualification: the nearest relative, from whichever line of kinship, inherits, because Allah says: “Those related by blood are nearer to one another.” The nearer relative is more entitled than the more distant one. Thus, if there is a maternal uncle and a cousin through one’s maternal aunt, the estate belongs to the maternal uncle, because he is nearer.

“They inherit by representation, with males and females equal: the children of daughters, the children of sons’ daughters, and the children of sisters take the place of their mothers.”

Other scholars held that they inherit by representation; that is, they take the place of those through whom they are connected to the deceased. This is the view adopted by the author, may Allah have mercy on him. He said:

“They inherit by representation,” meaning: place them in the position of those through whom they are connected. Thus, the maternal grandfather is connected through the mother, so he receives the mother’s share; the son of a sister is connected through the sister, so he receives the inheritance of