Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (11/317)

between him and his father to be five years. Thus, the claimant’s statement must be plausibly true; if this is not possible, then his statement is disregarded.

His statement, “his lineage and inheritance are established”: once these conditions are fulfilled, his lineage and right of inheritance are established.

His statement, “If one of his two sons acknowledges a brother like himself, then he is entitled to one third of what is in his possession”: that is, what is in the possession of the one making the acknowledgment. This applies if the other son denies it. For example, there are two brothers, Zayd and Amr. Zayd acknowledges that Khalid is his brother, but Amr denies it. How, then, is the inheritance to be divided? We say: you must give the person whom you have acknowledged one third of what is in your possession, because you now acknowledge that there are three heirs, and you are one of them.

His statement, “If he acknowledges a sister, she is entitled to one fifth of it”: that is, if he acknowledges a sister—who is the daughter of his father—then she is entitled to one fifth of it. This is because he acknowledges that he, Amr, and their sister Fatimah are the heirs. Divide the estate among them into five shares: Zayd receives two fifths, Amr two fifths, and the sister one fifth. We say: give her one fifth of what is in your possession, because you have acknowledged her.

However, if the lineage of the person acknowledged is established by two witnesses, then the inheritance is established in full from the outset.

A similar case, which occurs frequently, is when one of the heirs says: “The deceased said that he bequeathed one third of his estate for the construction of mosques.” The other heirs do not believe him and say: “Never; if our father had made a will, he would have written it down. We do not accept your word.” Is he then required to give out one third of what is in his possession? Yes, he is required to do so, because he has now acknowledged that his father bequeathed one third of his wealth. He must therefore spend one third of what is in his possession in the manner he reported from his father.

بين هذا وأبيه خمس سنوات، فلا بد من إمكان صدق المُقرِّ فإن لم يمكن فقوله ملغى. قوله: «ثبت نسبه وإرثه»، فإذا تمت هذه الشروط ثبت نسبه وإرثه. قوله: «وإن أقر أحد ابنيه بأخٍ مثله فله ثلث ما بيده»، أي: بيد المُقِر، وهذا إذا أنكر الآخر، يعني لدينا أخوان زيد وعَمْرو، أقر زيد بخالد أنه أخوه، ولكن عَمْراً أنكر، فكيف يكون الميراث؟ نقول: يجب عليك أن تعطي هذا الذي أقررت به ثلث ما بيدك؛ لأنك الآن تقر بأن الورثة ثلاثة، أنت أحدهم. قوله: «وإن أقر بأخت فلها خمسُهُ»، أي: أقر بأخت فهي بنت أبيه فلها خمسه؛ لأنه أقر أنه هو وعَمْراً أختهما فاطمة، اقسم التركة عليهم من خمسة، لزيد خمسان ولعمرو خمسان، وللأخت خمس، نقول: خمس ما بيدك أعطها إياه؛ لأنك أقررت. لكن لو ثبت نسب هذا المقر به بشاهدين، فإن الميراث يثبت من الأصل. ونظير هذا مسألة تقع كثيراً، يقول أحد الورثة: قد قال الميت: إنه أوصى بثلثه في عمارة المساجد، والورثة لم يصدقوا هذا القائل، قالوا: أبداً أبونا لو كان عنده وصية لكتبها ولا نقبل كلامك، فهل يلزمه أن يخرج ثلث ما بيده؟ نعم يلزمه؛ لأنه أقر الآن أن ثلث مال أبيه قد أوصى به أبوه، فيلزمه أن يصرف ثلث ما بيده على حسب ما كان يقوله عن أبيه.