16
Chapter on the Inheritance of Those Who Drown and Similar Cases
When it is certain that the two parties who stand to inherit from one another died at the same moment, no inheritance is exchanged between them. The same applies when the order of death is unknown3—or was once known but later forgotten—and the heirs of each claim that the other died first, yet no proof exists, or the available proofs contradict one another and the parties are left to affirm their claims by oath.
If, however, neither set of heirs alleges that the other died first, each deceased person is deemed to have inherited from the other; whatever either of them thus takes is then apportioned among his or her surviving heirs.
(3) The more accurate wording would be: “Likewise if it is unknown whether one of the two urinations came first.” An even better and more concise formulation is: “Likewise if the precedence is unknown, or it was once known but later forgotten.” Hashiyat al-Lubdi, p. 284.
باب ميراث الغرقى نحوهم
إذا علم موت المتوارثين معا فلا إرث وكذا إن جهل الأسبق٣ أو علم ثم نسي وادعى ورثة كل سبق الآخر ولا بينة أو تعارضتا وتحالفا.
وإن لم يدع ورثة كل سبق الآخر ورث كل ميت صاحبه ثم يقسم ما ورثه على الأحياء من ورثته.
٣ الصواب أن يقول: "وكذا لو جهل السبق بأن يعلم هل سبق لأحدهما أولا" والأحسن في العبارة من أصلها أن يقال: "وكذا إن جهل السبق أو علم ثم نسي" فهذا أخصر وأوضح. حاشية اللبدي "ص: ٢٨٤".