who had been emancipated, but his emancipator and the latter’s agnatic relatives had died out: the Muslims inherit from him, rather than his mother’s patrons. If the deceased had no established paternal lineage—having been born of fornication or having had his paternity disavowed through sworn imprecation—or if his forefathers were unbelievers or slaves, his patronage belongs to his mother’s patrons, provided she had been emancipated. If his mother was free without having been emancipated, his patronage belongs to the patrons of his maternal grandmothers. If she had no established paternal lineage—having been born of fornication or having had her paternity disavowed through sworn imprecation—or if her father was a slave or an unbeliever, his patronage belongs to the patrons of his maternal grandmother, his mother’s mother. The matter proceeds in this order.
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In all the cases mentioned—whether involving a man’s own patrons, his son’s patrons, or his mother’s patrons—patronage provides a basis for inheritance but is not itself inherited. This means that the inheritance belongs to the person most closely related to the emancipator on the day the freed person whose estate is being inherited dies, not to whoever inherited from the emancipating patron.
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It passes to the agnatic relatives in order of proximity, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Patronage belongs to the nearest agnate.”
He means those agnatic relatives closest to the emancipating patron, in order of proximity. Success comes from Allah alone.
Section
The person with the strongest claim to inherit from an emancipated man who has no heirs or agnatic relatives is the patron who emancipated him. If that patron is no longer alive, then his sons inherit, followed by his sons’ sons, however far down the line, the nearer taking precedence over the more distant. If he has no sons or sons’ sons, or if he had them but their lines have died out, then his father inherits, followed by his father’s sons, who are his brothers. If they are all full brothers or all paternal half-brothers, the inheritance is shared among them. If some are full brothers and others paternal half-brothers, the full brother is closer in kinship and has the stronger claim to inherit. If he has no brothers, then his brothers’ sons inherit. If some are sons of his full brothers and others sons of his paternal half-brothers, the son of a full brother is closer in kinship