Mirath - The Laws of Islamic Inheritance

MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS DEATHS
Multiple simultaneous deaths are when many people die and it is not
known who amongst them died first, e.g. through a car crash, a boating
accident, an earthquake, etc.
In regards to inheritance, if any were relatives of another the question
would rise as to how would their inheritance be calculated. It would be
incorrect to assume any one as dying first and include the other
deceaseds in that estate as it would affect other heirs. It would also be
impossible to assume all of them as alive in each other’s inheritances as
that would mean going in circles in regards to allotments.
This can be seen from an example of a father and son dying together,
and none can tell who died first.
¬dam ___________________________________________________________
Wife Mother Brother Dead Son (Zaid)
Zaid ___________________________________________________________
Mother
Dead Father (¬dam)
If one is counted as dying first, who would that be and how would it be
fair? E.g. If we were to consider Zaid as having died first the estate
would look like this:
Only the mother (person A) inherits from Zaid’s estate,
3
Zaid ___________________________________________________________
the rest goes into Adam’s estate for redistribution
Mother A
1/3
1
Father (¬dam)
Residue
2
83
Grandmother
Grandmother B
Bereft
Wife A Mother B Brother C
1/4
1/3
Residue
3 4 5
Uncle
Uncle C
Bereft
12
¬dam ___________________________________________________________