The estate of a freed slave woman who has no heirs
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Fatwa number ( 19787 )
Q: One of them asks about a woman who was a slave (a female slave), and when the order was given to free the slaves, she was freed, married, and her husband died without her bearing any children from him. She then returned to the house of one of her uncles (her former master) and continued to serve in it until she grew old and advanced in age, and became in need of care. Her uncles continued to serve and care for her until she passed away, leaving behind a sum of money estimated at about five thousand riyals, from the zakah and other funds that used to come to her. The question—Your Eminence: What should be done with this money she left behind, how should it be distributed, and to whom does it belong? With detail, may Allah reward you and protect you.
A: If this freed slave woman has heirs, then her estate is distributed among her heirs, and they are more entitled to it than anyone else. If she has no heirs, and the one who freed her was her master, then the wealth she left behind after her death is inherited by the one who freed her, then by his 'asabah (residuary male heirs) after him, starting with the closest, such as the sons of the one who freed her and the sons of his sons, and if
they descend, and the father of the one who freed her and his grandfather, however high up the line, and his brothers from both parents, then from the father, and their sons, however far down the line... and so on; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 6752 agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and based on what al-Tirmidhi narrated in (al-Jami') from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Bulugh al-Maram 15:12 meaning: it proceeds in the same manner as blood kinship in inheritance through it. However, if the freeing of this slave woman was carried out by the state, then everything she left behind is handed over to the public treasury through the court; because the public treasury is the destination for all wealth that has no owner, and because it is the one that freed her, and it is not permissible for her former masters to take it; because the act of freeing did not come from them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: One of them asks about a woman who was a slave (a female slave), and when the order was given to free the slaves, she was freed, married, and her husband died without her bearing any children from him. She then returned to the house of one of her uncles (her former master) and continued to serve in it until she grew old and advanced in age, and became in need of care. Her uncles continued to serve and care for her until she passed away, leaving behind a sum of money estimated at about five thousand riyals, from the zakah and other funds that used to come to her. The question—Your Eminence: What should be done with this money she left behind, how should it be distributed, and to whom does it belong? With detail, may Allah reward you and protect you.
A: If this freed slave woman has heirs, then her estate is distributed among her heirs, and they are more entitled to it than anyone else. If she has no heirs, and the one who freed her was her master, then the wealth she left behind after her death is inherited by the one who freed her, then by his 'asabah (residuary male heirs) after him, starting with the closest, such as the sons of the one who freed her and the sons of his sons, and if
they descend, and the father of the one who freed her and his grandfather, however high up the line, and his brothers from both parents, then from the father, and their sons, however far down the line... and so on; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The Wala' is for the manumitted (of the slave).
إنما الولاء لمن أعتقThe Wala’ (of a manumitted slave) is considered as one’s lineage
الولاء لحمة كلحمة النسب
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.