The midwife's testimony and the duration of pregnancy in inheritance
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Hello.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
Or does it depend on whether she gave birth to a child who lived and then died? Does it depend on her state, or must there be an examination?
The Shaykh:
The woman is accepted in this example; because this is something women are aware of, and it is hidden from men, so it is a confidential matter where the midwife and the mother are accepted; because this is something only they know.
The questioner:
The children of the recent ultrasound.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
In the recent examination regarding determining the type of the newborn or...
The Shaykh:
What is relied upon, much of it may be incorrect, yes.
Another questioner:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The questioner:
In some traditions, it is not given life.
The Shaykh:
That is, the meaning is that the one who... for example, today, if the deceased died leaving behind his pregnant wife, today nothing is inherited, if the deceased left a daughter and no son, nothing is inherited, nothing is considered, until the pregnancy is distinguished. Yes. Yes. So there is a difference of opinion here; the correct view is that it is not determined. Some Hanbalis say four years, some say five years. The correct view is that there is no limit due to the lack of evidence, and the relied-upon view is one-third of the pregnancy, and the presence of evidence indicating the existence of the pregnancy, even if it exceeds four years. This is the correct view, due to the lack of evidence for a specific limit.
The questioner:
So what if she gives birth one year after the death of the deceased? What if she gives birth before that?
The Shaykh:
Perfect.
Another questioner:
It is said that it must be since the death of the deceased.
The Shaykh:
It must be that if she gives birth within the period of the deceased's gestation, which is six months, it is established. As for after six months, there is a distinction. If she had a husband, it is possible that the pregnancy came after the death of the deceased, from a brother on the mother's side, from his mother, or from the father's pregnant wife while her father is present. If she gives birth after six months, we do not consider the existence [of the fetus as belonging to the deceased], as she may have become pregnant with a new fetus after the death.
Hello.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
Or does it depend on whether she gave birth to a child who lived and then died? Does it depend on her state, or must there be an examination?
The Shaykh:
The woman is accepted in this example; because this is something women are aware of, and it is hidden from men, so it is a confidential matter where the midwife and the mother are accepted; because this is something only they know.
The questioner:
The children of the recent ultrasound.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
In the recent examination regarding determining the type of the newborn or...
The Shaykh:
What is relied upon, much of it may be incorrect, yes.
Another questioner:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The questioner:
In some traditions, it is not given life.
The Shaykh:
That is, the meaning is that the one who... for example, today, if the deceased died leaving behind his pregnant wife, today nothing is inherited, if the deceased left a daughter and no son, nothing is inherited, nothing is considered, until the pregnancy is distinguished. Yes. Yes. So there is a difference of opinion here; the correct view is that it is not determined. Some Hanbalis say four years, some say five years. The correct view is that there is no limit due to the lack of evidence, and the relied-upon view is one-third of the pregnancy, and the presence of evidence indicating the existence of the pregnancy, even if it exceeds four years. This is the correct view, due to the lack of evidence for a specific limit.
The questioner:
So what if she gives birth one year after the death of the deceased? What if she gives birth before that?
The Shaykh:
Perfect.
Another questioner:
It is said that it must be since the death of the deceased.
The Shaykh:
It must be that if she gives birth within the period of the deceased's gestation, which is six months, it is established. As for after six months, there is a distinction. If she had a husband, it is possible that the pregnancy came after the death of the deceased, from a brother on the mother's side, from his mother, or from the father's pregnant wife while her father is present. If she gives birth after six months, we do not consider the existence [of the fetus as belonging to the deceased], as she may have become pregnant with a new fetus after the death.
Source
شرح الفوائد الجلية في المباحث الفرضية، تابع لباب ميراث الخنثى المشكل والحمل والمفقود - باب الرد وبيان من يستحقه — islamhouse.com (24:16)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.