A young man who is nineteen years old and possesses the physical characteristics of a male
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The questioner : A young man who is nineteen years old and possesses the physical characteristics of a male, but in his behavior, speech, and clothing, he imitates women, in addition to his aversion to sitting with men and his love of talking and sitting with women as if he were a female like them. Does he inherit as a male or a female? Please issue a ruling, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. If this person is one whose inheritance does not differ based on being male or female, there is no problem with his case, such as if he is a maternal brother of the deceased, because maternal brothers are not distinguished between males and females in inheritance, as the male and the female are equal, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:12] However, if this person is one whose inheritance differs based on being male or female, such as full brothers or paternal brothers, then if he has only the physical signs of maleness, as is apparent from the question, he inherits the inheritance of a male. Even if his character leans toward women, and so do his actions, this man is obligated to adorn himself with the adornments of men. It is not permissible for him to wear women's clothing, such as gold or garments specific to them, and the like. Because our position regarding such matters is to judge by the physical signs that appear to us. Accordingly, this person's ruling is the ruling of men. This is not the case of the ambiguous hermaphrodite, for the ambiguous hermaphrodite has apparent physical signs of both sexes, such as having a female orifice and a male organ. Their rulings are known among the scholars, and this is not the place to elaborate on them.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener, Ashur Awad, asks and says.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. If this person is one whose inheritance does not differ based on being male or female, there is no problem with his case, such as if he is a maternal brother of the deceased, because maternal brothers are not distinguished between males and females in inheritance, as the male and the female are equal, as Allah the Exalted said:
And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third
وَإِنْ كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِنْ كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فِي الثُّلُثِThe questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener, Ashur Awad, asks and says.