The final part of Tashil al-Faraidh covers people whose status is uncertain at the time of distribution: non-heir relatives (dzawil arham), a person of uncertain sex (khuntsa), a missing person (mafqud), a fetus in the womb (haml), and victims of a mass disaster. The general principle is one: caution — hold back shares until the status is clear, and don’t disadvantage anyone.
Dzawil arham
Dzawil arham = relatives who are neither ashabul furudh nor ‘ashabah: a grandchild through a daughter, a sister’s children, the mother’s father (maternal grandfather), a maternal uncle, aunts on either side, a niece, and so on.
They only inherit if the deceased has absolutely no nasab ashabul furudh or ‘ashabah. (Note: if there is only a husband/wife, the residue after the spouse’s share falls to the dzawil arham — the spouse does not receive radd, chapter 07.)
The method of division followed by the Hanbali madhhab and affirmed by Ibn Uthaymin is tanzil: each dzawil arham relative takes the position of their intermediary link to the deceased — a sister’s daughter takes the position of the sister; a paternal aunt (father’s sister) takes the position of the father; a maternal grandfather takes the position of the mother — and the estate is then divided as if those intermediaries were the ones inheriting.
Example: the deceased leaves a full sister’s daughter and a maternal half-brother’s son. Bring it down to the intermediaries: full sister (1/2) and maternal half-brother (1/6) → radd (no spouse) → ratio 3:1 → the sister’s daughter gets 3/4, the maternal half-brother’s son gets 1/4.
Khuntsa musykil
Khuntsa = a person whose sex is not clear. If there is a determining sign (the manner of urination, or a sign that appears later at puberty), they are ruled according to that sign and calculated normally. What becomes a special chapter is the khuntsa musykil — a case that truly cannot be determined.
The calculation method taught by the matn: work out two scenarios (that the person is male; that the person is female), then:
- The khuntsa is given the smaller of the two scenario shares (whichever is certainly their right).
- Other heirs are also given their smaller share from the two scenarios.
- The difference is held back until the status becomes clear, or until there is a settlement (shulh) among the heirs.
This is a direct application of the caution principle: no one receives more than what is certainly their right.
Mafqud (a missing person)
The problem runs two ways:
- Mafqud as the deceased (muwarrits) — their estate may not be divided until a judge rules on their death. How long to wait is left to the judge’s discretion (ijtihad), based on the circumstances of the disappearance (more likely survival or more likely death) — this is the opinion Ibn Uthaymin affirms, without fixing a specific number of years as a hard rule.
- Mafqud as an heir — another person’s estate to which they are entitled has their share withheld: the other heirs receive their smaller share (comparing the scenario where the mafqud is alive against the one where they are already dead), and the rest is held in reserve. If they turn out to be alive, they take their share; if ruled dead before the deceased, the withheld share is returned to those entitled to it.
Haml (a fetus in the womb)
A fetus inherits under two conditions: it already existed (was conceived) when the deceased died, and it is born alive. In practice, the distribution is postponed if the heirs are willing to wait; if they ask for it right away, the largest share among the fetus’s possible scenarios is withheld (generally calculated as two male children, since that scenario draws the most) and the other heirs are given their smaller share — a correction is made after the birth.
Victims of a simultaneous disaster (gharqa & hadma)
People who would inherit from each other but die in the same disaster (drowning, being buried, an accident, a fire) without it being known who died first: they do not inherit from each other. Each person’s estate is distributed directly to their heirs who are still alive, because the condition that “the heir is alive when the deceased dies” (chapter 02) cannot be established. If the order of death is known, the one who died later inherits from the one who died earlier as usual (and this can trigger munasakhat — case study 12).
flowchart TB
classDef proses fill:#713f12,stroke:#ca8a04,color:#fef9c3
classDef aman fill:#134e4a,stroke:#14b8a6,color:#ccfbf1
classDef bahaya fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fee2e2
A["Heir status uncertain?"]:::proses --> B["Khuntsa:<br/>2 scenarios, give the smaller,<br/>hold back the difference"]:::aman
A --> C["Mafqud:<br/>withhold their share,<br/>wait for the judge's ruling"]:::aman
A --> D["Fetus:<br/>postpone / withhold largest scenario,<br/>correct after birth"]:::aman
A --> E["Died together, order unknown:<br/>do NOT inherit from each other"]:::bahaya
Common thread of this chapter
All the special cases are resolved with two tools you already have: (1) the standard calculation procedure of chapter 06 run per scenario, and (2) the principle of withholding whatever is in doubt. There is no new formula — only the discipline of working through the scenarios.
Sources: Tashil al-Faraidh, chapters on dzawil arham, al-khuntsa, al-mafqud, al-haml, al-gharqa wal-hadma (Shamela 11095); ash-Sharh al-Mumti’, chapter on Faraidh. Full list in 15-references.