´It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin Mawhab said:` “I heard Tamim Ad- Dari say: ‘I said: O Messenger of Allah, what is the Sunnah concerning a man from among the People of the Book who becomes a Muslim at the hands of another man?’ He said: ‘He is the closest of all people to him in life and in death.’”
Hadith Referenceسنن ابن ماجه / كتاب الفرائض / 2752
Hadith Gradingالألبانی:حسن صحيح | زبیر علی زئی:حسن
1؎ : The apparent meaning of the hadith indicates that if a new Muslim has no heirs, then the person who guided him to Islam is entitled to his inheritance.
Explanation & Benefits
Maulana Ataullah Sajid
Benefits and Issues:
➊ This is also a form of wala’ (loyalty) that a non-Muslim accepts Islam at the hands of a Muslim. The other relatives of this new Muslim, being non-Muslim, cannot be his heirs; therefore, the one who brought him to Islam will be his heir.
➋ If the new Muslim has other Muslim heirs, then they will inherit his estate. However, if those heirs are entitled to fixed shares (ashab al-furud) and he has no Muslim agnatic (asaba) relatives, then the one who brought him to Islam will become his agnatic heir and inherit from him. And Allah knows best.
Source: Commentary on Sunan Ibn Mājah by Mawlānā ‘Atā’ullāh Sājid, Page: 2752