Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Yahya)

It is narrated from Hazrat Rabee’ah bin Abi Abdur Rahman and many scholars that all those who were killed in the Battle of Jamal(1), the Battle of Siffin(2), the Day of Harrah(3), and those who were killed on the Day of Qadeed(4), they did not inherit from one another, except for the person whose condition became known that he was killed before his heir(5) (then they inherited from one another).

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is the ruling; if several people drown, or die by falling from a building, or are killed, and it is not known who died first and who died later, then they will not inherit from one another. Rather, the estate of each will go to his heirs who are alive.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that no one will inherit from another based on doubt, but rather inheritance will be established through knowledge and certainty. For example, if a person dies and his father's freed slave (mawla) dies, and now his sons say: "Our father was the heir of this mawla," this cannot be accepted until it is proven with knowledge, certainty, or witnesses that the mawla died first. Until then, the living heirs of the mawla will receive his estate.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that similarly, if two real brothers die, one has children and the other is childless, and they both have a stepbrother, and it is not known which brother died first, then the inheritance of the brother who died childless will go to his stepbrother, not to his nephews.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that similarly, if a paternal aunt and a nephew die together, or a nephew and an uncle die together, and it is not known who died first, then in the first case, the uncle will not inherit from his nephew, and in the second case, the nephew will not inherit from his paternal aunt.