A Child Inherits Only If He Cries After Birth
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
❖ Principle
A child will be considered an heir only if he cries (shows signs of life) after birth.
❖ Evidences
① Narration of Abū Hurayrah (RA):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إذا استهل المولود ورث
“If the child cries, he will inherit.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 1707; Abū Dāwūd: 2920, Kitāb al-Farā’iḍ: Bāb fī al-Mawlūd Yastahill Thumma Yamūt; Bayhaqī: 6/257]
② Narration of Jābir bin ʿAbdullāh (RA) and Miswar bin Makhramah (RA):
قضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرث الصبي حتى يستهل
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the verdict that the child will not inherit until he cries.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2222, Kitāb al-Farā’iḍ: Bāb Idhā Istahalla al-Mawlūd Waritha; al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 153; Irwā’ al-Ghalīl: 1707; Ibn Mājah: 2751; Bayhaqī: 6/241]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
- Ibn ʿAbbās (RA), Jābir bin ʿAbdullāh (RA), Qāḍī Shurayḥ, Imām Nakhaʿī, Imām Mālik, and the scholars of Madinah (رحمهم الله) all held the opinion that:
A child will not inherit until he cries after birth.
[Ibn Abī Shaybah: 6/288, Kitāb al-Farā’iḍ: Bāb fī al-Istihlāl alladhī Yūrathu Bihi Mā Huwa]
