excerpt from Sheikh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani's book "Ahkam o Masail – In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah":
If a person murders his father in order to seize his property, does he become entitled to inherit from his father’s estate according to Islamic law? While distributing the inheritance of the deceased father, will this murderous son be given a share or not?
Islamic law strongly condemns murder and bloodshed in the harshest of terms. While describing the noble traits of faith and virtuous character, Allah the Exalted states:
﴿وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ﴾
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right.”
[al-An‘ām: 151]
The term “by right” includes cases such as:
However, the scenario described in the question does not fall under these legitimate exceptions.
Islam has decisively ruled that:
❝The killer does not inherit from the one he killed.❞
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
القاتل لا يرث
“The killer does not inherit.”
Therefore, the son who killed his father is disqualified from receiving any share in the inheritance of his murdered father. According to Islamic law, a murderer cannot become an heir of the person he has unlawfully killed.
❖ Question:
If a person murders his father in order to seize his property, does he become entitled to inherit from his father’s estate according to Islamic law? While distributing the inheritance of the deceased father, will this murderous son be given a share or not?
❖ Answer:
Islamic law strongly condemns murder and bloodshed in the harshest of terms. While describing the noble traits of faith and virtuous character, Allah the Exalted states:
﴿وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ الَّتِي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ﴾
“And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right.”
[al-An‘ām: 151]The term “by right” includes cases such as:
- Executing the killer in retribution (qiṣāṣ) for murder,
- Stoning to death (rajm) a married person guilty of adultery,
- Executing an apostate (one who leaves Islam).
These are carried out by the authority of an Islamic ruler and fall within the legitimate bounds of Islamic justice.
However, the scenario described in the question does not fall under these legitimate exceptions.
Islam has decisively ruled that:
❝The killer does not inherit from the one he killed.❞
Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:القاتل لا يرث
“The killer does not inherit.”
Reference: Jami‘ al-Tirmidhī, Book of Inheritance, Chapter: Invalidation of the Inheritance of the Killer, Ḥadīth 2109
Reference: Sunan Ibn Mājah, Book of Blood Money, Chapter: The Killer Does Not Inherit, Ḥadīth 2645, 2735
❖ Verdict:
Therefore, the son who killed his father is disqualified from receiving any share in the inheritance of his murdered father. According to Islamic law, a murderer cannot become an heir of the person he has unlawfully killed.
