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What is the ruling on waiving a legitimate inheritance due to the heir's feeling of unworthiness, and is it permissible to waive it without a reason, and is the one who waives his inheritance sinful if he has children?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah Almighty Himself undertook the division of inheritance in the Holy Quran, clarifying the share of each heir, so that people would not go astray in estimating inheritance according to what they believe to be more beneficial for them. If the matter were left to human discretion, it would lead to harm and corruption. As for the questioner's statement that she is not entitled to take the inheritance of the deceased because it was his effort and hardship, it is a strange statement, because the deceased has passed away and others will take the money. Renouncing inheritance has specific rulings that differ from other types of donations. Donating money is not forbidden unless it results in the loss of an obligatory right. Therefore, jurists consider it forbidden to give charity if the giver needs it to pay off a debt, or for his own maintenance or the maintenance of those he supports; because obligatory maintenance takes precedence over voluntary charity.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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