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The question

What is the ruling on relinquishing an inheritance to the deceased husband's family instead of claiming it, and does that absolve the husband of his outstanding debt? And what is the husband's standing before Allah if his brothers do not settle their share of his debt?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The debt of the deceased must be settled before distributing their inheritance. The heirs who benefit from the estate without settling the debt are in a difficult position. If the questioner has not received her share of the inheritance, she is not obligated to do anything towards her husband's creditors. The brothers of the deceased husband withholding her share of the inheritance is a clear injustice and oppression, because Allah the Almighty Himself took charge of the division of inheritances, and it is impermissible for anyone to prevent an heir from receiving their right. Allah the Almighty said: "These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits – He will admit him to a Fire, abiding eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment." The deferred dowry is included among the debts related to the husband's financial responsibility, so it must be paid from the inheritance before its distribution. There is no blame on the wife for demanding her deferred dowry and her share of her husband's estate.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
114744
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy