Is it permissible for a Muslim woman to inherit from her half-brother, who is a non-Muslim and who died without children, parents, or siblings, especially since there are other full and half-sisters, and considering that the court has ruled to distribute the inheritance equally among the five sisters, and her refusal of her share might negatively affect the living assistance she receives?
If the full sister is from the father's side (paternal half-sister), she does not inherit because the full sisters (sisters from both parents) exhaust the two-thirds share. However, if the sister is from the mother's side (maternal half-sister), she inherits one-sixth alongside the full sisters. Here, the ruling on a Muslim inheriting from a non-Muslim comes into play. The majority of scholars prohibit a Muslim from inheriting from a non-Muslim, based on the hadith: "A Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, nor does a non-Muslim inherit from a Muslim." Another group, whose opinion was favored by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, held that it is permissible for a Muslim to inherit from a non-belligerent non-Muslim. They reasoned that the Prophet (peace be upon him) treated hypocrites as Muslims in matters of inheritance, and because allowing a Muslim to inherit from a non-Muslim encourages the non-Muslim towards Islam. Therefore, the maternal half-sister can inherit one-sixth from her non-Muslim brother.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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