What is the ruling on the inheritance of a brother who does not pray, does not acknowledge the existence of God, sometimes prays hypocritically to obtain inheritance, and threatens harm if he is deprived of it?
If the brother denies the existence of Allah and does not repent, he does not inherit, based on the Prophet's saying: "A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does a disbeliever inherit from a Muslim." His claim of returning to the religion is not accepted unless he utters the two testimonies (Shahadatayn) and repents.
If he embraces Islam before the inheritance is divided, he inherits according to the Hanbalis and some Malikis, as an encouragement for him to embrace Islam. However, if the inheritance has already been divided, he gets nothing.
The brothers must encourage their brother to embrace Islam gently. If he articulates the Shahadatayn and establishes prayer, they should not reject that, as judgment is based on outward appearances.
If he insists on denying the existence of Allah, he has no inheritance. If he prevails over them in taking the inheritance, there is no blame upon them. If they despair of his embracing Islam, they should refer the matter to the competent authorities to resolve the dispute.
It is worth noting that the Hanafis, Malikis, and Shafi'is prevent an apostate from inheriting, even if he embraces Islam after the death of the deceased.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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