Some persons, who didn’t follow the Jafari Fiqh, put the Sheik’s knowledge to test. They put a question and the Sheik felt that, perhaps, while giving them the reply, he himself might not be able to elucidate his reply.
Before we deal with the query of the group, it must be clarified that there are certain norms in our Fiqh that when a man expires, and he doesn’t have his own off-springs, the first in the order of inheritance will be the parents; if the parents are not living the inheritance would go to the grand parents (paternal and maternal) and to the siblings. Even if these relations aren’t alive, the inheritance will go to paternal and maternal aunts and uncles. But for Muslims of other sects, the rule of inheritance is different. For them, if the deceased didn’t have living parents and off springs, the inheritance will be shared by the grand parents, siblings, aunts and uncles.
One person from such a sect of Muslims came to Sheik Mufeed and posed the question that while a person was on his death bed, another person in sound health visited him and said, “Your time for departure is nigh! You must make a will and testament.” The man replied, “What will could I make that in my inheritance, your two sisters would get a share. Your two spouses, two maternal aunts, two paternal aunts, your paternal and maternal grand mothers would get a share of my assets!”
Now the person asked Sheik Mufeed, “Please elucidate to me on what basis the grand mothers and other kin were eligible for a share in the inheritance? What relationship the deceased had with these relatives of the person who came asking him to make his will?”
The Sheik instantaneously gave his reply. At this point we remember all those instances when the Infallibles (a.s) were posed with such questions and they gave the reply while one foot was in one stirrup of their steed and the other hadn’t reached the second stirrup while mounting the horse! Amir al Momineen (a.s) used to reply such questions while tarrying for a moment on his journeys.
The Sheik too came with an immediate reply, “Listen! The assets would have been allotted in the following manner. The sick person would have married the maternal and paternal grand mothers of the person who had asked him to make his will. From his first spouse he would have had two daughters and two from the other spouse. Then he must have married the mother of the person as well. From this spouse too he had two daughters.”
While the Sheik is giving his reply, it is difficult for us to comprehend the solution expounded by him. The Sheik continued, “The solution to the problem posed by you is that the deceased had married the maternal and paternal grand mothers of the person and both gave birth to two daughters each. The person who called on the sick person had married his maternal and paternal grand mothers and the patient’s father had married the visitor’s mother and had two daughters from this marriage. Therefore the patient’s saying is correct that when he expired, his inheritance would go to the visitor’s two wives, two sisters, two maternal aunts, two paternal aunts and his paternal and maternal grand mothers. How this disposition of his assets would come about?
The patient said, “When I expire, my maternal and paternal grand mothers have a share in my assets. Both these women are your wives. Thus your two wives would get a share of my property. My father had married your widowed mother and two daughters were born of the wedlock. They are my sisters and they have a share in the inheritance left by me. But they are your sisters as well, because they are your mother’s daughters. Your maternal grand mother too would get a share of my property because I had married her and the spouse of a deceased has a right over a share of his estate.
Your paternal grand mother too will get a share from my assets because she is my wedded wife. From your maternal grand mother I had two daughters, they are your aunts and they too have a share in my assets. Your maternal grand mother’s one daughter is your own mother and the other two are your step aunts and my daughters. I married your widowed paternal grand mother and had two daughters from this marriage. They are my daughters but your step paternal aunts.
Your paternal grand mother has one son from her first husband, your grand father, and my two daughters are his sisters. So these sisters of his would get a share of my inheritance. Therefore his sisters, his maternal grand mother, his paternal grand mother would get the share of the assets.
But what did he say? He said that the share of the inheritance will not be received by his relatives and that it would go to your two wives who are his maternal and paternal grand mothers!”
The person who posed the question agreed that Sheik Mufeed had rightly resolved their query. They said that this query was posed to hundreds of scholars, but they weren’t able to resolve it. They were also astonished that the Sheik had given them the reply in such a short time. This is the superiority of the followers of Ali (a.s) and the people of the Baab e Madinat al Ilm!
Shi‘ite Authorities in the Age of Major Occultation Part 1: Sheikh Mufid