Untraceable heirs of the deceased
Question:-
What will be the Shari’ee ruling in regards to the inheritance of an heir/s that cannot be traced? How does the executor dispose of his share? Can the funds be given to the deceased person’s family members?
Answer:-
If a person passes away and the relatives of the deceased are unknown and untraceable, then the deceased person’s funds will be given to the Muslim treasury, or an Islamic institution in the absence of the Muslim treasury, who would then distribute the funds amongst the poor and needy. This wealth falls in the category of destroyed wealth.
وما لا مستحق له اي ومال ميت لا مستحق له لا بالارث ولا بالوصية ولا بغيرهما من اسباب الاستحقاق يوضع في بيت المال لا علٰي طريق الارث بل علٰي انه مال ضائع علٰي ما اشار اليه باشتراطه عدم الاستحقاق (التوضيح في شرح التصحيح ص78
Yes, it can be distributed amongst the deceased’s family members as well. However, adhering to a particular method of distributing the funds (as adopted in the laws of distributing inheritance) is not necessary.
جس میت کا ورثاء ذوی الفروض ، عصبات ، ذوی الارحام نہ ہوں ، اور بیت المال بھی نہ ہو تو اسکا میراث کس کو دیا جائیگا؟
الجواب :- جب بیت المال نہ ہو تو دیگر اقارب کو دینا جائز ہے – فتاوی فرندیہ ص۶۰۸ ج۱ / شامی ص۷۸۸ ج۶