Are liabilities incurred by a sick person during their illness chargeable against their estate before inheritance?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Bequests

Book 31 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

Liabilities that a sick person cannot avoid or discharge during their illness, such as compensation (arsh) for injury, compensation for the injury caused by their slave, amounts exchanged at the market price (mithl), and amounts typically overlooked in trade (taghabun), are charged against the principal capital (ras al-mal) of the estate. This view is held by Al-Shafi'i and the companions of Al-Ra'y (the Hanafi jurists). The legal basis for prioritizing these charges over inheritance is the verse of Allah: "After any bequest he might have bequeathed or a debt" (Quran 4:11).