Do heirs continue previously sworn oaths if the deceased died after commencing them?
Chapter on Qasamah (Oaths regarding murder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
If the deceased commenced taking the oaths but died before completing them, their heirs must initiate a new set of oaths; they do not continue from where the deceased left off. This is because the total required number of oaths (implied fifty, derived from context) functions as a single oath, and one person cannot legally acquire a right based on the oath of another.
Supporting text
This rule differs from the case where the deceased completed all the oaths before dying, because in that instance, the heir inherits the right to the property directly, not through their own oath. Furthermore, if two heirs jointly swear the required number of oaths, the blood money (diyah) becomes due through their combined oaths, as each benefits proportionally to their own oath, even though the totality of the count is a prerequisite for the right to be established.