Does a slave inherit property upon the death of another person?
Chapter on Distant Kindred (Dhawu al-Arham)
Al-Mughni
Book of Inheritance Shares (Farā'id)
Primary text
A slave does not inherit. This is the position held by 'Ali, Zayd, Al-Thawri, Malik, Al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and the Companions of *Ra'y* (the Hanafi school). The basis for this ruling is that the slave possesses an inherent defect that prevents him from being an inheritor, similar to an apostate. Additionally, a slave possesses no property that can be inherited because he does not legally own anything; any ownership he seems to possess is incomplete and passes to his master upon the loss of his servitude. This is evidenced by the Hadith stating: "Whoever sells a slave who possesses property, that property belongs to the seller, unless the buyer stipulates it." Moreover, the master has the exclusive right to the slave's earnings and benefits during his life, and this right extends after the slave's death.
Supporting text
An exception is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud: if a man dies leaving behind a father who is a slave, and that slave father is purchased with the deceased's wealth and subsequently manumitted, he then inherits. This view was supported by Al-Hasan and reported from Tawus, who said the slave inherits, but what he inherits belongs to his master, analogous to his earnings or property bequeathed to him via a will. The counter-argument to this exceptional view from Ibn Mas'ud is that the father was a slave at the time of his son's death and therefore did not inherit from him, just like any other relative, because inheritance vested in his masters upon death and could not transfer elsewhere.