Is an unborn child's inheritance immediately distributed?
Chapter on Distant Kindred (Dhawu al-Arham)
Al-Mughni
Book of Inheritance Shares (Farā'id)
Primary text
The distribution of the inheritance of a deceased person who left behind an unborn child must be halted until the child's condition is clarified. The heirs are not given the entire estate without exception, except for a view attributed to Dawud (though the sound opinion from him aligns with the majority). The estate must be distributed such that the portion given to the immediate heirs does not prejudice the maximum potential inheritance of the fetus. Therefore, what is given to those who would not have their full inheritance diminished by the fetus is the maximum amount it could inherit, and what is given to those whose share is diminished is the minimum they could inherit. Nothing is given to those whose share would be completely negated by the birth of the child.
Supporting text
The majority of scholars state that a portion of the estate must be withheld (*waqf*) for the fetus, and the remainder given to the partners. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifa and his companions, Al-Layth, Shurayk, and Yahya ibn Adam, and it is one narration from Al-Shafi'i. The more famous position from Al-Shafi'i is that nothing is given to the co-heirs because the extent of the fetus's inheritance is unknown and has no defined limit.