How is the deceased's estate divided if the heir admits a debt sufficient to cover the entire inheritance to one claimant, and subsequently admits an identical debt to a second claimant in a separate session?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judicial Rulings
Primary text
When the deceased leaves an heir and an estate, and the heir admits a debt to one person that exhausts the inheritance, he has admitted that this debt attaches to the entire estate and entitles the claimant to the whole estate. If he subsequently admits another debt to a second person, the ruling depends on the setting. If the second admission occurs in the same legal session as the first, the admission is valid, and both claimants share the estate, as the entire session is considered a single instance. If the second admission occurs in a different session, the heir's admission is not accepted because he is admitting a right against another party, which necessitates sharing the estate with the first claimant and diminishing his right therein. An admission made by a person against another is not accepted. The difference between the heir and the deceased himself is that the deceased's admission of debt during his lifetime does not prevent other debts from attaching to his assets subsequently, whereas the heir cannot attach another debt to the estate by his own action or statement, nor can he dispose of the estate unless he commits to settling the existing debt.
Supporting text
Al-Shafi'i holds that the heir's admission is accepted in both instances, and they share the estate because the heir stands in the place of the deceased. If the deceased had admitted the debt to both, it would have been accepted. Furthermore, preventing the heir from admitting debts leads to nullifying the rights of creditors if they do not all attend a single session. The ruling that accepts the first admission implies acceptance of the second, provided the heir's status has not changed, unlike the deceased.