What is the ruling regarding maintenance (Nafaqah) liability for a relative who is legally excluded (Mahjub) from inheritance by another poorer relative?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)
Primary text
If a person has two wealthy relatives, one of whom is excluded from inheritance by a poorer relative, and the excluded relative is from the primary lineage pillars (father or grandfather), maintenance obligation for the excluded relative remains. If the excluded relative is not from the primary lineage pillars, maintenance liability is removed from them. Applying this to a case with both parents and a grandfather where the father is indigent (mu'sir), the father is treated as non-existent. Thus, one-third of the maintenance falls upon the mother, and the remainder upon the grandfather. If a wife is also present, the ruling is similar regarding the mother and grandfather. The evidence for the foundation of maintenance liability resting on the primary heirs is implicit in how the exclusion affects financial obligations, mirroring patterns seen in inheritance when the primary source is absent or incapacitated.
Supporting text
If the ruling is that the excluded relative bears no maintenance obligation, then the mother is only responsible for one-fourth of the maintenance, and the grandfather has no responsibility. Furthermore, if both parents and brothers and a grandfather are present, and the father is indigent, the brothers bear no maintenance liability because they are excluded and not from the primary lineage pillars; the mother pays one-third, and the rest falls upon the grandfather, similar to the case with only the mother and grandfather present. An alternative view suggests the mother only owes one-sixth, as this would be her share if the father were considered entirely non-existent in inheritance.