QUESTION: Amongst the provisions concerning inheritance
it hath been laid down that, should the deceased
leave no offspring, their share of the estate is to revert to
the House of Justice. In the event of other categories of
heirs, such as the father, mother, brother, sister and
teacher being similarly absent, do their shares of the
inheritance also revert to the House of Justice, or are they
dealt with in some other fashion?
ANSWER: The sacred verse sufficeth. He saith,
exalted be His Word: "Should the deceased leave
no offspring, their share shall revert to the House
of Justice" etc. and "Should the deceased leave
offspring, but none of the other categories of heirs
that have been specified in the Book, they shall
receive two thirds of the inheritance and the
remaining third shall revert to the House of
Justice" etc. In other words, where there are no
offspring, their allotted portion of the inheritance
reverteth to the House of Justice; and where there
are offspring but the other categories of heirs are
lacking, two thirds of the inheritance pass to the
offspring, the remaining third reverting to the
House of Justice. This ruling hath both general
and specific application, which is to say that
whenever any category of this latter class of heirs is
absent, two thirds of their inheritance pass to the
offspring and the remaining third to the House of
Justice.
(Baha'u'llah: Aqdas: Questions and Answers, Pages: 107-108)The question appears to be asking what should be done if there are not only no offspring, but no heirs either. But if that is so, Baha'u'llah wouldn't have provided an answer, as He does not address this situation. He addresses what is to be done if there are no offspring and what is to be done if there are offspring but none of the other categories of heirs. He doesn't mention what to do if both are lacking. Can someone tell me how Baha'u'llah actually answered the question asked? The wording of Zayn'ul-Muqarrabin's question seems to be asking what should be done if both are lacking, but maybe he was simply unclear, and Baha'u'llah, in His Omniscience, knew what He meant.
Regards,
David
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