The Kitab-i-Aqdas Part 19

...even though a Baha'i is permitted in his will to dispose of his wealth in the way he wishes, yet he is morally and conscientiously bound to always bear in mind, while writing his will, the necessity of his upholding the principle of Baha'u'llah regarding the social function of wealth, and the consequent necessity of avoiding its over-acc.u.mulation and concentration in a few individuals or groups of individuals.

This verse of the Aqdas introduces a lengthy pa.s.sage in which Baha'u'llah elaborates the Baha'i law of inheritance. In reading this pa.s.sage one should bear in mind that the law is formulated with the presumption that the deceased is a man; its provisions apply, mutatis mutandis, when the deceased is a woman.

The system of inheritance which provides for distribution of the deceased's estate among seven categories of heirs (children, spouse, father, mother, brothers, sisters, and teachers) is based on the provisions set out by the Bab in the Bayan. The major features of the Baha'i laws of inheritance in the case of intestacy are:

1. If the deceased is a father and his estate includes a personal residence, such residence pa.s.ses to the eldest son (Q and A 34).

2. If the deceased has no male descendants, two thirds of the residence pa.s.s to his female descendants and the remaining third pa.s.ses to the House of Justice (Q and A 41, 72). See note 42 concerning the levels of the inst.i.tution of the House of Justice to which this law applies. (See also note 44.)

3. The remainder of the estate is divided among the seven categories of heirs. For details of the number of shares to be received by each group, see Questions and Answers, number 5, and Synopsis and Codification, section IV.C.3.a.

4. In case there is more than one heir in any category the share allotted to that cla.s.s should be divided between them equally, be they male or female.

5. In cases where there is no issue, the share of the children reverts to the House of Justice (Q and A 7, 41).

6. Should one leave offspring, but either part or all of the other categories of heirs be non-existent, two thirds of their shares revert to the offspring and one third to the House of Justice (Q and A 7).

7. Should none of the specified categories exist, two thirds of the estate revert to the nephews and nieces of the deceased. If these do not exist, the same shares revert to the aunts and uncles; lacking these, to their sons and daughters. In any case the remaining third reverts to the House of Justice.

8. Should one leave none of the aforementioned heirs, the entire estate reverts to the House of Justice.

9. Baha'u'llah states that non-Baha'is have no right to inherit from their Baha'i parents or relatives (Q and A 34). Shoghi Effendi in a letter written on his behalf indicates that this restriction applies "only to such cases when a Baha'i dies without leaving a will and when, therefore, his property will have to be divided in accordance with the rules set forth in the Aqdas. Otherwise, a Baha'i is free to bequeath his property to any person, irrespective of religion, provided however he leaves a will, specifying his wishes." It is always possible, therefore, for a Baha'i to provide for his or her non-Baha'i partner, children or relatives by leaving a will.

Additional details of the laws of inheritance are summarized in the Synopsis and Codification, section IV.C.3.a.-o.

39. to the brothers, five parts ... to the sisters, four parts #20

Questions and Answers amplifies the provisions of the law as it relates to the shares of the inheritance allocated to the brothers and sisters of the deceased. If the brother or sister is from the same father as the deceased, he or she will inherit his or her full allotted share. If, however, the brother or sister is from another father he or she will inherit only two thirds of the allotted share, the remaining one third reverting to the House of Justice (Q and A 6). Further, in the case where the deceased has full brothers or full sisters among his heirs, half-brothers and half-sisters from the mother's side do not inherit (Q and A 53). The half-brothers and half-sisters will, of course, be due to receive inheritance from their own father's estate.

40. the teachers #20

In a Tablet, 'Abdu'l-Baha compares teachers who are involved with the spiritual education of the child to the "spiritual father" who "endoweth his child with everlasting life". He explains that this is the reason that "teachers are listed among the heirs" in the "Law of G.o.d".

Baha'u'llah specifies the conditions under which the teacher inherits and the share he or she receives (Q and A 33).

41. When We heard the clamour of the children as yet unborn, We doubled their share and decreased those of the rest. #20

In the Bab's laws of inheritance the children of the deceased were allotted nine parts consisting of 540 shares. This allocation const.i.tuted less than a quarter of the whole estate. Baha'u'llah doubled their portion to 1,080 shares and reduced those allotted to the other six categories of heirs. He also outlines the precise intention of this verse and its implications for the distribution of the inheritance (Q and A 5).

42. the House of Justice #21

In referring to the House of Justice in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah does not always explicitly distinguish between the Universal House of Justice and the Local House of Justice, both of which inst.i.tutions are ordained in that Book. He usually refers simply to "the House of Justice", leaving open for later clarification the level or levels of the whole inst.i.tution to which each law would apply.

In a Tablet enumerating the revenues of the local treasury, 'Abdu'l-Baha includes those inheritances for which there are no heirs, thus indicating that the House of Justice referred to in these pa.s.sages of the Aqdas relating to inheritance is the local one.

43. Should the deceased leave offspring, but none of the other categories of heirs #22

Baha'u'llah clarifies that "This ruling hath both general and specific application, which is to say that whenever any category of this latter cla.s.s of heirs is absent, two thirds of their inheritance pa.s.s to the offspring and the remaining third to the House of Justice" (Q and A 7).

44. We have a.s.signed the residence and personal clothing of the deceased to the male, not female, offspring, nor to the other heirs. #25

In a Tablet, 'Abdu'l-Baha indicates that the residence and personal clothing of a deceased man remain in the male line. They pa.s.s to the eldest son and in the absence of the eldest son, they pa.s.s to the second-eldest son, and so on. He explains that this provision is an expression of the law of primogeniture, which has invariably been upheld by the Law of G.o.d. In a Tablet to a follower of the Faith in Persia He wrote: "In all the Divine Dispensations the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright." With the distinctions given to the eldest son, however, go concomitant duties. For example, he has the moral responsibility, for the sake of G.o.d, to care for his mother and also to consider the needs of the other heirs.

Baha'u'llah clarifies various aspects of this part of the law of inheritance. He specifies that if there be more than one residence, the princ.i.p.al and most important one pa.s.ses to the male offspring. The remaining residences will, together with the other possessions of the deceased, have to be divided among the heirs (Q and A 34), and He indicates that in the absence of male offspring, two thirds of the princ.i.p.al residence and the personal clothing of the deceased father will revert to the female issue and one third to the House of Justice (Q and A 72). Further, when the deceased is a woman, Baha'u'llah states that all her used clothing is to be equally divided amongst her daughters. Her unworn clothing, jewels and property must be divided among her heirs, as well as her used clothing if she leaves no daughter (Q and A 37).

45. Should the son of the deceased have pa.s.sed away in the days of his father and have left children, they will inherit their father's share #26

This aspect of the law applies only in the case of the son who predeceases his father or mother. If the daughter of the deceased be dead and leave issue, her share will have to be divided according to the seven categories specified in the Most Holy Book (Q and A 54).

46. If the deceased should leave children who are under age, their share of the inheritance must be entrusted to a reliable individual #27

The word "amin", translated in this paragraph as "reliable individual" and "trustee", conveys in Arabic a wide range of meanings connected princ.i.p.ally with the idea of trustworthiness, but signifying also such qualities as reliability, loyalty, faithfulness, uprightness, honesty, and so forth. Used in legal parlance "amin" denotes, among other things, a trustee, guarantor, custodian, guardian, and keeper.