Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

1 – There is no reason why you should not take from the money

that your wife has inherited, on condition that that should be with her

consent.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part

of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allaah has

made it lawful).”

[al-Nisa’ 4:4]

Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The phrase “but if they, of their

own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it

without fear of any harm” is addressed to

husbands, and indicates that it is permissible for a woman to give her mahr

as a gift to her husband, whether she was a virgin or previously married.

This is the opinion of the majority of fuqaha’… The scholars are agreed that

if a woman who is in control of her own affairs gives her mahr to her

husband, that is a valid transaction and she cannot take it back.

Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 5/24, 25

In general, if a kaafir

gives something to a Muslim “of his own good pleasure”, there is nothing

wrong with accepting it.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

ate with the Jews. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2424; Muslim, 4060)

The king of Aylah – a land on the seacoast – who was a kaafir,

gave him a gift of a white mule and a cloak. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1411;

Muslim, 1392).

The Negus paid the mahr of Umm Habeebah on his behalf, and he

was a kaafir.

It was narrated from Umm Habeebah that the Messenger of

Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) proposed marriage to

her when she was in the land of Ethiopia. The Negus married her to the

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), giving her on his

behalf her a mahr of four thousand dirhams, and prepared her trousseau, and

he sent her (to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him)) with Shurahbeel ibn Hasanah. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not send anything to her. The mahr of

his wives was four hundred dirhams.

(Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 3350; Abu Dawood, 2086; al-Haakim,

2/181. al-Haakim classed it as saheeh and al-Dhahabi agreed with him).

And there are many other similar incidents.

2 – If she wills her possessions to you, and she was

following her own religion before she died, it is also permissible for you

to take these possessions, because a will is different from inheritance. But

if she did not make a will and died, then it is not permissible for you to

inherit anything from her. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah

be upon him) said: “The Muslim does not inherit from a kaafir and the kaafir

does not inherit from a Muslim.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6383; Muslim,

1614).

Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

It is proven from the

narrations of the trustworthy imaams that the Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “The Muslim does not inherit from the

kaafir.” So everyone who goes against that, this hadeeth is evidence against

him. This is the view of  all the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and fuqaha’ of various

regions such as Maalik, al-Layth, al-Thawri, al-Awzaa’i, Abu Haneefah, al-Shaafa’i

and all the scholars of hadeeth who spoke on matters of fiqh, that a Muslim

should not inherit from a kaafir and a kaafir should not inherit from a

Muslim, following this hadeeth. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Al-Tamheed, 9/164

And Allaah knows best.