Bahlool and the Question of Inheritance

A Sunni man, believing in the concept of asaba (male relatives inheriting as residual heirs), decided to mock Bahlool with a tricky question. He asked, “A man died, leaving behind a mother, a daughter, and a wife, but no wealth. According to inheritance laws, how should the estate be distributed among them?”

Bahlool calmly replied, “The daughter gets her share as an orphan, the mother inherits grief and mourning, the wife ends up in ruin, and the rest goes to the asaba.”

His clever response highlighted the imbalance in the man’s logic, while also subtly addressing the absurdity of quibbling over an inheritance when there is nothing to inherit.