Non-inheritance of Illegitimate Child from Legal Parents under-criticism

In confrontation with the standpoint of positivist school of thought who believe in “the perpetrator”, there are two spectrums of Islamic teachings: a) human beings enjoy a pure nature and he is responsible for the purposeful and intentional behavior he reflects, and b) bliss and adversity lie in human’s nature and according to some rulings, an individual is deprived of some rights and advantages. The teachings of the second spectrum are in line with the positivist point of view. One of the challenging instances of religious status a person may face with is the birth from the illegitimate intercourse. The majority of jurisprudents believe that a “bastard” is deprived of some social rights such as the issue of inheritance from his/her parents. Thus, such a person does not inherit from his parents and vice versa. This paper has studied the rule of a bastard’s inheritance by analyzing and criticizing different proposed proofs using a descriptive-analytical method and a problem-solving perspective. It is conclude that none of the available documentations of the customary injunctions given by scholars does not clearly prove that a bastard cannot inherit his/her parents, but the majority of Qur’anic verses, transmitted traditions and rational indications have clearly stated that such a person can inherit his parents. However, whether parents, namely father, can inherit their bastard offspring or not is strongly under question.