Succession---Classes of heirs---Determination---Principles. The Muslims in the matter of inheritance, are governed strictly in accordance with law of Shariah and the rights of heirs ...........

 PLD 2005 SC 511

Succession---Classes of heirs---Determination---Principles. The Muslims in the matter of inheritance, are governed strictly in accordance with law of Shariah and the rights of heirs of a deceased in his property, are certainly determined in order of the succession according to which the heirs connected with the deceased by the tie of blood, are divided into three classes namely, sharers, residuaries and distant kindred and the rule of proximity is that a nearer blood relation would inherit in preference to remote and if the claimants are equal in degree, the method of determining their right would be on the basis of line of relation. The collaterals in the order of succession, inherit after sharers and residuaries therefore, there can be no departure from the rule of law of inheritance in Islam that in presence of sharers and residuaries, the estate of a Muhammadan would not devolve upon the collaterals, except in a case in which the only surviving sharer is husband or wife and in such a case after allotting the share of spouse, the remaining would go to collaterals. However, according to some of the Muslim Jurists , if intestate dies leaving no other, legal heir, except a wife or a husband, entire would go to her/him as the case may be, whereas other say that it would go to State. The right of a missing legal heir or one who, for the time being, is not traceable, would not be destroyed, unless a presumption of his being dead is raised under the law but no such presumption can be raised regarding the non-existence of any other legal heir of the deceased except the claimant at the time of opening of his succession without proper adjudication and decision of the matter on the basis of legal evidence. A person who displaces a natural succession to the property by claiming that except him, there was no other legal heir of deceased, must discharge the burden which lies upon him to prove, firstly that he was connected with the deceased in a manner in which he would have inherited his property along with or to the exclusion of others and secondly, that at the time of opening of his succession, there was no other legal heir of the deceased in existence to have preferential right of inheritance in his property