The Possible Impact of the Wilsnach V M [2021] 1 All SA 600 (GP) Judgment on the Right of an Absent Muslim Parent to Inherit in Terms of an Islamic Will
The Possible Impact of the Wilsnach V M [2021] 1 All SA 600 (GP) Judgment on the Right of an Absent Muslim Parent to Inherit in Terms of an Islamic Will
Author: Abduroaf Muneer
ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: BA (Shariah) LLB, LLM, LLD, Associate Professor in Law, Faculty of Law, Department of Private Law, University of the Western Cape (UWC)
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 10 Issue 2, p. 204 – 214
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v10/i2a7
Abstract
The Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria handed down a judgment in Wilsnach v M [2021] 1 All SA 600 (GP) (Wilsnach) during 2020, where it held that a biological father could not inherit “in the capacity of a parent” due to absence, in terms of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987 on the basis he inter alia lost his rights and obligations in terms of s 18 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (hereafter absent parent). This article analyses the potential impact that the Wilsnach judgment could have on the right of a Muslim father to inherit in terms of an Islamic will in the event where he too has lost his rights and obligations in terms of s 18 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.1 An overview of the Wilsnach judgment is analysed by way of introduction. The right of a Muslim parent to inherit from their child in terms of “Islamic law” is then explored. The possible impact that the Wilsnach judgment could have on the right of a father to inherit in terms of the “Islamic will” is then investigated. The article concludes with an overall analysis of the findings and makes a recommendation as to how Islamic law consequences can be accommodated.