IRCI Article ID: IRCI-AR-0000000816

Digital Inheritance in Comparative Law: Islamic Jurisprudence, Digital Assets, and Post-Mortem Rights

Authors:

Omar Arab Arab, Omar Bilal Marai Hassan Hassan Hassan, Bilal Marai Hassan Asmaa Khalaf Khalaf, Asmaa Nour Hamad Hamad, Nour

Journal: Nusantara: Journal of Law Studies

Publication: 2026-09-14 · Vol. 5 No. 2 · pp. 1507–1538

DOI: 10.66325/nusantaralaw.v5i2.423

Cite this article

Citation

Choose a citation style or copy BibTeX for your reference manager.

Style

View Original Publication

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has created new forms of property, personal information, and economic interests, raising significant legal uncertainty concerning their treatment after the death of their holders. This study examines whether existing inheritance rules can adequately accommodate digital assets and reconcile succession rights with privacy, contractual restrictions, intellectual property, and data-protection requirements. It addresses the legal distinction between digital inheritance and digital assets, identifies which digital interests may form part of a deceased person's estate, and evaluates the approaches adopted by Islamic jurisprudence and selected Arab and foreign legal systems. The study employs a qualitative doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, drawing on legislation, judicial and regulatory materials, legal literature, and classical and contemporary Islamic jurisprudential sources. The analysis classifies digital assets according to their economic, proprietary, intellectual, personal, and mixed characteristics and examines their inheritability, transferability, post-mortem access, and associated legal restrictions. The findings demonstrate that digital assets cannot be treated as a homogeneous legal category and that inheritability depends primarily on the legal character, value, transferability, and personal dimensions of the underlying digital interest. The comparative analysis further reveals substantial regulatory fragmentation, particularly concerning post-mortem access, privacy, contractual restrictions, and cross-border succession. The study contributes to legal scholarship by proposing an asset-specific and rights-sensitive framework for digital inheritance that integrates succession law, property, contract, intellectual property, privacy, comparative law, and Islamic jurisprudence.

0
IRCI Cited By

61
Indexed References

Authors

Omar Arab

Affiliation: University of Al Maarif

Arab, Omar

Affiliation: University of Al Maarif

Bilal Marai Hassan Hassan

Affiliation: University of Al Maarif

Hassan, Bilal Marai Hassan

Affiliation: University of Al Maarif

Asmaa Khalaf

Affiliation: College of Law, University of Al Maarif, Anbar, Iraq

Khalaf, Asmaa

Nour Hamad

Affiliation: College of Law, University of Al Maarif, Anbar, Iraq

Hamad, Nour

References

Abd al-Ghaffar, Jihan Sabri Mohamed. ‘“Technological Inheritance: A Comparative Jurisprudential Study.”’ Journal of Jurisprudential and Legal Research (Damanhur), 2022.

Abd al-Ghani, Marwa Mohamed. ‘“Ownership of Crypto-Assets.”’ Journal of Legal Research, 2024.

Abdel-Nabi, Ahmed El-Tohami, Talal Salim Alrasbi, and Mohamed Ibrahim Bendari. ‘Digital Inheritance from the Perspective of Omani Law and Islamic Jurisprudence’. Journal of Cultural Analysis and Social Change, 25 November 2025, 1136–1143. https://doi.org/10.64753/jcasc.v10i2.1745.

Abdo, Ahmed Abdullah Khalil. ‘“Accounting for Digital Assets as One of the Modern Concepts of Digital Transformation: An Applied and Field Guide from the Contemporary Business Environment.”’ Sect. 2. Scientific Journal of Financial and Commercial Studies and Research 3, no. 2 (July 2022). https://doi.org/10.21608/cfdj.2022.229926.

Al-Hassan, Mayada bint Mohammed. . ‘. “Bequest of Digital Estate.”’ Lebanese Journal of Islamic Sciences (Lebanon), 2024.

Al-Khatib, Mohammad Irfan. ‘“The Impact of the Digital Environment on Foundational Concepts in Civil Law: The Digital Extension of Human Personality as an Example; Digital Life and Death: An Examination of the Current and Expected Jordanian Legislative Position in Light of French and European Legislation.”’ Jordanian Journal of Law and Political Science, 2022.

Al-Khuza’i, Safaa Mutab, and Haider Hussein Al-Shammari. ‘“Digital Inheritance: A Comparative Legal Study in Islamic Jurisprudence.”’ Journal of Legal Sciences, 2019, 79-80. مقالة علمية.

Al-Kilani, smail Anas. ‘Digital Accounts and Assets between Inheritance and Termination.’ Master’s thesis, College of Law, Qatar University, 2022.

Al-Luhaibi, Huwayda bint Bakheet. ‘“Digital Inheritance in Islamic Jurisprudence.”’ Journal of the University of the Holy Qur’an and Islamic Sciences, 2022.

Al-Mutairi, Anwar Rifaa. ‘“Intellectual Property in the Digital Age.”’ Benha Journal of Human Sciences, 2023.

Al-Saadi, H. ‘Penalty Clauses in Electronic Service Contracts: Judicial Control and Liability Limits.’ Arab Law Quarterly, 2023.

Al-Saeed, Malek. ‘“The Necessity of Enacting a Law on Digital Inheritance in Egypt.”’ Al-Wathiqa Newspaper, 28 November 2024.

Al-Shammari, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Harmas. ‘“National and International Efforts to Combat Financial and Administrative Corruption: An Analytical Study in Light of the Saudi System and International Conventions,”’. Humanities and Educational Sciences Journal, no. 45 (March 2025): 507–557. https://doi.org/10.55074/hesj.vi45.1343.

Anjum, Rehana, Arun Barkat, and Asif Ali Jatoi. ‘(PDF) Succession of Digital Assets Under Islamic Inheritance Law: A Fiqh-Grounded Framework for Crypto, Cloud Accounts, and NFTs’. ResearchGate, ahead of print, 5 August 2026. https://doi.org/10.63056/academia.5.3.2026.1628.

Attiya, Ru’a Ali. ‘“Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Virtual Assets: An Analytical Study from a Shariah and Legal Perspective.”’ Researcher Journal for Legal Sciences (Iraq) 6, no. 2 (2025): 55–63. https://doi.org/10.37940/JRLS.2025.6.2.4.

Azam, Muhammad, Naji Mohammad Alwreikat, Burhan Alsyouf, Abdel Salam Atwa Ali Al Fandi, and Rawdah Abdul Karim Mohammad Pharaon. ‘Contemporary Trade Governance and Cross-Border Data Flows: A Comparative Study of Sharīʿah Principles and International Legal Frameworks’. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review 5, no. 1 (May 2026): 686–721. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v5i1.13387.

Balil, Khalid Fouad Mohamed. ‘“Digital Estates between Inheritance and Prohibition in Islamic Sharia.”’ Scientific Journal of the Faculty of Arts, 2022.

Banta, Natalie. Death and Privacy in the Digital Age. 94, no. 3 (2016). https://scholar.valpo.edu/law_fac_pubs/454.

Barling, Sebastian J., Simon Toms, Joseph A. Kamyar, Eva Legler, Wilf Odgers, Olivia Merrett, and Cyrus Yazdanpanah. ‘UK and EU H1 Digital Assets Regulatory Update | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP’. 3 July 2025. https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2025/07/uk-and-eu-h1-digital-assets-regulatory-update.

Barwick, Elizabeth D. All Blogs Go to Heaven: Preserving Valuable Digital Assets Without the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act’s Removal of Third Party Privacy Protections. 50, no. 2 (2016).

Brunner, S. D. ‘“Access to Digital Assets—Florida’s New Law for Fiduciaries: What Are Digital Assets and Why Are They Relevant?”’ Florida Bar Journal, 2016.

Chowdhury, Joydeep. ‘Digital Legacy: Redefining Estate Law in the Age of Social Media and Virtual Assets’. Legal Research & Analysis 3, no. 1 (March 2025): 51–56. https://doi.org/10.69971/lra.3.1.2025.57.

Cinque, Maddalena. La successione nel ‘patrimonio digitale’: prime considerazioni. 2012. https://research.unipd.it/handle/11577/2526944.

Cruz, Edwin. The Digital Inheritance of Mobile Apps: Where’s the App for That? 2016. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njtip/vol14/iss1/5.

Delle Monache, Stefano. Successione mortis causa e patrimonio digitale. 2020. https://www.research.unipd.it/handle/11577/3351013.

GOV.UK. ‘Property (Digital Assets Etc.) Bill’. 13 May 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/property-digital-assets-etc-bill.

Gurinovich, Alexander G., Marina A. Lapina, Gennady P. Tolstopyatenko, and Pavel A. Patrikeev. ‘About Approaches to the Definition of Concept and Problems of Legal Regulation of Digital Financial Assets’. Public Organization Review 22, no. 4 (December 2022): 1005–1024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-021-00549-x.

Harbinja, Edina. ‘Digital Inheritance in the United Kingdom’. Journal of European Consumer and Market Law 6, no. 6 (December 2017). https://kluwerlawonline.com/api/Product/CitationPDFURL?file=JournalsEuCMLEuCML2017055.pdf.

———. ‘Inheritance of Digital Media’. In Partners for Preservation : Advancing Digital Preservation through Cross-Community Collaboration, edited by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth. Facet Publishing, 2019. https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/id/eprint/14124/.

Harding, Isabella Rose M. ‘Governance, Transparency, and Financial Regulation in the Global Digital Economy’. Journal of Nusantara Economy 4, no. 2 (December 2025): 112–134. https://doi.org/10.66325/nusantaraeconomy.v4i2.368.

Haroun, Orwan. ‘“Legal Challenges of Digital Inheritance: A Comparative Jurisprudential and Legislative Study.”’ Paper presented at In Legal Challenges in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the Eighth Scientific Conference of the College of Law. 2024.

HM Treasury. ‘Future Financial Services Regulatory Regime for Cryptoassets (Regulated Activities) - Policy Note (Accessible)’. GOV.UK, 16 December 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-regime-for-cryptoassets-regulated-activities-draft-si-and-policy-note/future-financial-services-regulatory-regime-for-cryptoassets-regulated-activities-policy-note-accessible.

Internal Revenue Service. ‘Digital Assets’. 2025. https://www.irs.gov/filing/digital-assets.

Juárez, Antón. ‘=Mortis Causa Succession of Digital Assets in Light of European Private International Law’. 2025. https://e-revistas.uc3m.es/plugins/generic/pdfJsViewer/pdf.js/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fe-revistas.uc3m.es%2Findex.php%2FCDT%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F9869%2F7395%2F&utm_source=chatgpt.com.

Juhász, Ágnes. ‘Inheriting Digital Assets – A Glimpse Into the Future’. Juridical Tribune - Review of Comparative and International Law 14, no. 4 (December 2024): 547–563. https://doi.org/10.62768/TBJ/2024/14/4/02.

Kaiser, Tim, Annamaria Lusardi, Lukas Menkhoff, and Carly J. Urban. Financial Education Affects Financial Knowledge and Downstream Behaviors. No. W27057. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3386/w27057.

Kolk, Kristen-Alex. ‘Digital Inheritance in the European Union.’ Bachelor’s thesis, Programme HAJB, Specialisation in European Union Law, 2020.

Legislative Decree No. 101/2018, Art. 2-Terdecies.

Leheza, Yevhen. ‘Reforming the Legal Framework of Ukraine’s Economic System: Challenges, Governance, and Regulatory Transformation’. Journal of Nusantara Economy 5, no. 1 (June 2026): 56–71. https://doi.org/10.66325/nusantaraeconomy.v5i1.399.

Martone, Isabella. ‘Sulla trasmissibilità a causa di morte dei “dati personali”: l’intricato rapporto tra digitalizzazione e riservatezza’. Pubblicazioni del Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche, del Linguaggio, dell’Interpretazione e della Traduzione, Sezione Giuridica, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10077/33634.

Maspes, I. Digital Inheritance, Right of the Heirs to Access to the Deceased User’s Account, Non-Transferability Clauses: An Overview in the Light of Two Judgments Issued by Italian Courts. 2022. https://air.unimi.it/handle/2434/948114.

Mastroberardino, Francesco. ‘Il patrimonio digitale’. 2019. https://onesearch.unifi.it/discovery/fulldisplay/alma9913863705003299/39SBART_UFI:39UFI_V1.

Moghtaderi, Megan. “Protecting Your Legacy: Trust and Estate Planning for Musicians.” 2024.

Morsi, Ibtisam, and El-Bahrawy Mohamed. ‘“Access to the Digital Heritage of the Deceased on Social Media Sites and Its Social and Psychological Effects on Their Families: A Field Study.”’ Journal of the Human Studies Sector, 2025.

Muharrama, Adliya Muchni, Hasan Matsum, and Muhammad Syukri Albani Nasution. ‘Islamic Inheritance Systematics in The City of Binjai (Case Study Of The Division Of Inheritance Of Daughter And Biological Uncle)’. Jurnal Ilmiah Mizani: Wacana Hukum, Ekonomi Dan Keagamaan 7, no. 2 (March 2024): 225–235. https://doi.org/10.29300/mzn.v7i2.2599.

Nasser Al-Din, Nisreen. ‘“Digital Inheritance in Comparative Legislation.”’ Arab Journal of Scientific Publishing, 2025.

Nemeth, Kristin, Jorge Morais Carvalho, and Edina Harbinja. Digital Inheritance in the European Union. 2017.

News, A. B. C. ‘Digital Inheritance Laws Remain Murky’. ABC News, 2012. https://abcnews.com/Technology/digital-inheritance-laws-remain-murky/story?id=17267524.

Nimr, Iyad Abd al-Hamid. ‘“Digital Estates: Their Concept and Rulings: A Foundational Jurisprudential Study.”’ Jordanian Journal of Applied Sciences, 2021.

Okeal, Tarek El-Sayed Mahmod Abu, Hisham Al-Kasasbeh, Hanaa Ibrahiem Abdullah, and Salaheldin Ragab Fathelbab. ‘Preventive Legislative Approaches to Child Protection in the Digital Environment: A Comparative Study of Australia, France, and Egypt’. Nusantara: Journal of Law Studies 5, no. 1 (March 2026): 205–228. https://doi.org/10.66325/nusantaralaw.v5i1.222.

Patti, Francesco Paolo, and Francesca Bartolini. Digital Inheritance and Post Mortem Data Protection: The Italian Reform. 13 January 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3397974.

Reid, B. ‘“Legal Life After Death: Publicity, Physical, and Digital Assets.”’ Southern Journal of Business & Ethics, 2017.

Rohid, Nibrosu, Rahma Sugihartati, Bagong Suyanto, Oleksandr Gotin, Nabrisi Rohid, and Sukisno. ‘Reconstructing the Legal Enforcement Framework for Digital Activism in an Era of Technological Disruption’. Nusantara: Journal of Law Studies 5, no. 2 (July 2026): 881–901. https://doi.org/10.66325/nusantaralaw.v5i2.236.

Saber, Nesma. ‘“The Nature of Digital Banking Assets.”’ Journal of Financial and Commercial Research, 2023.

Shesa, Laras, Oloan Muda Hasim Harahap, and Elimartati Elimartati. ‘Eksistensi Hukum Islam dalam Sistem Waris Adat yang Dipengaruhi Sistem Kekerabatan Melalui Penyelesaian al-Takharujj’. Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam 6, no. 1 May (May 2021): 145–164. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v6i1.2643.

Staff, CHDS. ‘Three Dangerous Men: Russia, China, Iran and the Rise of Irregular Warfare’. Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 30 March 2022. https://www.chds.us/c/three-dangerous-men/.

Talab, Marwan Ibrahim. The Principle That the Default Ruling on Things Is Permissibility: A Jurisprudential Study. (Nablus), 2016.

Ugli, Akramov Akmaljon Anvarjon, Abdikhakimov Islombek Bahodir Ugli, Sharipova Xilola Rustamovna, Yakubova Madinabonu Abdumalikovna, and Gulommamatova Parvina Akbarali Kizi. ‘Legal Issues of Digital Asset Inheritance from an Islamic Law Perspective’. Ijtihad : Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam Dan Kemanusiaan 25, no. 2 (December 2025): 191–212. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijtihad.v25i2.191-212.

UNCITRAL Model Law on Automated Contracting: With Guide to Enactment. Vienna: United Nations, 2025.

Wendehorst, Christiane. “Proprietary Rights in Digital Assets and the Conflict of Laws.” In Blockchain and Private International Law,. 2023.

‘What Is a Digital Legacy?’ Digital Legacy Association, 2026. https://digitallegacyassociation.org/about/what-is-a-digital-legacy/.

Cited By (0)

No indexed citing article has been matched by IRCI yet.