A Missing Person and his Trustee (article 126 -136)

Article 126 defines a missing person as one whose whereabouts are unknown and it is unclear whether he is alive or dead.

Article 127 -133 define rights of the trustees and their obligations, appointment, and dismissal. In contrast to Moslem Law, these articles stress the role of the Qadi and his authority to supervise assets and trustees. They have no parallel in Ottoman Law.

Article 134 gives the Qadi the authority to declare the death of a missing person, whose death is almost certain, after a period of ten years from the date of his disappearance. Egyptian and Hanafi laws give a period of only four years, and give the Qadi the power to decide on a shorter or longer period. (19)

Article 135 adds that if a ruling has been handed down declaring a missing person to be dead as in the previous article, his estate shall be divided among his heirs, alive on the day of the ruling. They are forbidden, however to sell anything from the estate until a period of two years has elapsed from the day of the ruling until it's finalization. This last restriction has no parallel in Fiqh statutes.

Article 136 if the missing person reappears or it is proven that he is still alive after being pronounced dead, he is entitled to the return of his property from his heirs. If the property is no longer in their hands, he may claim its value as of the day on which it was disposed. This is in contrast to Hanafi doctrine.