diff --git a/Inline.php b/Inline.php
index 04c9690c..5b5f9613 100644
--- a/Inline.php
+++ b/Inline.php
@@ -60,6 +60,10 @@ public static function initialize(int $flags, int $parsedLineNumber = null, stri
      */
     public static function parse(string $value = null, int $flags = 0, array &$references = [])
     {
+        if (null === $value) {
+            return '';
+        }
+
         self::initialize($flags);
 
         $value = trim($value);
diff --git a/Tests/InlineTest.php b/Tests/InlineTest.php
index 8cd2582f..07d4e04d 100644
--- a/Tests/InlineTest.php
+++ b/Tests/InlineTest.php
@@ -288,6 +288,7 @@ public static function getTestsForParse()
     {
         return [
             ['', ''],
+            [null, ''],
             ['null', null],
             ['false', false],
             ['true', true],