Fatwa

  1. Fatwa
  2. Fiqh of Transactions and Inheritance
  3. Fiqh of Inheritance
  4. Calculation of inheritance

Inheritance of wife, daughter, grandmother and full-sister
Fatwa No: 214165

Question

Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A half brother (from his father)) Number 2 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 1 (A wife) Number 1 (A grandmother from the mother) (A full sister) Number 1

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

If the deceased did not have any heirs except those mentioned, then the wife inherits one-eighth of the inheritance, for Allaah The Exalted says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them [i.e. wives] is an eighth of what you leave.}[Quran 4:12]

The daughter will get half of the inheritance for Allaah The Almighty says (what means): {And if there is only one, for her is half.}[Quran 4:11]

The grandmother gets one-sixth of the inheritance. Ibn Al-Munthir said: “The scholars agreed with consensus that the grandmother gets one-sixth of the inheritance if the deceased does not leave a mother.” [End quote]

The remainder will be given to the full-sister by Ta’seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share); because the sisters (i.e. the full sisters and the half-sisters from the father) inherit with the daughters by Ta’seeb.

Based on that, the estate should be divided into 24 shares; half for the daughter (12 shares), one-sixth for the grandmother (4 shares), one-eighth for the wife (3 shares) and 5 shares for the sister by Ta’seeb.

Nothing will be given to the half-brothers from the father's side because they are prevented from the inheritance by the existence of a paternal relative who is closer to the deceased than them, i.e. the full-sister.

Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is a very complex and serious issue, so a mere Fatwa which is an answer issued according to the question is not enough. Rather, the matter should be taken to an Islamic court to look into the case, or it should be presented orally (in person) to the scholars if there are no Islamic courts. It might be that there is an heir who would not be known except after investigation, and there might also be a will, debts, or other dues that are not known to the heirs. It is known that these rights come in priority over the right of the heirs. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if available, in order to fulfill the interests of both the dead and the living.

Allaah Knows best.

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