Inheritance of two wives, five daughters and a full sister Fatwa No: 237013
- Fatwa Date:22-1-2014
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 5 (A wife) Number 2 (A full sister) Number 1
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 is His Slave and Messenger.
Since the deceased left no heirs but those mentioned in the question, then his two wives should be given one-eighth as a fixed share, divided between them equally because of the existence of the children of the deceased. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {… But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt…} [Quran 4:12]
The daughters should be given two thirds of the inheritance as Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {…But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate...} [Quran 4:11]
The rest of the inheritance should be given to the deceased's full sister by Ta‘seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having a prescribed share) because it was authentically reported that the Prophet gave the deceased's full sister the rest of the deceased's inheritance after giving the daughter and the son's daughter their fixed shares. The Hadeeth was reported on the authority of Huzayl ibn Shurahbeel and was cited in Saheeh Al-Bukhari. Therefore, Muslim jurists considered the deceased's full sister as ‘Asabah (i.e. paternal relative entitled to inherit what remains after other heirs get their fixed shares) in this case.
Thus, the inheritance shall be divided into two hundred and forty shares; the two wives get one-eighth, i.e. thirty shares, fifteen for each; the daughters get two-thirds, i.e. one hundred and sixty shares, each one gets thirty-two shares. The rest of the inheritance goes to the deceased's full sister, fifty shares.
Allaah Knows best.