Division of inheritance among a wife, three daughters and a full brother
Fatwa No: 306631

Question

Assalaamu alaykum. Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information: -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A full brother) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A daughter) Number 3 (A wife) 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 is His slave and Messenger.

If the deceased left behind no other heirs entitled to inherit other than those mentioned in the question, then the daughters are entitled to two-thirds of the estate as a fixed share given the absence of an heir entailing them to inherit by taʻseeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having a prescribed share, so he gets what is left after the prescribed shares have been distributed) such as sons of the deceased. 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 deceased’s wife is entitled to one-eighth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased has descendants entitled to inherit, i.e. the daughters. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...but if you leave a child, then for them (i.e. the wives) is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you (may have) made or debt...} [Quran 4:12]

The deceased's full brother gets the remainder of the estate, after deducting the shares of the wife and daughters, by virtue of taʻseeb. The Prophet said, "Give the faraa'idh (i.e. prescribed shares) to those who have a right to them, and the remainder (of the estate) belongs to the closest male relative." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] 

Hence, the estate should be divided into seventy-two shares; the deceased’s daughters get two-thirds (eighty-four shares), each gets sixteen shares, and the wife gets one-eighth (nine shares). The deceased’s full brother gets the remaining fifteen shares.

Allaah knows best.

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