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Fatwa CenterInheritance of a wife, three sons and four daughters
Question
Dear brother Assalam Alaikum! I would like to ask you how my property should be distributed to my heirs upon my demise according to Muslim shariat. Thank you for your help. I am a married person and have three sons and four daughters and do not have parents alive. I have one brother only. I have a house owned by me and my wife jointly and have some savings in the bank. Could you please tell me according to Islamic Shariat what should be the share of each of my children and of my wife and brother upon my death. JazakumAllah Khair. Ali Hashmi. USA
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.
First, we would like to say that the Muslim should not busy himself with the distribution of his estate while he is still alive as long as there is no necessity for that because things might change and perhaps a new heir is born or a current heir dies, and thus the distribution takes a different course. Some righteous predecessors disliked asking about what has not yet happened because this includes exaggeration and groundless speculations without a necessity. Were there a necessity, such as fearing that one’s inheritance will not be distributed according to the Sharee‘ah after his death because he lives in a non-Muslim country or the like, it would be permissible to distribute it during his life. If the Muslim dies leaving behind a wife, three sons, four daughters, and a brother without leaving any other heir, the inheritance (the house + his properties) will be distributed as follows:
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One eighth for the wife. Concerning the shares of the wives, Allaah The Almighty 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]
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The remainder will be distributed among the sons and daughters by Ta‘seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share, so they get what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed), for the male twice the share of the female. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Allaah Instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.} [Quran 4:11]
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Nothing for the brother because he is precluded by the son.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is very complex an 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 in case 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 any, in order to fulfil the interests of the dead and the live people.
Allaah Knows best.
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