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Fatwa CenterInheritance of one full sister and one nephew
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A nephew from a full brother) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (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 
is His slave and Messenger.
If the heirs are only those mentioned in the question and the deceased did not leave any other heir, then his full-sister gets half of the estate as her legal share, as Allaah says (what means): {...if a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left...} [Quran 4:176]
The remainder will be for the son of the full-brother by Ta’seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share, so he gets what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed); as the Prophet said: “Give the prescribed shares of the inheritance to those who are eligible for it, and whatever remains should be given to the closest male blood relative.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into 2 shares, the full-sister gets half of the inheritance as her legal share, which is one share, and the remainder is one share which the son of the full-brother gets.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is a very serious and complex 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. There might be 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 living and the dead.
Allaah Knows best.
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