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Fatwa CenterDivision of inheritance among two wives, mother, son, and five daughters
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information:
- Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 1 (A full brother) Number 4 (A nephew from a full brother) Number 8 (A cousin from a full paternal uncle) Number 1
- Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A mother [of the deceased]) (A daughter) Number 5 (A wife) Number 2 (A full sister) Number 2 (A half sister [from the father]) Number 1
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If the deceased had no heirs entitled to inherit other than those mentioned in the question, the estate should be divided as follows:
The deceased's mother gets one sixth of the estate as a fixed share due to the existence of the deceased's descendants (children) and a number of siblings. Allah, the Exalted, says (what means):
- {...And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children...} [Quran 4:11]
- {...And if he had brothers (or sisters), for his mother is a sixth...} [Quran 4:11]
The two wives get one eighth of the estate as a fixed share to be divided equally between them due to the existence of the deceased's descendants; Allah, 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 remainder of the estate should be divided among the deceased 's son and daughters by virtue of Ta‘seeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relationship with the deceased and not having an allotted share, so they get what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed); the male gets double the share of the female. Allah, the Exalted, says (what means): {Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females...} [Quran 4:11]
The deceased's brothers, nephews (children of the brothers), the cousin, and sisters do not get any share because they are wholly excluded by the existence of the deceased's son.
Hence, the estate should be divided into 336 shares; the mother gets one sixth (56 shares); the two wives get one eighth (42 shares), 21 shares for each of them; the deceased's son gets 68 shares; and each daughter gets 34 shares.
Allah knows best.
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