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Fatwa CenterDividing inheritance among wife, father and mother
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information:
- Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A father) (A full paternal uncle) Number 5 (A cousin from a full paternal uncle) Number 20
- Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A mother [of the deceased]) (A full sister) Number 3 - Additional information: A man passed away leaving behind: 1. Wife (marriage was for few months and was not consummated) 2. Father and mother 3. 3 sisters; 2 married and 1 unmarried. Please inform us about the shares of inheritance from this man's property and wealth. May Allah reward you.
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 
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 wife gets one fourth as her legal share due to the inexistence of children (direct heirs); Allah says (what means): {And for them [i.e. the wives] is one fourth if you leave no child.} [Quran 4:12]
The fact that the deceased did not consummate the marriage with his wife does not prevent her from inheriting from him.
Ibn Qudaamah 
said, "If one of them died before the consummation of the marriage, and before giving her the dowry, then they inherit from each other, and she gets the same dowry as the women in the same social status like her. As regards the inheritance, then there is no difference of opinion about it as Allah prescribed for each spouse their legitimate share, and the marriage contract here is valid and confirmed, so she inherits because of it, as it is included in the general text."
As for the mother, she gets one sixth as her legal share due to the existence of the sisters, Allah says (what means): {And if he had siblings, for his mother is a sixth.} [Quran 4:11]
The father gets the remainder of the inheritance, as the Prophet said, "Give the prescribed share of inheritance to those who are eligible for it and the remainder [of it] is for the nearest male blood relative." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into 12 shares, the wife gets one fourth, which is 3 shares; the mother gets one sixth, which is 2 shares; and the father gets the remainder 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); i.e. he gets 7 shares.
The rest of the relatives of the deceased, such as the sisters, uncles, and cousins, do not get anything from the inheritance because they are prevented by the existence of the father.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is very complex; therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if available, in order to fulfill the interests of the dead and the living.
Allah knows best.
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