A son does not inherit from his step-mother
29-12-2008 | IslamWeb
Question:
Inheritance - Is the son entitled to any inheritance if his step-mother dies, even though the original wealth belonged to his father. His father did not declare who the wealth should go to when he died, he left behind 10 daughters and 1 son, 7 daughters were from one wife (Wife B) and the other 3 daughters and a son from another wife (Wife A). When wife A died, the father married again to wife B, from whom he begot 7 daughters. Now the father and Wife-B have passed away/died without declaring any inheritance or a will, neither did the father give his wealth away as a gift to anyone. Is his son from Wife-A, entitled to any inheritance or is he not, because his father married again to wife-B after the death of his mother and therefore the wealth goes to the 7 daughters of wife B, who is his step mother, who now has also died as well. One of the daughters from Wife-B has said that the son is not entitled to anything because her mother was his step mother, not taking into consideration that the original wealth belonged to the father. Please can you give the Islamic verdict on this and back it up with any verses from the Quran and Sunnah. Jazza kallah hair
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 what you meant with your question is that this father died before his second wife, then the answer will be as follows:
Whoever dies and leaves behind a wife and sons and daughters, then his wife is entitled to only one-eighth of the inheritance and the remaining should be divided between his sons and daughters, the male twice the share of the female. The wife has no right in taking possession of the entire inheritance. If she did so, the children of the deceased person have the right to take their right even after the death of the wife.
As regard the money of the step-mother, then her step-son has no right in her inheritance even if the source of her money is from her husband (i.e. his father) because she is not his mother and there is no other reason for him to inherit her. The fact that the source of her money is from her husband (i.e. his father) is not a reason for him to inherit her. Since that wife possessed the money as a gift or inheritance, then it became her own property and it was no longer the property of her husband. If she dies, her money becomes an inheritance for her heirs and the son of her husband is not one of them.
However, the son whom you mentioned in the question has a share in the inheritance of his father as we mentioned and not from the inheritance of the wife of his father (his step-mother). Hence, he and his sisters are entitled to their share from the inheritance of their father.
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.