Division of inheritance among a wife, 2 daughters and 6 full siblings

23-2-2015 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A full brother) Number 3 (A nephew from a full brother) Number 3 (A cousin from a full paternal uncle) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 2 (A wife) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 3

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.

If the deceased did not leave any heirs entitled to inherit other than those mentioned in the question, then the deceased's wife gets one-eighth as a fixed share because the deceased has children. Allaah 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 deceased's two daughters get two thirds of the estate as a fixed share as it is confirmed that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, allocated two-thirds for the two daughters of Sa‘d ibn Ar-Rabee‘ from his inheritance. For more information, please refer to Fatwa 259957.

The remainder of the estate is to be given to the deceased's full brothers and sisters by virtue of 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); the male gets double the share of the female.

Hence, the estate should be divided into 216 shares. The wife gets one eighth (27 shares), the two daughters get two thirds (144 shares, 72 shares for each). Each full brother gets 10 shares, and each full sister gets 5 shares.

As for the rest of the relatives, they are not entitled to any share in the inheritance.

It should be noted that the division of inheritance is a serious and complex issue. It is not adequate to settle for a Fatwa to be issued according to the information provided by the questioner. Instead, you should refer the case to legitimate Islamic court for investigation; other heirs may be only discovered by careful investigation and would be discovered in the process. Moreover, the deceased may have left a will or may have been liable to debts or other obligations and liabilities of which the heirs are not aware. It is well-known that the settlement of debts and other liabilities are given precedence over the heirs' right to their shares in the estate. Therefore, you should not distribute the estate without referring the case to an Islamic court, if any exists, in order to secure the interests of the living and the dead alike.

Allaah Knows best.

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