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Division of inheritance among a wife, a father and a mother

Question

Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information:-Male relatives of the deceased who are entitled to inherit: (A father) -Female relatives of the deceased who are entitled to inherit: (A mother) (One wife)

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 ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

If the deceased did not leave behind any heirs other than those mentioned in the question, then his inheritance should be divided as follows:

His wife gets one-fourth as her legal share due to the inexistence of any children of the deceased; Allaah says (what means): {And for them [i.e. the wives] is one fourth if you leave no child.} [Quran 4:12] The mother gets one-third of what is left after the share of the wife as her legal share due to the inexistence of any children of the deceased as Allaah says (what means): {But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third.}[Quran 4:11]

The father gets what remains after the shares of the wife and mother by Ta’seeb (by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share, he gets what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed); which is two-thirds of what remains after the share of the wife.

Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into 12 shares, the wife gets one-fourth, which is 3 shares, the mother gets one-third of what remains, which is 3 shares, and the father takes what remains, which is 6 shares.

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 and investigate, as there might be an heir who would not be known except after investigation. There may also be a will, debts or other dues that are unknown to the heirs. It is known that these rights have priority over the right of the heirs in the inheritance. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if any, in order to fulfill the interests of both the living and the deceased.

Allaah Knows best.

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