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Fatwa CenterDividing inheritance among a mother and a wife
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A mother) (A wife) Number 1
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 other heirs entitled to inherit except those mentioned in the question, the deceased’s wife gets one-fourth of the estate as a prescribed share because the deceased does not have any descendant entitled to inherit. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {… And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child…}[Quran 4:12]
The deceased’s mother gets one third of the estate as a prescribed share because the deceased has no descendants or siblings entitled to inherit. Allaah, The Exalted, 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 remainder of the estate should be given back to the mother under the principle of Radd (i.e. when the estate is not fully consumed by the sharers of the heirs whose shares have been fixed in the Quran and there are no other eligible heirs taking into consideration that spouses are not included in the rule of Radd).
Hence, the estate should be divided into twelve shares; the wife gets one-fourth of the shares and the mother gets the rest as a fixed share and Radd.
It should be noted that the division of the inheritance is a serious and critical matter; it is not adequate to settle for seeking a Fatwa on the matter. Instead, you should refer the case to a Sharee'ah-court for investigation; perhaps other heirs entitled to inherit would be discovered in the process. Moreover, perhaps the deceased has left a will or had debts or other obligations of which the heirs are not aware. It is well-known that the repayment of the debts and liabilities should be given priority over the heirs’ right to the estate. Therefore, you should not divide the estate among the heirs without referring the case to Sharee'ah-court, if any, in order to secure the interests of the living and the dead alike.
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