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Division of inheritance among the deceased's parents, 3 sons and 4 daughters

Question

Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 3 (A grandson (from the son)) Number 1 (A father) -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A mother (of the deceased)) (A daughter) Number 4 (A grandmother from the father)

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 ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If the deceased left no other heirs entitled to inherit than those mentioned in the question, then the mother is entitled to one sixth of the estate as a fixed share and the father as well is entitled to one sixth as a fixed share. Allaah The Exalted says (what means): {And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children.} [Quran 4:11]

The residue of the estate is to be divided among the deceased's sons and daughters 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 30 shares; the father gets one sixth (5 shares), the mother gets one sixth (5 shares), each son gets 4 shares, and each daughter gets 2 shares.

As for the deceased’s grandmother, she is not entitled to inherit because she is wholly excluded by the presence of the deceased's father and mother. The same applies to the son's son: he is not entitled to inherit due to the presence of the deceased's immediate sons.

It should be noted that the division of inheritance is a serious and complex matter. It does not suffice to settle for a Fatwa, which is formed based on the information provided by the questioner. Instead, you should refer the case to a legitimate Islamic court for investigation. There may be other heirs who will not be discovered without careful investigation. Moreover, the deceased may have left a will or been liable to debts or other obligations and liabilities which the heirs are not aware of. It is well-known that the settlement of debts and other liabilities are given precedence to the heirs' rights to their shares of the estate. Therefore, you should not divide the estate without referring the case to an Islamic court, if any exists, in order to secure the interests of both the living and the dead.

Allaah Knows best.

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