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Fatwa CenterInheritance rights of an unborn child
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 1 - Additional information : Assalam alaikum brother, I wanted to know what are the inheritance rights of a daughter who was born 3 days after her fathers death. Let me illustrate with an example...Z. Died leaving behind 3 sons A,B and C. The elder one mr A died after few years and leaves behind a pregnant widow. The daughter was born on the 3 day after her fathers death. The B and C sons have big family with sons and daughter and now claims that since A died before the birth of a his child, the child has no right over it. my question is . What is the inheritance rights of an unborn child in his fathers share. Thank you.
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.
What those two men claimed is incorrect. The fetus whose father died inherits like all other children, but the inheritance should not be divided until the situation of this fetus becomes clear, i.e. whether it is born alive or dead and if it is born alive, is it a male or a female?
Al-Qurtubi 
said in Jaami’ Ahkaam Al-Quran: “If a man dies and leaves behind his wife pregnant, then the inheritance should not be divided until it becomes clear what she gives birth to. He said: The scholars agreed in a consensus that if a man dies while his wife is pregnant, the child that is in her womb inherits and his relatives inherit from him if it is born alive and shouted or cried at the moment of birth.”
As regards how the inheritance of the deceased should be divided, then if the heirs are only the widow (his wife), his daughter and his two brothers, then the wife gets one-eighth of the inheritance, his daughter gets one half and the remainder will be for his brothers by 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) in equal shares.
Allaah Knows best.
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