Division of inheritance among 2 wives, father, 2 sons and one daughter

5-10-2015 | 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 son) Number 2 (A father) (A full brother) Number 3 (A nephew from a full brother) Number 5 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A daughter) Number 1 (A wife) Number 2 (A full sister) Number 4

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 heirs are only those mentioned in the question, and the deceased did not leave any other heir, then the two wives get one-eighth as their legal share due to the existence of the children of the deceased, which will be divided equally between them. Allaah says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them [i.e. the wives] is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt.} [Quran 4:12]

The father gets one-sixth as his legal share due to the existence of the children of the deceased. Allaah 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 remainder will be divided amongst the two sons and the daughter; the male twice the share of the female.

Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into 240 shares, the father gets one-sixth, which is 40 shares, and the two wives get one-eighth, which is 30 shares, each one of them gets 15, each son gets 68 shares, and the daughter gets 34 shares.

The remaining relatives of the deceased do not get anything from the inheritance because they are prevented by the existence of the two sons.

It should be noted that the matter of inheritance is very complex an 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 it might be that there is an heir who would not be known except after investigation, and there might also be a will, debts, or other dues that are not known to the heirs. It is known that these rights come in priority over the right of the heirs in the inheritance. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if available, in order to fulfill the interests of the dead and the living.

Allaah knows best.

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