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Fatwa CenterDivision of inheritance among a mother, wife and two sisters
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 (A full sister) Number 2
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 these are the only heirs, then the wife receives one-fourth of the inheritance due to the absence of children. Allaah The Exalted said: {And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child} [Quran 4:12].
The mother receives one-sixth due to there being two sisters. Allaah The Exalted said: {And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth} [Quran 4:11].
The two sisters receive two-thirds. Allaah The Exalted said: {But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left} [Quran 4:176].
Thus, the inheritance [i.e. two-thirds (8/12), one-sixth (2/12) and one-fourth (3/12)] will be divided into 13 shares [and not only twelve shares] because there is what is called in Arabic 'Awl, which means that the shares of the inheritors exceed the sum of the total inheritance and by applying the laws of 'Awl, the inheritance here should be distributed as follows:
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The two sisters with two-thirds get eight shares, so four shares each.
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The mother with one-sixth receives two shares.
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The wife with one-fourth receives three shares.
Finally, we wish to notify the questioner that the issue of inheritance is a very serious and dangerous matter. As such, it is not sufficient to rely solely on a Fatwa provided by a Mufti based on the question he is asked. Rather, you must raise this issue in the Islamic courts so that they might look into it and verify it. There might be an heir unknown until after a proper investigation. Also, there could be wills or debts or other obligations of which the heirs are unaware. It is known that those rights precede the rights of heirs in the inheritance, so it is not correct to divide the inheritance without first consulting the Islamic courts, if they exist, in order to confirm the rights of the living and the dead.
Allaah Knows best.
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