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Fatwa CenterInheritance of mother, wife, one daughter, one brother and one sister
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A full brother) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A mother) (A daughter) Number 1 (A wife) Number 1 (A full sister) 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 have heirs except those mentioned in the question, then the daughter will get half of the inheritance as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And if there is only one, for her is half.}[Quran 4:11]
The wife inherits one-eighth, due to the existence of the children of the deceased as Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them [i.e., wives] is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt.}[Quran 4:12]
The mother inherits one-sixth of the inheritance due to the existence of the children of the deceased; 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 remainder of the inheritance should be divided among the brother and the sister by Ta’seeb (by virtue of having a parental 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 twice the share of the female.
Therefore, the estate will be divided into 72 shares: The daughter gets one half (36 shares), the mother gets one-sixth (12 shares), the wife gets one-eighth (9 shares), the brother gets 10 shares and the sister gets 5 shares.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is a very complex and serious 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, or it should be presented orally (in person) to the scholars in case there are no Islamic courts. 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. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if available, in order to fulfill the interests of both the living and the dead.
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