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Fatwa CenterInheritance of one daughter and two full 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 daughter) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 2 - Additional information : the deceased have 2 cousins from a maternal uncle( sons of mother's brother)
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 has no other heirs than those mentioned in the question, then the daughter is entitled to half of the estate as a fixed prescribed share. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And if there is only one (daughter), for her is half...}[Quran 4:11]
The two full sisters are entitled to the residue of the estate by virtue of Ta‘seeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share in the estate); because the deceased's full sisters are treated in the same way as ‘Asabah (i.e. paternal relative entitled to inherit what remains after other heirs get their fixed shares) in this case (i.e. in the presence of the deceased's daughter(s)). Ibn ‘Aasim underlined in his poem, Tuhfat Al-Hukkaam that the deceased’s full sisters are entitled to the rest of the estate by virtue of Ta‘seeb in case the deceased has a daughter or a number of daughters (only).
Thus, the estate should be divided into four shares; the daughter gets half of the estate, i.e. 2 shares, and each full sister gets one share.
The two cousins (sons of the maternal uncle) have no shares in the inheritance in this case because they are not among the eligible heirs entitled to inherit; they are from Thawi al-Arhaam (i.e. uterine or cognate relatives).
It should be noted that the division of the inheritance is a serious and critical issue; it is not adequate to settle for seeking a Fatwa to be issued according to the information given by the questioner. Instead, you should refer the case to Sharee'ah-court for investigation; perhaps other eligible heirs who are entitled to inherit would be discovered in the process. Moreover, perhaps the deceased has left a will or was liable to debts or any other rights of which the heirs are not aware. It is well-known that the settlement of debts and the other liabilities should be given priority over the heirs’ right in the estate. Therefore, you should not distribute the estate without referring the case to Sharee'ah-court, if any, in order to secure the interests of the living and the dead alike.
Allaah Knows best.
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