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Fatwa CenterDivision of estate among a wife, father, mother and three daughters
Question
Assalaamu alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information: - Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A father) (A full brother) Number 1 (A nephew from a full brother) Number 2 - Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A mother [of the deceased]) (A daughter) Number 3 (A wife) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 3
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.
If the deceased did not leave behind eligible heirs other than those mentioned in the question, then the estate should be divided as follows:
The deceased's father gets one sixth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased has descendants entitled to inherit (the daughters); 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 deceased's mother gets one sixth of the estate as a fixed share as well.
The deceased's wife gets one eighth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased left descendants entitled to inherit; Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave...} [Quran 4:12]
The deceased's daughters get two thirds of the estate as a fixed share because they do not have any other heir in the same level enabling them to inherit by taʻseeb (i.e. 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); Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...But if there are (only) daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate...} [Quran 4:11]
The deceased's brothers, sisters, and nephews have no share in the inheritance because they are wholly excluded by the existence of the deceased's father.
Thus, the estate should basically be divided into 24 shares (the deceased's father gets one-sixth [4 shares], his mother gets one-sixth (4 shares), his wife gets one-eighth [3 shares], and his three daughters get two-thirds [16 shares]); here the total number of shares becomes 27 which exceeds the basic number which is 24. This is what is called in Arabic ‘Awl, which means that the shares of inheritors exceed the sum of the total inheritance; so the inheritance should be regulated in order that the portions of the heirs are reduced proportionally so that everyone can be accommodated and all heirs can therefore enjoy the deceased’s property.
Hence, the estate is divided into 27 shares and in this case, the three daughters get 16 shares. To give each daughter her share without fractions, the 27 shares will be multiplied by 3. Hence, the estate should be divided into 81 shares; the deceased's father gets 12 shares (his 4 shares multiplied by 3), the mother gets 12 shares (her 4 shares multiplied by 3), the wife gets 9 shares (her 3 shares multiplied by 3), and the daughters get 48 shares (their 16 shares multiplied by 3), thus each daughter gets 16 shares.
Allaah knows best.
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