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Fatwa CenterMan's children from one wife are not heirs to his other wife
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 1 - Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A daughter) Number 1 - Additional information: My mother expired a few days ago and she owned property that came from her parents. My father also passed away and he had two wives; my mother was the second wife. My father had five children, three (one male and two female) from first his wife and two from the second (one male [myself] and one female). Please tell me how we can distribute the property among the children. Note: None of our parents are alive and the property is not from my father. Thank You.
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 your mother left behind a son and a daughter only, and she did not leave any other heir – such as a father, mother, husband, grandfather, or grandmother – then her inheritance should be divided amongst her son and her daughter by ta’seeb (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); the male twice the share of the female, as Allaah says (what means): {Allaah instructs you concerning your children [i.e. their portions of inheritance]: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.} [Quran 4:11]
Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into three shares, the son gets two shares and the daughter gets one.
Your brother and your two sisters from your father’s side only [i.e. from the other wife] do not inherit from your mother because they are not her children. It is only you and your sister who inherit from her.
However, if your mother died before your father, then your father was entitled to a share from her inheritance. If your father died before taking his share, then his share should be divided amongst his heirs, among whom are his children from his first wife. In this case, they share the share of their father from the inheritance of his wife, who is your mother.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is a very complex 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 take priority over the right of the heirs in the inheritance. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if any is available, in order to fulfill the interests of both the living and the dead.
Allaah knows best.
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