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Fatwa CenterDivision of inheritance among wife, sister, and nephew
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information:
- Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A nephew from a full brother) Number 1
- Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A wife) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 1
- Additional information: the deceased left a wife without children, a sister who is non-married, and some nephews and nieces, but their fathers and mothers are not alive. How will his property be divided?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The deceased's nieces (daughters of the deceased's brother) are not entitled to any share of their paternal uncle's estate because the niece is not among the heirs who are entitled to inherit to begin with.
If the deceased's heirs who are entitled to inherit are confined to a wife, a full sister, and one nephew (son of his full brother), the estate should be divided as follows:
The wife gets one fourth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased has no descendants (children). Allah, the Exalted, says (what means): {And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child.} [Quran 4:12]
The full sister gets one half of the estate as a fixed share; Allah, the Exalted, says about the inheritance of the person who has neither descendants nor ascendants entitled to inherit (what means): {They request from you a (legal) ruling. Say, “Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants (as heirs).” If a man dies, leaving no child but (only) a sister, she will have half of what he left.} [Quran 4:176]
The remainder of the estate is given to the nephew (son of the deceased's full brother) by virtue of Taʻseeb (having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share, so he gets what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed). The Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, said, “Give the Faraa'idh (shares of inheritance prescribed in the Quran) to those who are entitled to receive them. Whatever remains is for the closest male relative.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Hence, the estate should be divided into four shares; the wife gets one fourth (one share), the full sister gets one half (two shares), and the nephew gets the remaining share.
We would like to draw your attention, dear Brother, to the fact that division of inheritance is a very serious and complex matter. Hence, as a matter of precaution, you should not settle for this answer that we mentioned; rather, the case should be raised to Islamic courts or verbally presented to a scholar so that all the heirs could be verified. Perhaps there is an heir who would not be discovered except after investigation. Also, the deceased might have left a will or debts or other rights that the heirs are not aware of, which are known to take precedence over the right of the heirs in inheritance. Therefore, the estate should not be divided without referring to the Islamic court, if available, in order to preserve the interests of both the living and the dead.
Allah knows best.
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