Inheritance of one daughter, one brother and four sisters

26-2-2013 | IslamWeb

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 daughter) Number 1 (A full sister) Number 4

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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 heirs are only those mentioned in the question (and the deceased did not leave any other heir), then the daughter gets one half of the inheritance as her legal share as Allaah Says (what means): {And if there is only one [daughter], for her is half.}[Quran 4:11] The remainder will be divided amongst the brother and the sisters, the male twice the share of the female.

Therefore, the inheritance should be divided into 12 shares, the daughter gets a half, which is 6 shares, the brother gets 2 shares, and each sister gets 1 share.

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 if 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.

Allaah Knows best.