A living person should not preoccupy himself with the division of his estate

20-11-2015 | 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 father) - Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A mother [of the deceased]) (A full sister) Number 2 - Additional information: Assalaamu alaykum. This is for calculating the inheritance for myself. I have a father/mother (divorced, both alive, not married again). Two sisters (one having 1 son and 2 daughters, the other having 1 son and 1 daughter). I am not married anymore and have no kids. Regards,Faisal
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 ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

Firstly, we say that one should not preoccupy himself with how the estate of a living person will be divided after his death. Things may change; some of the supposed heirs of a given person may pass away before him, and other relatives may become heirs entitled to inherit. Moreover, this person may pass away leaving behind no estate to be divided in the first place. Therefore, one should not waste his time in probing the potential division of the estate of a living person. The righteous predecessors disliked asking about matters or making suppositions about things that have not yet taken place. Whenever they were asked about something that has not occurred yet, they used to say, "Leave it until it happens."

We will provide a general answer to the question: When a deceased has no other heirs entitled to inherit except his mother, father, and two full sisters, then the mother is entitled to one-sixth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased had siblings. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...And if he had brothers (and/or sisters), for his mother is a sixth...} [Quran 4:11] The term 'siblings' in the context of inheritance laws refers to both sisters and brothers; Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...If there are both brothers and sisters...} [Quran 4:176]

Ibn Rushd may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote, "There is no difference of opinion among scholars that the Arabic term ikhwah, meaning siblings, in this verse refers to both brothers and sisters. This is the view of the majority of scholars..." [Bidaayat Al-Mujtahid]

What is left of the estate should be given to the father by virtue of taʻseeb (by virtue of 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 `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said, "Give the faraa'idh (the shares of the inheritance that are prescribed in the Quran) to those who are entitled to receive them; and whatever is left is for the closest male relative." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

As for the deceased’s full sisters, they do not have shares in the inheritance because of the presence of the father. Ibn Al-Munthir may Allaah have mercy upon him wrote, "They (Muslim scholars) unanimously agreed that the brothers and sisters, whether they are full siblings or from the father only, do not inherit if there is a son or grandson, no matter how far down the line of descent extends, or if there is a father." [Al-Ijmaaʻ]

Hence, the estate should be divided into six shares, the mother gets one-sixth (one share), and what is left is for the father (five shares).

Allaah knows best.

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