Dividing estate among deceased's wife, 2 daughters, and 3 nephews

27-9-2017 | 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 nephew from a full brother) Number 3 (A cousin from a full paternal uncle) Number 10
- Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A daughter) Number 2 (A wife) Number 1

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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 ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If the heirs are only those mentioned in the question, then the two daughters get two thirds as a fixed share, as it was reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave the two daughters of Sa‘d ibn Ar-Rabee‘ two thirds of his estate.

The wife gets one eighth of the estate as a prescribed share because the deceased has descendants entitled to inherit (two daughters). Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {...but if you leave a child, then for them (i.e. the wives) is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you (may have) made or debt...} [Quran 4:12]

The nephews from a full brother get the remainder of the estate 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). Thus, the estate should be divided into seventy-two shares; the two daughters get the two thirds (48 shares), each gets 24 shares. The wife gets one eighth (9 shares), and each nephew from a full brother gets 5 shares.

The paternal cousins get no share of the inheritance because of the presence of the nephews.

It should be noted that the division of inheritance is a very serious matter. Therefore, you should not divide the estate among the heirs without referring the case to a Shariah-court, if any exist, in order to secure the interests of both the living and the dead.

Allah knows best.