Division of inheritance among a wife, three daughters and a full brother

26-12-2015 | 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 full brother) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A daughter) Number 3 (A wife) Number 1

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.

If the deceased left behind no other heirs entitled to inherit other than those mentioned in the question, then the daughters are entitled to two-thirds of the estate as a fixed share given the absence of an heir entailing them to inherit by taʻseeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having a prescribed share, so he gets what is left after the prescribed shares have been distributed) such as sons of the deceased. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {But if there are (only) daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate.} [Quran 4:11]

The deceased’s wife is entitled to one-eighth of the estate as a fixed share because the deceased has descendants entitled to inherit, i.e. the daughters. Allaah, 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 deceased's full brother gets the remainder of the estate, after deducting the shares of the wife and daughters, by virtue of taʻseeb. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said, "Give the faraa'idh (i.e. prescribed shares) to those who have a right to them, and the remainder (of the estate) belongs to the closest male relative." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] 

Hence, the estate should be divided into seventy-two shares; the deceased’s daughters get two-thirds (eighty-four shares), each gets sixteen shares, and the wife gets one-eighth (nine shares). The deceased’s full brother gets the remaining fifteen shares.

Allaah knows best.

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