PROPORTION OF INHERITANCE ACCORDING TO
ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA
ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
https://web.facebook.com/abba.abana
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala
Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu
Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek
refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds.
Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves
astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness
that Muhammad (Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.
CRUCIAL LIFE OF A MUSLIM - PROPORTION OF INHERITANCE ACCORDING TO ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW
CRUCIAL LIFE OF A MUSLIM - PROPORTION OF INHERITANCE ACCORDING TO ISLAMIC SHARIA LAW
When a believer dies it becomes incumbent on the Muslim
family members to ensure that the wealth and property left behind are
distributed according to Shariah Law prescribed in the Qur’an and Authentic
Sunnah.
After meeting the initial expenses incurred in giving the
deceased an Islamic burial, and, after paying all of his debts and the “Mahar” (dowry) that may still be due, to his wife,
up to one-third of the remaining may be expended according to the deceased
dying wishes or Legal Will that is left behind, for those who are NOT entitled
by Shariah only.
The remainder must be distributed to all the legal heirs as
defined by Qur’an and Authentic Sunnah as detailed hereunder.
Zakat Payments, if any that are due by the deceased must be
paid even before the settlements of the debts and even before the burial
expenses are utilized from the property of the deceased.
THERE ARE FOUR
MEANS OF INHERITANCE
1) Inheritance
by lineage
2) Inheritance
by marriage ties
3) inheritance
by a slave obtaining freedom
4) Inheritance
by a public body or establishment like the Baitul Mal or Treasury.
There are four means by which inheritance may be lost.
The inheritor having any connection (even indirectly) with
the cause of the death of the person whose heir he is
1) his
becoming a Kafir
2) his
becoming a slave
3) Uncertainty
as to who died earlier.
4) A
son’s son is like son, but he will not get the ratio of 2:1 with the daughter
(of the deceased) .
A mother’s mother and a father’s mother are like a mother,
but they will have no claim to one third of the wealth. The share of these two
will always be one sixth.
A father’s father is like a father, but he will not
disentitle the brothers. He will get his share together with the brothers.
A son’s daughter is like a daughter, but she will be
disentitled by the son.
A half- brother is like a bother but he will not get the
ratio of 2:1 with a sister.
GROUPS AMONGST MALE
HEIRS ARE ENTITLED AS FOLLOWS:
1) son;
2) son’s
son
3) father;
4) father’s
father;
5) brother;*
–
half brother*
–
step brother*
6) brother’s
son;
7) half
brother’s son;
8) father’s
brother;
9) father’s
half – brother;
10) son
of father’s brother;
11) son
of father’s half – brother;
12) husband
13) The
freed male slave.
*(children of one father and one mother are referred to as
brothers/sisters)
*(children of a father through different mothers as half –
brothers/ half – sisters)
*(children of a mother and through different fathers as step
–brother / step – sister)
GROUPS AMONGST FEMALE
HEIRS ARE ENTITLED AS FOLLOWS:
1) Daughter
2) son’s
daughter;
3) mother;
4) grandmother;
5) sister;
6) wife
7) freed
slave – girl
If none of these Groups of people mentioned above is alive
his wealth will be distributed among his Arham,
i.e., non- inheriting relations.
ELEVEN GROUPS OF
HEIRS COME UNDER THE CLASS OF ARHAM:
1) children
of daughter;
2) children
of sister;
3) brother’s
daughter;
4) daughter
of father’s younger or elder brother;
5) father’s
step brother;
6) maternal
uncle;
7) mother’s
sister;
8) father’s
sister;
9) mother’s
father;
10) mother’s
father’s mother;
11) children
of mother’s sister.
THERE ARE SIX
FRACTIONS OF SHARES MENTIONED IN THE QURAN: VIZ;
2/3, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/3, 1/6.
The 2/3 share is:
a) for
two or more daughters;
b) for
two or more son’s daughters;
c) for
two or more sisters;
d) for
two or more half- sister;
The 1/3 share is:
a) for
two or more of mother’s children;
b) for
the mother in the absence of child, or son’s child or two or more brothers or
sisters;
c) some
times for the grandfather when there are brothers and sisters,
The 1/2 share is:
a) for
one of the four sets of females mentioned above when she is alone.
b) for
the husband when his wife leaves no issue.
The 1/4 share is:
a) for
the husband when the wife leaves children;
b) for
the wife when the husband leaves no children
The 1/8 share is for the wife when her husband leaves
children
The 1/6 share is:
a) for
the father when the deceased leaves children;
b) for
the grandfather;
c) for
the mother when the deceased leaves children or two or more brothers and
sisters;
d) for
the grandmother when the deceased leaves children or two or more brothers and
sisters;
e) for
the son’s daughter when the deceased has one daughter;
f) for
one or more half – sisters when there is a sister
g) for
two or mother’s children;
When a father and spouse are alive, after assigning the
respective shares due to them, One Third of the Remainder will be assigned to
the mother.
The portion assigned to the wife has to be shared equally by
two or three of four wives.
DISENTITLEMENT OF
INHERITANCE
1) Those
who are closet in relationship to the deceased will disentitle others who are
distantly related.
2) The
son disentitles the son’s children
3) The
father disentitles the grandfather;
4) The
mother disentitles her mother;
5) A
father and mother disentitle the father’s mother
6) The
father and/or the son disentitled the brother
7) These
three (father, son, brother) disentitle the half brother
8) The
father, grandfather, and children disentitle the step – brother.
9) The
father, the grandfather, the son, the son’s son, the brother, the half-
brother, disentitle the brother’s son.
10) The
above seven persons disentitle the son of the half- brother
11) The
above eight persons disentitle the brother of the father.
12) The
above nine persons disentitle the half- brother of the father
13) The
above ten persons disentitle the son of a half-brother of the father.
14) An
‘Asaba*, i.e an agnate, gets into possession of that portion of a deceased’s
wealth that is left over after the appropriate shares have been paid. He gets
possession of the entire wealth when there are no others entitled to the
deceased’s wealth.
*An ‘Asaba is a son, son’s son, father, father’s father,
brother, half brother, their sons, a brother of the father or his sons.
Next to an Asaba as inheritor is the male freed slave and
the male issue of his Asaba.
If there are males as well as females among those that
cannot disentitle each other, the males will get two shares each while the
females get one share each. *Asaba – male relation on the paternal side.
HOLY QURAN CHAPTER 4
– AL-NISA – VERSES 11,12 & 176
4:11 Allah commands you as regards your children
(inheritance), To the MALE, a portion equal to that of TWO FEMALES;
If (there are) only DAUGHTERS, two or more, their share is
TWO-THIRDS of the inheritance;
If only one, her share is HALF.
For PARENTS, a SIXTH share of inheritance to EACH if the
deceased left CHILDREN;
If NO CHILDREN and the PARENTS are the (ONLY) heirs, the
MOTHER has a THIRD;
If the deceased left BROTHERS or (SISTERS), the MOTHER has a
SIXTH.
(The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of
legacies he may have bequeathed or debts. You know not which of them, whether
your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. (these fixed
shares) are ordained by Allah. And Allah is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
4:12 In that which your WIVES leave, your share
is a HALF if they have NO CHILD;
But if they leave a CHILD you get a FOURTH of that which
they leave after payment of legacies that they may have bequeathed or debts.
In that which YOU leave, their (YOUR WIVES) share is a
FOURTH if you have NO CHILD;
But if you leave a CHILD they get an EIGHTH of that which
you leave after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or debts.
If the MAN or WOMAN whose inheritance is in question has
left NEITHER ASCENDANTS NOR DESCENDANTS (Al-Khalala), but has left a BROTHER or
a SISTER, EACH ONE of the two gets a SIXTH; but if MORE THAN TWO, they share in
a THIRD; after payment of legacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so
that no loss is caused (to anyone).
THIS IS A COMMANDMENT
FROM ALLAH; And Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most-Forebearing.
4:176 They ask you for a legal verdict, Say, “Allah directs
(thus) about Al-Khalala (those who leave neither ascendants nor descendants as
heirs).
If it is a MAN that dies, leaving A SISTER but NO CHILD, SHE
shall have HALF the inheritance.
If (such a deceased was) a woman, who left NO CHILD, her
BROTHER takes her INHERITANCE.
If there are TWO SISTERS, they shall have TWO-THIRDS of the
inheritance;
If there are BROTHERS and SISTERS, the male will have TWICE
the share of the female.
(Thus) does Allah make clear to you (His Law) lest you go
astray. And Allah is the All-Knower of everything.
Note: 4:12 refers to UTERINE (same mother, diff father)
siblings while 4:176 refers to FULL (same father and mother) or CONSANGUINE
(same father diff mother) siblings
LEVEL I – PRIMARY
(IMMEDIATE) HEIRS
The primary (or immediate) heirs classified as Level I are:-
1. The
SPOUSE (Husband or a maximum of four Wives)
2. The
CHILDREN (Sons and Daughters)
3. The
PARENTS (Father & Mother)
4. The
GRANDCHILDREN (Sons’s SON or Son’s DAUGHTER only)
(Applicable only when the SON is already deceased only and
has offspring)
LEVEL II –
SECONDARY HEIRS
The secondary heirs classified as Level II are:-
1. The
GRANDPARENTS (Paternal and Maternal)
2. The
BROTHERS and/or SISTERS (In the absence of Father and Son ONLY)
3. The
UNCLES and/or AUNTS (In the absence of Grandparents ONLY)
4. The
NEPHEWS and/or NIECES (In the absence of Brothers and Sisters ONLY)
It is not practical to go beyond Grandparents as the chances
of Great-grandparents surviving before you is not very high. However, the logic
is that in the absence of a particular heir, the next level becomes eligible
for inheritance. Eg; IF the Grandparents are dead THEN the Great Grandparents
are entitled (if living only) and so on. It is better, for practicality and
convenience to limit the inheritance level up to The GrandParents and the
Grandchildren. If we attempt to go beyond these levels there will be no limit
to the program logic validation.
Under Islamic Law, the primary beneficiaries of a deceased
person are his/her IMMEDIATE (Level I) Heirs. ie; Spouse(s), Children, Parents
and Grandchildren (if children are deceased only). The Grandchildren that are
entitled are only the Son’s Son or the Son’s Daughter. Daughters children are
not entitled even if the Daughter is deceased.
In the absence of some or all of these heirs the secondary
beneficiaries (Level II) become Heirs under various conditions. In the absence
of a particular Heir (eg; Uncle) if and when he/she is entitled the children of
that Heir become eligible.
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