Chapter Two
The Inheritance of the Groups
(A) The inheritance of the first group
Which consists of the two parents and the children, the inheritance of whom is as follows:
Part 1: The inheritance of the two parents when there are no children
1528. If a child dies and leaves his father only, the father inherits the whole of the estate through his ancestral relationship.
And if the deceased was a female and left her husband and father, the husband inherits half of the estate share-based (i.e. on the basis of the shares as specified in the Shari’ah) and the rest goes to the father kinship-based (i.e. on the basis that the kinship-related automatically inherit, but after separating the shares of those who inherit share-based). And if the deceased was a male and left his wife and father, the wife inherits one quarter share-based and the father the rest kinship-based.
However, if the deceased – male or female – died leaving his/her mother only, his/her mother inherits the whole of the estate – one third share-based and the rest kinship-based, without excluding from (hajb) her inheritance the existence of brothers and/or sisters of the deceased (hajib, i.e. one who excludes or changes the inheritance), since their excluding of her is conditional upon the existence of the father, who – according to the example – does not exist. But if the deceased was a female and she left her husband and mother, the husband inherits half and the rest goes to the mother, one third share-based and the rest kinship-based. And if the deceased was a male and he left his wife and mother, his wife inherits one quarter and the rest goes to the mother, one third share-based and the rest kinship-based.
1529. If the two parents are alive, their inheritance is as follows:
1- If the deceased has no living husband or wife: the mother inherits one third share-based if the deceased had no brothers or sisters who can qualify to exclude inheritance (as hajib), in which case her share is one sixth share-based; then the remainder after the mother’s share – whether one third or one sixth – goes to the father kinship-based.
2- If one of the spouses survived them, then if it is a husband, he inherits one half, and if it is a wife, she inherits one quarter, the mother inherits one third when no hajib exists and one sixth when a hajib exists, share-based, with the rest going to the father kinship-based.
1530. Although the deceased’s brothers and/or sisters do not inherit if they exist with the two parents, they act as a hajib of the mother’s share, reducing it from one third to one sixth if seven conditions are met:
First: The father is alive when the child died. If he was missing and it is not known whether he is dead or alive, then he is regarded as alive for the period mentioned in the section on divorce, or until the elapse of ten years since he went missing.
Second: There must not be fewer than two brothers, or one brother and two sisters or four sisters.
Third: They must be the deceased’s brothers and/or sisters from his two parents or from the father only, so the brothers and/or sisters from the mother only do not affect the inheritance.
Fourth: They must be born already, so it is not sufficient to count one who is still an embryo.
Fifth and sixth: They must be Muslims and free, not slaves.
Seven: Whoever qualifies to become a hajib must not be the killer of the deceased, so if they are the killers, the precaution must be observed.
Part 2: The inheritance of the children when the parents do not exist
1531. The sole son inherits the whole of the deceased’s estate kinship-based.
The sole daughter inherits the whole of the deceased’s estate as well, half share-based and the rest kinship-based, and no one from among the heirs from the other groups can dispute this remainder with her.
Two sons (no daughters) – or more – inherit the whole of the estate kinship-based, divided equally between them.
Two daughters (no sons) – or more – inherit two thirds share-based and the rest also goes to them kinship-based, divided equally between them.
When sons and daughters exist – one or more of each – they inherit the whole of the estate, with the male receiving twice the share of the female.
1532. If there is a spouse with the one or more sons, the husband inherits one quarter share-based and the whole of the rest goes to the sole son, or is shared equally between the many sons, kinship-based. But if the spouse is a wife, she inherits one eighth share-based, with the rest going to the one son or is shared equally between the many sons.
If there is a husband with one or more daughters, the husband inherits one quarter – as well – share-based, with the sole daughter inheriting one half share-based and the rest kinship-based. The same applies if there are two or more daughters: the husband has one quarter share-based and the daughters inherit two thirds share-based and the rest kinship-based, divided between them equally. But if there is a wife with one or more daughters, she inherits one eighth share-based, and the daughter, two daughters or more inherit two thirds as above.
And if there is a spouse with sons and daughters, then if the spouse is a husband he inherits one quarter, but if it is a wife she inherits one eighth, with what is left from the quarter or eighth divided between the sons and daughters, with the male getting twice the share of the female.
Part 3: The inheritance of the two parents and children together
1533. If one son exists with the parents (of the deceased) – one or both – with or without one of the spouses, the ruling is as follows:
1- If he exists with the two parents, each one of the parents inherits one sixth and the rest goes to the son.
2- If with him – in addition to the two parents – there is a husband (of the deceased) or a wife (of the deceased) also, each of the two parents inherit one sixth, the husband one quarter, or if a wife one eighth, then the rest goes to the son.
3- If he exists with only one of the two parents, whether a father of the deceased or a mother, this parent inherits one sixth share-based and the rest goes to the son kinship-based.
4- If with him – in addition to one of the parents – there is a husband (of the deceased) or a wife (of the deceased) also, then the ruling is like no. (3) above after giving the husband one quarter or the wife one eighth.
The ruling of this will not be different if there are two or more sons: when there are no daughters, the sons inherit what is left of the estate after taking out the share of the sole or both parents and the share of the spouse, equally divided between them.
It is also not different if there are one or more sons and one or more daughters with the others; in this case they divide what is left after the share of the parent(s) and spouse, with male getting twice the female’s share.
1534. If a daughter exists with both parents and with or without a spouse, the ruling is as follows:
1- If one daughter exists with two parents, the division takes into consideration the existence or not of a hajib to the mother’s share, so if the deceased did not have brothers and/or sisters who can exclude some of the mother’s share, in this case the estate is divided into five shares: one share for the father, one share for the mother and three shares for the daughter, all of them taking their shares share-based and kinship-based; but if the deceased had brothers and/or sisters, the mother takes her one sixth without getting anything from the rest, the father one quarter of the rest and the daughter three quarters of the rest.
The shares ended up like this because the rest – which is one sixth – after the third (the parents’ share) and the half (the daughter’s share) is divided between them according to the share of each of them; so the result after correcting the shares is to divide the estate as fifths or quarters as mentioned. This is a rule which applies in every situation where there is an additional amount to be added to the share and which leads to the correction (change) of the shares, as will arise in more than one situation.
2- If two parents exist with the daughter and a spouse:
If the spouse is the husband, he gets one quarter, and each of the two parents get one sixth, and the rest is for the daughter, ending up with a share that is less than her share – which is one half – by half of one sixth; this is on the basis of the rule: ‘Who gets the profit gets the loss’, which means: the person who gets more than his/her specified share through kinship of what is left from the estate when the estate is more than the specified shares is the one who gets a reduction – often – of his share when the specified shares are more than the estate. This rule is used in many situations.
And if the spouse is the wife, she gets one eighth, but since the estate – here – is more than the specified shares, and since the excess will be distributed to all of them except the wife, then the ruling in this part of the matter applies to the daughter and the two parents as in (1) above; so it is seen that if the deceased had brothers and/or sisters who can exclude or change some of the inheritance distribution, then the rest after the share of the wife is to be made fifths, given as one fifth to each one of the two parents and three to the sole daughter, which is for all on the share-based and kinship-based basis. But if the deceased had brother and/or sisters who can change the division, the mother gets her one sixth without any more, and the rest from the wife and mother is to be divided between the father and the daughter in quarters as share-based and kinship-based, so that the father gets one quarter and the daughter three quarters.
1535. If the two parents exist with two or more daughters, with or without the spouse, the ruling is as follows:
1- If the two parents exist with two or more daughters, the estate is divided according to their specified shares: the two parents get one third equally divided between them (i.e. one sixth for each) and the two or more daughters get the two thirds left equally divided between them.
2- If along with the two parents and two or more daughters one of the spouses exist, in this case if it is the husband, he gets one quarter, and if it is the wife, she gets one eighth, then each of the parents gets their share which is one sixth, leaving the rest to the daughters equally divided between them.
1536. If one of the two parents exists with one or more daughters, with or without a spouse, the ruling is as follows:
1- If along with one of the two parents there is one daughter only, the parent gets one quarter share-based and kinship-based, with the daughter getting the rest share-based and kinship-based as well.
But if there is one of the spouses with them as well, then if it is the husband, he gets one quarter, and if it is the wife, she gets one eighth, with the rest divided in quarters: one quarter to the parent, mother or father, and three quarters to the sole daughter, all share-based and kinship-based.
2- If along with one of the two parents there are two or more daughters, the estate is divided between them in fifths: the father gets one fifth share-based and kinship-based, with the rest to the two or more daughters equally divided between them.
If along with the two or more daughters – in addition to the parent – one spouse exists, then if it is the wife, she gets one eighth, and the rest is divided in fifths: one fifth goes to the parent share-based and kinship-based, and four fifths go to the two or more daughters share-based and kinship-based, equally divided between them. But if it was the husband, he gets one quarter, one sixth goes to the sole parent, with the rest going to the two or more daughters, which is less than their specified share, i.e. the two thirds.
Part 4: The inheritance of the children’s children
1537. The children’s children do not inherit if the deceased had a child, male or female, so if he left a daughter and a son’s son, the inheritance goes to the daughter.
1538. The children’s children come in order of inheritance, so that the nearer excludes the farther; so if the deceased had a son of a son and a son of a son of a son, the inheritance goes to the former not the latter.
1539. The children’s children inherit the share from those whom they are related to, so the daughter’s child – male or female – inherits his mother’s share which is one half, whether the child is alone or exists with the two parents, then the rest is given to him/her, kinship-based, even if male, as this is done with the mother if she exists. The son’s child – male or female – inherits his/her father’s share, so if he/she is alone he/she gets all, but if a person who has a specified share – such as a husband – exists, the child will then have all that is left after that person’s share.
1540. If the deceased had a son with children and a daughter with children – and the children were of different gender in both – then the daughter’s children inherit one third which is their mother’s share to be divided between them, as the male gets twice the female’s share, while the son’s children get two thirds, which is their father’s share to be divided between them likewise.
1541. The children’s children join – when the children do not exist – the deceased’s two parents in inheritance; this is because the parents and the children’s children are two types from the same group and the parents’ nearness to the deceased does not exclude the inheritance of the others, so:
If the deceased left two parents and a son’s child, each of the parents gets one sixth, leaving the rest to the son’s child.
And if the deceased left two parents and a daughter’s children, the two parents get two sixths and the daughter’s children one half, then the sixth that is left is to be divided between all of them according to the ratio. This is if the deceased had no brothers and/or sisters who had the conditions of exclusion (hājb); but if that is the case, the estate is to be divided into fifths: three fifths to the daughter’s children share-based and kinship-based and two fifths to the two parents likewise. However, when there are brothers and/or sisters, the mother gets one sixth, and the rest is to be divided into quarters: one quarter goes to the father share-based and kinship-based, with the rest going to the daughter’s children, equally divided between them, share-based and kinship-based as well.
And if the deceased left one parent and a daughter’s children, the daughter’s children get three quarters of the estate share-based and kinship-based, with the father getting one quarter share-based and kinship-based as well.
And if the deceased left a spouse, two parents and a daughter’s children, the spouse gets one quarter, the parents get two sixths, and the daughter’s children get two and a half sixths, since the shortfall is taken from the daughter’s children as it would have been taken from the daughter had he left a spouse, two parents and one daughter.
The same ruling applies in other situations – nothing changes except replacing the title ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ with the title ‘son’s children’ or ‘daughter’s children’ in all the possible situations of Part 3.