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Division of the estate of one who leaves a wife, two sons and a daughter behind

04-09-1998

Question 2479

assume the following family situation :-
father , mother , daughter - eldest ,son no.1, son no.2
on the death of the father, what would be the portion of inheritance by each surviving member of the family according to sharia ? I look forward to hearing from you soon

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If the head of a household composed of a wife, a daughter and two sons dies, then the wife will receive one-eighth of the estate, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… 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…” [al-Nisaa’ 4:12]. The rest of the inhertance should be divided into five shares, with two shares going to each son and one share going to the daughter, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…” [al-Nisaa’ 4:11]. And Allaah knows best.

Inheritance and distribution of the estate
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