Inheritance of mother

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Respected brother aasalamoalaikum

May allah taalah reward you for the great work. Aameen i read all the questions about Islamic law -inheritance on your website.and both my husband and i learnt a lot through these questions.in fact i wanted solution my query but did not find anything similar. my parents are alhamdollilah alive and in good health,shukar allah. we are only three sisters and are all married.

My mothers owns a house some other property her gold jewels some personal investments etc.she has two sisters and one brother.

She always tell us that one day after her death all her wealth etc must be absolutley shared among us(the 3 sisters).my father asks her to give it to us during her life time but she refuses and i think she is right as her wealth is her own investment in case of emergency (sickness .old age)and of course we do not know whom allah taalah will call fisrt.my father does not agree when she says that she has given us all her belongings but in fact she will use these things until she dies(may allah talah grant her long life with health>aameen).my father says this is just an excuse so that the wealth does not go to her own brothers and sisters.i want ot ask in such cases what must be done.as one of us agrees with my father while other agrees with my mother. please show us the correct path.

2. and also i read your translation " If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants 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 and debts " i have not understood this part.what will happen to the rest of shares.

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Answer:

Inheritance of mother

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statements: ….she always tell us that one day after her death all her wealth etc must be absolutley shared among us(the 3 sisters).my father asks her to give it to us during her life time but she refuses….. my father says this is just an excuse so that the wealth does not go to her own brothers and sisters.i want ot ask in such cases what must be done.as one of us agrees with my father while other agrees with my mother. Please show us the correct path.

Your mother is the inherent owner of her wealth, and she is well within her rights to give all her wealth or a part of it during her lifetime as a gift to whomsoever she wills and pleases.

But to distribute all her wealth to her three daughters in her lifetime only so that she may deprive the other legal heirs who would inherit a share of her wealth after her death (her husband, her brothers, her sisters, etc.) would indeed be a grave sin in the Sight of the Lord.

The correct and most honorable way would be to utilize one’s wealth as one is directed during one’s lifetime, and whatever one leaves behind after one’s death is distributed as inheritance to the legal heirs according the shares prescribed by the Lord Most Wise Himself.

May Allah protect your parents and grant them an honorable life, but because your mother does not have any sons, at her death, her inheritance would be distributed to her surviving legal heirs according to Shariah as follows:

1/4^th or 25% to her husband.

2/3^rd or 66% to be distributed equally between the three daughters.

Balance 9% to be distributed between her surviving brothers and sisters; the brothers receiving twice the share of the sisters.

Your Question: ….and also i read your translation " If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants 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 and debts " i have not understood this part.what will happen to the rest of shares.

Firstly, please allow us to clarify one thing: brothers/sisters can be of three origins:

1. Where both parents are common.
2. Where the mother alone is common and the fathers separate.
3. Where the father alone is common and mothers separate.

The above quoted Aayah is specifically regarding the share of inheritance of a person who has left a brother, or a sister, or both brothers and sisters from the mother’s side alone (common mother).

Depending on how many brothers and sisters one is survived by from the mothers side, they will either receive 1/6^th (16.67%) or 1/3^rd (33%).

The balance wealth will be distributed between full brothers/sisters, or brothers/sisters from the father’s side.

If the deceased is not survived by full brothers/sisters, or brothers/sisters from the father’s side, then the inheritance will go to the children (nephew/nieces) of the deceased brothers/sisters.

If there are no nephews/nieces, then the inheritance will go to the uncles/aunts of the deceased….

If no uncles/aunts survived the deceased, then it would go to the children of the uncles/aunts (cousins)….etc.

Thus to answer your specific question, after the 1/6^th or 1/3^rd is distributed to the brother/sister from the mother’s side, the balance would be distributed to the other legal heirs who survive the deceased.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan