Lesson 72 Inheritance (1)

Inheritance: Inheritance for Muslim relatives is an obligation.

It is prevented in the following conditions: a) unbelief, b) when the heir kills the inherited person, and c) committing the sin of adultery.

The heirs who are bound to receive their share of the inheritance are: the husband or wife, father and mother, grandmother, grandfather and upward, sons and daughters, grandchildren through the son, brother and sister, nephews through the brother, paternal uncle and paternal cousins.

Males take double the share of females, if they are in the same degree of relation.

Universal heirs: Universal heir: is someone who inherits all the inheritance if he is the only one to inherit, or takes what remains after the heirs deserving obligatory shares have taken their dues.

However, it is prohibited for him to inherit if nothing remains after the obligated inheritors.

Divisions of Universal heirs: Universal heirs are divided into: a) Universal heir by oneself such as the father, grandfather, son, full or paternal brother and the sons of any, and full paternal uncle or half paternal uncle to the grandfather and the sons of any.

Divisions of Universal heirs: b) Universal heirs as related to one another that is, every female related to a male universal heir of the same degree inherits with him such as a daughter and son.

Divisions of Universal heirs: c) Universal heir with another, is that every female becomes a universal heir with another female universal heir, like the sister with the daughter.

Prevention of inheritance: Those heirs whose shares are eliminated by others, i.e. the existence of some heirs prevents others from inheritance either: partially or totally.

The obligatory shares mentioned in the Qur’an 1- One-half: a) for the husband if his wife has no children

One half: b) A sister if she is the only heir of her brother.

c) A daughter if she is the only heir of the father.

d) A mother if she is the only heir of her son or grandson.

2- One-fourth: a) for the husband if his wife has children;

One-fourth: b) for a wife or wives if the inherited husband has neither sons nor grandsons.

3- One-eighth: for the wife or wives if the inherited husband has a son or sons.

4- Two-thirds: a) for two sisters or more if they are the only heirs of their brother.

Two-thirds: b) Two daughters or more if they are the only inheritors of their father.

5- One-third: a) for the mother if her inherited son has neither a male nor a female child, nor grandchild, nor two or more brothers and sisters.

One-third: b) The mother's brothers if they are two or more, and if the inherited has no direct inheritor such as father, grandfather, or male and female grandchildren.

6- One-sixth: a) for the mother if the inherited has children or grandchildren, or has two or more sisters and brothers. The same for the grandmother if the inherited has no mother with the same conditions.

One-sixth: b) The father, whether the inherited has no children or not. The grandfather if the inherited has no father.

One-sixth: c) The only brother or only sister of the mother if the inherited has no father, grandfather nor child. The paternal sister in the presence of one full sister if there is no paternal brother, mother, grandfather, son, nor grandson.

For more details, refer to the inheritance schedule, Fiqh books, and computer programs that calculate the exact amount for each case.