INheritance Laws-- Overlap?
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Peace
Well if the rules of inheritance are a bugger right now do not let it get to you since it has bee made incumbant on the mumin to write up a will before his/her passing away anyways .
Let me make a scenerio. Husband dies leaving behind wife and daughter. If no will has been drawn up we turn to the ayatin of chapter 411-14, 176.
Daughter is to recieve 50% share and the wife is to recieve 12.5%. This is to be so after the paying off of any debts that there may be.
Joe
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Hello
This issue was argued for years by www.answering-islam.org years ago, The fact of the matter is this, they misunderstood the Quran by simply taking verses out of context to support their wrong understanding.
One of the known facts about the Quran critics is, they insist that the Quran statements MUST be taken in the most literal sense. Yet 411-12 even when taken in a literal manner does not support their misunderstanding.
CLAIM Inheritance shares add to more than 100%
They claim that there is a mistake in the matter of inheritance. they say that the shares allocated to individual heirs in a particular case would add up to more than 100%. If a man dies leaving three daughters, his parents, and his wife the accumulated total will add up to 1.125. verses 411-1211- ?Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance) to the male, a portion equal to that of two females if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the 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 ('s) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Al-wise.?
12- ?In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. 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; so that no loss is caused (to any one). Thus is it ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Most Forbearing.?
(11)
(12)
-> They say, verses 411-12 shows that in the particular case of three daughters, they together will receive 2/3, the parents together will receive 1/3, and the wife will receive 1/8 (2/3 + 1/3 + 1/ = 1.125 Hence a numerical mistake.
Adding two unknowns
They certainly misunderstood what they read in the Quran. The verses they refers to do not say what the parents will receive in this case. Nor does it say what the wife will receive in this case.The Quran does not literally prescribe what the parents will receive in the case which of three daughters left behind. It is true that the Quran literally prescribes that the parents will share 1/3 when a man dies leaving one child (411). But the case which they propose is different. their case involves three daughters, and the literal Quranic prescription involves only one child. Hence their alleged numerical discrepancy is built on his confusing one case for another.
If we were to follow the Quranic prescriptions literally, in the case of three daughters left behind, the wife?s share is also not specified. The Quran literally prescribes a 1/8 share for the wife if the husband leaves only one child. But their case involves three daughters. And the number three happens to be more than the number one.
They think that the stated shares in this case would be 2/3 + 1/3 + 1/8, whereas in fact since two of these shares are not actually stated in the Quran, the shares are 2/3 + ? + ? = ? Since the Quran does not make a statement on this specific case, it is impossible for the Quran to be wrong. The details of this case is left to the will of the deceased if he left one or to or the will of his closest family members. Their confusion apparently springs from their reliance here on misleading translation of the Quran. These translation of these passages mistakenly traslate walad as "children" whereas walad is singular "a child".
The man with no direct heirs
They claim that there is a further discrepancy in this matter in the case of a man who leaves a mother, a wife, and two sisters. If the allotted shares are added up the total exceeds the total estate. In this case the mother gets 1/3 (411) the wife gets 1/4 ( 412) and the two sisters together receive 2/3 (4176). These shares add up to 15/12 = 1.25Dead mother gets no share
They re again mistaken. To arrive to that wrong shares total, They refer to the shares allocated in 4176 of the Quran. But that verse refers to a man who leaves neither parent nor child. At the time of his death his mother already lays in her own grave and as such can lay no claim to a share of inheritance.Their misunderstanding is again due to mistranslation. In the Quran in 4176 the case described is that of a man who is called in Arabic "kalalah" which is correctly translated by Yusuf Ali as one who leaves "no descendants or ascendants"
?They ask thee for a legal decision. Say Allah directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants 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 (between them) if there are brothers and sisters, (they share), the male having twice the share of the female. Thus doth Allah make clear to you (His law), lest ye err. And Allah hath knowledge of all things.?
(176)
Daughters Only Implies "No Sons"
Actually, again, there is no problem in the scripture itself, only in their ignornat approach. The passage (411) first mentions the general principle that a son gets twice what the daughter gets. Then it goes on to prescribe in cases when only daughters remain.Only when there is no son, and only one daughter, does the verse prescribe half the estate for the daughter. So they are goings on about the double share for the son is mistaken. In this case there exists by definition a total number of zero sons and one daughter, and no other children.
The fact that this is a case of no son can be immediately seen from the Quranic text. Speaking of the children, the Quran moves over to a use of the feminine plural pronoun "kunna" which by definition cannot include males. You will find that wrong translation do not sufficiently emphasize this reference to females alone. Yet the translation is not alone to blame here. The problem rests with their approach. On the one hand they call the prophet a successful businessman and the author of the Quran. Surely such a man would know that if you put half of the camels on one side the other side cannot have twice the number. Or, that if he already paid for half his merchandise he should not again pay for the remainder twice what he paid for the first half. Such a man would know that if he gave half his wealth to his daughter he cannot also give twice as much to his son.
CLAIM Brothers can inherit if only no direct heirs remain
They think that according 412 and 4176 the siblings of the person who died only then share in the inheritance if there are no direct heirs (i.e. parents or children ). Hence they concluded that a brother cannot inherit if a mother is alive. But they find this conclusion to contradict 411 which seems to allocate a share to a brother along with the mother.Searching for the word "only"
Here they misunderstand both 412 and 4176. Neither of these verses state that a sibling can inherit "only" if there are no parents or children. Hence their contention is without basis. This time their contention is not even based on a mistranslation.Peace
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As Salaam Alaikum,
Wow brother, that makes a whole lot of since now! It really does.
But this one kind of disturbs me...
In surha 411 it says that if there are onyl daughters they get 2/3, and the parents get 1/6 each if deceased left children.
Adding everything up... the wife would be excluded from the inheritance???
thought just crossed my mind
Actually when i am thinking about it, it may not be really unjustifiable and cruel, the reason is becuase the man is actually suppose to bequest a year of accomodation for her (therefore her share will be taken out when it people pay off his debts, etc,). I guess she is expected to remarry.
wow things make alot more since now. I still need to add up things for myself again... but yea, that makes so much since.
salaam
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As SAlaam ALaikum,
But then again... if the Quran is saying "no decendant or accendants" then such and such goes to siblings....... what about the spouses?
Can the spouse only inherit if the deceased left parents, but no child or if the deceased left a child?
When can a spouse inherit?
In arabic, does "ascendant" or "decandant" include spouse???
salaam
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Maybe you could take something from the business world.
For example if you own 1/10 or 1/1000 of a company and there are no other shareholders that means you own 100%.
If you owned 1/2 and someones else 1/4. It doesn't mean the 1/4 is unclaimed. It would mean that you own twice as much as the other guy.
You'd get the same result if you owned 1/10 and your partner 1/20.
This way of working allows much greater flexibility.
I believe the shares values in Quran are given relative to one another and not the inheritance - the reason being that it starts of by comparing the share of the brother to the sister which is 21.
So if a man dies and leaves only a daughter and no other family, then her share relative to the others is 1/2. Since there are no other share holders it means she will get 100% of the inheritance.
but if her mother were alive then then you have two shareholders
at 1/2 1/8. Meaning the daugher will get four times as much as the mother. So if the old man left 10 dinars then the mother will get 1/8 dinar for every 1/2 the daughter gets.Taking your example the shares are
2/3 1/6 1/6 1/8
lets combine the parents for ease.
2/3 1/3 1/8
Meaning the girls get twice as much as the parents but the wife still gets 1/8 for every 2/3 the girls get.
Peace.
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As Salaam Alaikum,
Alaikom Al Salam Bro
Wow brother, that makes a whole lot of since now! It really does.
I agree from one point which is just to prove that it can't be a mistake as the critics of islam promote, however I have not provided any details regarding the whole inhertance laws, but as showed you that it can't be a mistake because it is not covering everything rather it still require people who knows the Fiqh very well to produce a complete reference regarding the inhertance laws
But this one kind of disturbs me...
In surha 411 it says that if there are onyl daughters they get 2/3, and the parents get 1/6 each if deceased left children.
Adding everything up... the wife would be excluded from the inheritance???
ok let's work it out step by step
the deceased left only one daughter, his parents, a wife and no sons
in this case
The daughter will take 1/2
each of the parents will take 1/6 = 1/3
total will be 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6, i.e there will be 1/6 that can be distributed on others including the wife
if there was more than one dauhter, then yes the wife will take nothing
indeed I found this a common practice in Egypt, however the wife can be allocated a portion by the deceased in his will before he dies, and certainly most husbands do that in Egypt, some don't btw and all his estate goes to the children and the parents if they still alive
now if a man alocated 1/10 to his wife in his will, then before the devide the state according to what we dicussed above that 1/10 must be put aside and the percentages will be wroked out on the rest of his estate
I remember my grandpa didn't leave any for my grandma, and all the money went to the children "all married adults" about 5 of them, and my grandman was very upset because he didn't allocate a portion for her in his will, however her kids took care of her
thought just crossed my mind
very valid thoughts but as I explained to you if the wife is good and the husband is good and both fear Allah then most likely the husband will allocate a portion to her in his will and that will be put aside then divide the rest accordingly
the wife actually in many occasions ends up taking more than the kids if the deseaced allocated say 50% to her in his will, consequently the children and the parents "if any" will share 50% only
Actually when i am thinking about it, it may not be really unjustifiable and cruel, the reason is becuase the man is actually suppose to bequest a year of accomodation for her (therefore her share will be taken out when it people pay off his debts, etc,). I guess she is expected to remarry.
yes it is a possibility for her to re-marry but only if she is still young, in most cases she will be old and deprived from beauty consequently the deceased must do the honorable thing and allocate a portion to her and as you can see that the Quran stresses that any will from the deseased must be paid in full prior to dividing the rest of the estate
wow things make alot more since now. I still need to add up things for myself again... but yea, that makes so much since.
salaam
I hope I added more sense
Salam Brother, I'm impressed by how young are you and how keen you are to know your religion the right way, Allah bless you bro and make it easy for you
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Maybe you could take something from the business world.
For example if you own 1/10 or 1/1000 of a company and there are no other shareholders that means you own 100%.
If you owned 1/2 and someones else 1/4. It doesn't mean the 1/4 is unclaimed. It would mean that you own twice as much as the other guy.
You'd get the same result if you owned 1/10 and your partner 1/20.
This way of working allows much greater flexibility.
I believe the shares values in Quran are given relative to one another and not the inheritance - the reason being that it starts of by comparing the share of the brother to the sister which is 21.
So if a man dies and leaves only a daughter and no other family, then her share relative to the others is 1/2. Since there are no other share holders it means she will get 100% of the inheritance.
but if her mother were alive then then you have two shareholders
at 1/2 1/8. Meaning the daugher will get four times as much as the mother. So if the old man left 10 dinars then the mother will get 1/8 dinar for every 1/2 the daughter gets.Taking your example the shares are
2/3 1/6 1/6 1/8
lets combine the parents for ease.
2/3 1/3 1/8
Meaning the girls get twice as much as the parents but the wife still gets 1/8 for every 2/3 the girls get.
Peace.
Thank you bro
your comment is very worthy to check out and I will thoroughly
Peace be with you
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As SAlaam ALaikum,
But then again... if the Quran is saying "no decendant or accendants" then such and such goes to siblings....... what about the spouses?
According to the verse, they will take nothing UNLESS THE DECEASED HAS ALLOCATED A PORTION TO HER IN HIS WILL and consequently it has to be finalised first before dividing the rest
Can the spouse only inherit if the deceased left parents, but no child or if the deceased left a child?
I believe the wife can legally inherit ? if the deceased didn?t leave any children
And if the deceased left one child then she will be entitled to 1/8When can a spouse inherit?
The wife can inherit in all cases if the deceased allocated a portion in his will specifically to her, this will take priority over the rest of the family
In addition to the above she may be entitled to the following as well
-> If there one child only she will take 1/8
-> No child at all she will take 1/4
In arabic, does "ascendant" or "decandant" include spouse???
the Arabic word was ?Waladun? and it only means children, spouse can not be included
salaam
Peace be with you
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As SAlaam Alaikum Ahmed,
the deceased left only one daughter, his parents, a wife and no sons
in this case
The daughter will take 1/2
each of the parents will take 1/6 = 1/3
total will be 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6, i.e there will be 1/6 that can be distributed on others including the wife
if there was more than one dauhter, then yes the wife will take nothing
indeed I found this a common practice in Egypt, however the wife can be allocated a portion by the deceased in his will before he dies, and certainly most husbands do that in Egypt, some don't btw and all his estate goes to the children and the parents if they still alive
now if a man alocated 1/10 to his wife in his will, then before the devide the state according to what we dicussed above that 1/10 must be put aside and the percentages will be wroked out on the rest of his estate
Well actually since, this a case of just one child... wouldn't it be (at least) 1/2 to the daughter, 1/8th to the wife... and then he can distribute to his parents as he wished? Their numbers are only set when ther are more than one child (it's the wife's that isn't).
salaam
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As SAlaam Alaikum Ahmed,
Alaikum Al SalaThe Inheritance laws is really hard and deep in the Quran bro, I know westerners who spent a few years to work it out and the outcome was they reverted to Islam just after working it out, there are many books about it bro, this is not something that can be discussed in a page or two it needs at least 50 pages because we will have to work out all the possibilities up to a logical point of how many children someone can have
So what we are discussing is just scratching the surface and sure both of us will benefit
Well actually since, this a case of just one child... wouldn't it be (at least) 1/2 to the daughter, 1/8th to the wife... and then he can distribute to his parents as he wished?
He could have distributed all his will as he wished, ie. written in his will that so and so should take much and much, then if anything left after paying as such, verses 411-12 & 4176 should apply
In fact adhering to the will of the deceased as he wished and documented IS A FIRST PRIORITY AS SEEN IN THE VERSES
For example, imagine I have a factory, I can write in my will that this factory should be given to my wife, then she will have it and if there is nothing left, bad luck for my kids because that is what I wanted and has to be fulfilled according to the verses, and believe there are many who do this, it looks odd though doesn't it?
So if there is one daughter left, a wife and two parents, I believe it should be as follow
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Pay any thing that the deceased explicitly allocated for any one,
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Pay any debts the deceased own then divide the rest as follow
a) The daughter will take 1/2
b) The parents will take 1/6 + 1/6 = 1/3
c) The wife will take 1/8Total = 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/8 = 12/24 + 8/24 + 3/24 = 23/24
Their numbers are only set when ther are more than one child (it's the wife's that isn't).
salaam
not sure about your question bro, can you elaborate please
Peace
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Taking your example the shares are
2/3 1/6 1/6 1/8
lets combine the parents for ease.
2/3 1/3 1/8
Meaning the girls get twice as much as the parents but the wife still gets 1/8 for every 2/3 the girls get.
Peace.
Hello Burhan
can you please give me an example on an estate worth 1000 units?
peace
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Sure bro.
Well its basic maths after that.
Add up all the shareholders
2/3
1/3
1/8
9/8
then multiply out the ratios like so.
(induvidual share ratio)/(total shares ratios) * (total estate value) = (induvidual share value)
2/3 * 8/9 * 1000 = 16/27 * 1000 = 593
1/3 * 8/9 * 1000 = 8/27 * 1000 = 296
1/8 * 8/9 * 1000 = 1/9 * 1000 = 111peace.
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Sure bro.
Well its basic maths after that.
Add up all the shareholders
2/3
1/3
1/8
9/8
then multiply out the ratios like so.
(induvidual share ratio)/(total shares ratios) * (total estate value) = (induvidual share value)
2/3 * 8/9 * 1000 = 16/27 * 1000 = 593
1/3 * 8/9 * 1000 = 8/27 * 1000 = 296
1/8 * 8/9 * 1000 = 1/9 * 1000 = 111peace.
Thank you mate
now it is more clearer
peace be with you
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Peace all;
one question i have no clear answer for yet is
do we only turn to the quranic inheritance laws when no will was drawn ?
Thanx in advance for your answers.
lk
Peace
in both cases of leaveing a will or not, the matter should be turned to the quranic inheritance laws
you can see that the laws say clearly to divide after honoring any will left by the deceased, ie. the deaceased may not leave a will, so the verse is covering both possibilities of leaving a will or not, hence we should refer to it regardless a will was left or not
Allah knows best
peace be with you
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Peace,
what then if the will is already distributing all there is ?
lk
Peace
I don't understand your question, but I can have a guess at it by the following example
Assume that I have written the following will
"I want my dear wife to inherit all the estate I have"
now assume that I'm dead now, well according to the Quran and my will, my wife must take all my estate and bad luck to the others
me being fair or not is not the issue here, the issue is the Quran said we distribute what left after fulfilling the will of the deceased, if nothing left bad luck to whoever don't get a penny
peace