INHERITANCE 1
17 November 2023 • 246 views
QUESTION:
I have a question with regards to farā'iḍ (Islamic Laws of Inheritance). My Aunty is married but has no children of her own, and she is in her 60s. She wants to know- first, what is the ruling on who will get her wealth accordingly and the percentage, second, after distribution of her wealth to her family members like an ongoing (monthly), she wants to know the other part of her wealth to contribute for an ongoing sadaqah jariyah (monthly). Can the above-mentioned Farā'iḍ law method be implemented? Additional My Aunty's parents are no longer alive. She has two elder brothers and three elder sisters, and she is married but has no children. Just to add, my Aunty's husband has two other wives who are not Muslims, as are his children; my Aunty's husband is a revert Muslim Bi'ithnillah. Please advice. Jazakallahu Khairan
ANSWER:
Before inheritance can be shared, these three matters have to be taken care of:
1⃣. Funeral service (this is payed from her own wealth unless someone volunteers to cover it on her behalf)
2⃣. Does she have any unpayed debts? (this is also covered from her wealth)
3⃣. Does she have a financial Will? (She has the right to use NO MORE THAN one third of her wealth in the Will, and she must not apportion any extra wealth to any of the inheritors).
Once these matters are taken care of, the remaining wealth is shared between the inheritors as follows:
From what I've gathered, these are the only inheritors:
- Husband
- 2 brothers & 3 sisters
We need to confirm if:
A. These 5 siblings share the same mum and dad as her
B. And are all of the above-mentioned Muslims
Assuming they are all Muslim - The husband gets half of the wealth, due to the saying of Allāh ﷻ:
{ولكم نصف ما ترك أزواجكم إن لم يكن لهن ولد}
Provided the siblings are Muslim, they will share in the remaining half; the males will get twice as much as the females, as Allāh ﷻ said:
{وَإِنْ كَانُوا إِخْوَةً رِجَالًا وَنِسَاءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ} آية الكلالة