Back to search

How is an inheritance divided among a mother, a wife, three sons, two daughters, and a maternal half-brother, considering existing debts, unfulfilled obligatory charity (Zakat), an unperformed obligatory pilgrimage (Hajj), and expiations (kaffarat)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

First, the debts of the deceased, their zakat, expiations, and funds designated for Hajj on their behalf must be settled before the inheritance is distributed among the heirs. If nothing remains, then there is nothing for the heirs.

If the deceased left only a mother, a wife, sons, and two daughters, the mother receives one-sixth due to the presence of a lineal descendant, and the wife receives one-eighth due to the presence of a lineal descendant. The remainder goes to the sons and daughters by ta'sib (residuary kinship), with the male receiving the share of two females. The brother from the mother's side receives nothing as he is completely excluded from inheritance.

The inheritance is divided into 192 shares: the mother receives 32 shares, the wife receives 24 shares, each son receives 34 shares, and each daughter receives 17 shares.

Inheritance matters must be brought before the Sharia courts to verify the existence of other heirs, wills, debts, and other rights that take precedence over the rights of the heirs.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy