Please divide the inheritance: A man died and left a wife.

If the deceased left no heirs other than his wife, she receives one-fourth as her prescribed share due to the absence of children. Allah Almighty says: (And for them is one-fourth of what you leave if you have no child). As for the remainder, it is returned to the relatives by consanguinity (dhawu al-arham) according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis, or to the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) according to the Shafi'is and Malikis.

If the Muslim public treasury is not properly managed, the preferred opinion for us is that the remainder should be returned to the relatives by consanguinity, because relatives by consanguinity are given precedence over the public treasury according to the Hanbalis and Hanafis, and similarly according to the later Maliki and Shafi'i scholars if the public treasury is not properly managed.

It must be noted that matters of inheritance are extremely serious and intricate. Therefore, they must be referred to the Sharia (definition) courts or discussed directly with scholars to achieve the interests of both the living and the deceased.