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How is the estate of a person who died, leaving behind two full sisters, one maternal half-sister, and the children of paternal uncles, to be distributed, knowing that the ascendants are deceased and the deceased was not married?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The male heirs are fifteen, and the female heirs are ten. The method of distributing the inheritance cannot be clarified until the heirs are definitively identified without any ambiguity.

If it is assumed that the deceased left no heirs other than those mentioned, and that his parents and grandparents had passed away before him, then his two full sisters receive two-thirds, according to the Almighty's saying: ﴿فَإِنْ كَانَتَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا الثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَ﴾ (But if there are two [sisters], they receive two-thirds of what he left). His sister from the mother's side receives one-sixth, according to the Almighty's saying: ﴿وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ﴾ (And if he has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is the sixth). The remainder goes to the paternal male cousins by way of ta'sib (residuary heirship), based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Give the prescribed shares to those entitled to them; then whatever remains is for the nearest male relative."

The inheritance is divided into six shares: four shares for the two full sisters, one share for the sister from the mother's side, and one share for the paternal male cousins, which they divide equally among themselves. The paternal female cousins receive nothing.

It is advisable to present the matter to the Sharia courts or consult scholars directly to verify the heirs, wills, debts, and other rights.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy