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What is the ruling of the Sharia on inheritance written for the wife and male children, excluding females? Do the sons and grandsons sin if the females are not given their lawful share? And will the deceased be punished if the right is restored to the females?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The testator writing over a portion of his estate to his wife or male children, excluding his daughters, is considered a bequest to an heir, which is not binding unless the remaining heirs agree. If the daughters do not agree, they have the right to their share of the inheritance, and denying them is considered an unlawful seizure of people's wealth.

The wife receives one-eighth due to the existence of a lineal descendant: "But if you have a child, then for them is one eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may] make or debt." (An-Nisa: 12). The remainder is for the sons and daughters by way of ta'sib (residuary heirship), with the male receiving the share of two females: "Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females." (An-Nisa: 11). The estate is divided into 152 shares: 19 shares for the wife, 14 shares for each son, and 7 shares for each daughter.

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

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