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How is an inheritance distributed if the heirs are: a mother, a missing wife, three full sisters, and one full brother?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the heirs are limited to those mentioned, the mother receives one-sixth due to the presence of multiple siblings. The wife receives one-fourth due to the absence of a lineal descendant heir. The remaining portion goes to the full brothers and full sisters by ta'sib (agnatic inheritance), with the male receiving the share of two females. The estate is divided into sixty shares: the mother receives ten shares, the full brother receives fourteen shares, and each full sister receives seven shares. Fifteen shares are put on hold for the missing wife until her situation becomes clear and her case is referred to the Sharia court. If the judge rules that she is alive, her share remains. If the judge rules that she is deceased, the suspended shares are returned to the full brother and full sisters. This applies if the missing wife is the one mentioned among the heirs. However, if she is a second wife, the present wife takes half of the missing wife's suspended share, and she takes the remaining half if the missing wife is ruled deceased. Estate matters must be referred to Sharia courts to ensure justice and the presence of all heirs, debts, and bequests.

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

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