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What is the wisdom behind uncles inheriting in the case where the deceased only has daughters, and why is inheritance not limited to the daughters?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The full paternal uncle and the half paternal uncle (from the father's side) are considered 'asabah (agnatic heirs), and they inherit what remains after the ashab al-furood (Qur'anic heirs) have taken their shares, provided there is no closer agnatic heir to the deceased. The wisdom behind their inheritance is that they support the deceased, show loyalty to him, and defend him. They also bear the burden of the blood money for accidental killing on his behalf. Thus, it is just that they inherit as they bear responsibilities. Therefore, the paternal uncle's son is among the agnatic heirs of the deceased who support him and bear the burden of the blood money on his behalf. For this reason, if a man accidentally kills someone, the 'aqilah (the blood-money bearing relatives, which include the full paternal uncle and the half paternal uncle from the father's side) bear the blood money, while his daughters bear nothing, because women from the perpetrator's relatives do not bear the 'aql (blood money). The 'aqilah are the male agnatic relatives of the perpetrator by lineage, and they do not include dhawu al-arham (uterine relatives) or women, because they are not among those who provide support.

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

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