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What happens to the remainder of the inheritance of Kalalah after giving the one-sixth to the brother or sister?

2 min readAlso available in العربية

Kalalah refers to a deceased person who has neither a father nor a son.

If the kalalah has a brother or sister from the mother's side, each inherits one-sixth. If they are more than one, they are sharers in one-third, as stated in the verse: "And if a man or a woman is inherited as kalalah (having no parent or child), and he has a brother or a sister [from the mother's side], then for each one of them is the sixth; but if they are more than that, they are partners in the third." If the kalalah has a wife, she inherits one-fourth. If the kalalah has a full brother, he inherits the entire estate, or the remainder by ta'sib (residuary heirship) after the prescribed shares of the Ashab al-Furuḍ (sharers) are distributed. If the kalalah has a full sister, she inherits one-half. If there are two full sisters, they inherit two-thirds, as stated in the verse: "They ask you for a legal decision. Say: Allah gives you a decision concerning kalalah (one who leaves no children or parents). If a man dies, leaving no child but has a sister, she shall have half of what he leaves; and he shall inherit from her if she leaves no child. But if there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of what he leaves. And if there are brothers and sisters, then for the male is the share of two females."

If the deceased has only a brother or a sister from the mother's side, that person takes one-sixth as a prescribed share, and the remainder of the estate reverts to them according to the Hanafi and Hanbali schools. However, Malik and Shafi'i held the view that the remainder of the estate reverts to the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) when no 'asabah (agnatic heirs) exist.

It is necessary to inquire about each inheritance case based on the heirs to avoid confusion in applying the rulings.

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

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