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Assabile

Mother and full sister: dividing the inheritance

The division according to the majority view, with the basis of each share. Add the value of the estate to see the amounts, or edit the example to fit your family.

Inheritance result

A man dies leaving his mother and a full sister.

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Who gets what

  1. The mother 25 40%
  2. The full sister 35 60%

Family tree

The mother 25
The full sister 35
The deceasedالمتوفى
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Why these shares?

  • The mother25

    The mother receives one third (1/3): no child or son’s child, and fewer than two brothers and sisters.

    On top of the fixed share (1/3), this heir receives part of the remainder, in proportion (radd), as there is no heir to the remainder.

    Surah An-Nisa, verse 11

  • The full sister35

    The full sister receives one half (1/2): no descendant, no father, no full brother.

    On top of the fixed share (1/2), this heir receives part of the remainder, in proportion (radd), as there is no heir to the remainder.

    Surah An-Nisa, verse 176

The verses behind these shares

The text, its translation and explanation; listen to them recited.

Surah An-Nisa, verse 11

يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَٰدِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءً فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةً فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَوَرِثَهُۥٓ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلثُّلُثُ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُۥٓ إِخْوَةٌ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلسُّدُسُ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًا فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا ۝١١

11. Allāh instructs you concerning your children [i.e., their portions of inheritance]: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [and/or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise.

Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary

Explanation of the verse

Allah instructs you in the matter of the inheritance of children that the inheritance should be divided between them. A son gets a share equal to the share of two daughters. If the person who died left daughters without a son, two daughters or more get two thirds of what is left. If there is just one daughter, she gets a half of what is left. For each of the parents of the person who has died, they get a sixth of what is left, if he has children. If he does not have children or any heir except for his parents, then the mother gets a third, and the father gets the rest. If the person who has died has two or more siblings, whether brothers, sisters, half-brothers, or half-sisters, then his mother gets a sixth as a share, and the father gets the rest – so the brothers and sisters are not given anything. This division of the inheritance is after the bequests of the will have been deducted, with the condition that the bequests in the will cannot be more than a third of the total wealth and debts have been repaid from the wealth. Allah has made the division of inheritance like this because you do not know whether your parents or your children are closer to you in benefit in this world and the next. For instance, a person may think well of someone and leave everything to them, or think badly of someone and not leave them anything, and they may be wrong in their opinion in both cases. Allah knows the reality of things and nothing is hidden from Him. For this reason, the division of inheritance is as He made clear, and He made it obligatory for His servants. Allah knows everything, and nothing is hidden from Him of what is good for His servants – He is Wise in His sacred law and administration.

Surah An-Nisa, verse 176

يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى ٱلْكَلَٰلَةِ إِنِ ٱمْرُؤٌا۟ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَلَهُۥٓ أُخْتٌ فَلَهَا نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ وَهُوَ يَرِثُهَآ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهَا وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَتَا ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا ٱلثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَ وَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَةً رِّجَالًا وَنِسَآءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۢ ۝١٧٦

176. They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, "Allāh gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females. Allāh makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allāh is Knowing of all things.

Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary

Explanation of the verse

They ask you, O Messenger, to give them a ruling with respect to the inheritance of the person who dies without any direct heirs, such as a father or child. Say: Allah explains the ruling with respect to such a person: If a person without any parent or child dies and he has a full sister or a half sister, she will receive half of the wealth he leaves – it being her set share. His full brother or half brother will receive whatever wealth he leaves behind by way of agnation, if there are no stipulated heirs; yet if there are stipulated heirs, he will inherit the balance that remains. If there are two or more full sisters or half sisters, they will inherit two thirds as their set share. If there are male and female (full or half) siblings, they will inherit by way of agnation in accordance with the rule: the male receives equivalent to the share of two females, which means that the share of the male will be double that of the female. Allah explains to you the ruling for the person who dies without direct heirs, as well as other laws of inheritance, so that you do not go astray in this regard. Allah knows everything and nothing is hidden from Him.

Step-by-step calculation

  1. The fixed shares

    • The mother : 13 (one third)
    • The full sister : 12 (one half)
  2. Base of the calculation: 6

    All shares are brought to the same denominator: the estate is divided into 6 equal parts (asl al-mas’ala).

  3. Radd

    1/6 is left and nobody inherits the remainder: it is returned to the fixed-share heirs in proportion to their shares. Beneficiaries: the mother and the full sister.

  4. Final base: 5 parts

    So that each heir receives a whole number of parts, the base goes from 6 to 5 (tashih).

    HeirShareParts out of 5Each
    The mother 25 2 2
    The full sister 35 3 3
    Total15

According to the schools

The schools do not give the same division in this case:

Heir MajorityHanafiMalikiShafi‘iHanbali
The mother 25 25 13 13 25
The full sister 35 35 12 12 35
Public treasury (bayt al-mal) 0 0 16 16 0

The highlighted column is the chosen school. Understand the differences between the schools

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