Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

So how much should Each brother get and how much should the Sister in Law Get if they sell a property say worth $10000 Please reply ASAP

I am sorry to bug you but I hope you can answer me in a simple Terms

We are

2 Brothers both Married

1 Sister in Law who is widow and remarried.

both parents have passed away

We want to know if we had $10000 from our parents fortune how would it be devided agains us in Islamic ways.

Please assign amounts for each brothers and for sister in law if she qualifies for any

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Inheritance sister in law

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 4 Surah Nisaa verses 11-12:

11 Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters two or more their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one her share is a half. For parents a sixth share of the inheritance to each if the deceased left children; if no children and the parents are the (only) heirs the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise.

12 In what your wives leave your share is a half if they leave no child; but if they leave a child ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave their share is a fourth if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants but has left a brother or a sister each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to anyone). Thus is it ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing Most Forbearing.

Shariah Law guides that the ‘ashaab-ul-faraiz’ or direct heirs which have a lawful proportioned share in the inheritance of any deceased are as follows:

1. Father of the deceased.
2. Mother of the deceased.
3. Wife/ Husband of the deceased.
4. Sons/Daughters of the deceased.

The wife of the son is a legal heir of her deceased husband, but she is not a legal heir of the deceased father of her husband.

Beloved brother, if your brother died before the demise of your father, the widow of your deceased brother will not receive any inheritance from the wealth of your father; for the wife of a son is not considered one of the legal heirs of her husband’s father in Shariah Law.

But if your brother died after the demise of your father, it is your brother who is entitled to a share from his father’s inheritance, and the widow of your deceased brother will then inherit only from the wealth left by her husband depending on whether they had any children or not. If they had children, she would receive 1/8^th of her deceased husband’s wealth as inheritance, and if they had no children she would receive a 1/4^th.

Thus to be absolutely precise we need the following information to guide you regarding the exact distribution of inheritance according to Shariah:

1. Who amongst the surviving heirs of your father were alive at the time of his death? His father? His mother? His wife? And exactly how many sons and how many daughters?
2. Who died first, the father or the son?
3. Did your deceased brother have any children or not? If yes, how many sons and how many daughters were alive at the time of his death?

The marriage of the sons of the deceased father, or the remarriage of the widow of the deceased brother have absolutely no relevance to the distribution of inheritance.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan