How to solve the following problem regarding distribution of Inheritance shares?

Sources

• ✓ 4:11 · An-Nisaa

  4:11 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۚ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءًۭ فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ ۖ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةًۭ فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ ۚ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ وَوَرِثَهُۥٓ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلثُّلُثُ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُۥٓ إِخْوَةٌۭ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًۭا ۚ فَرِيضَةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًۭا

  Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females, and if there be women more than two, then theirs is two-thirds of the inheritance, and if there be one (only) then the half. And to each of his parents a sixth of the inheritance, if he have a son; and if he have no son and his parents are his heirs, then to his mother appertaineth the third; and if he have brethren, then to his mother appertaineth the sixth, after any legacy he may have bequeathed, or debt (hath been paid). Your parents and your children: Ye know not which of them is nearer unto you in usefulness. It is an injunction from Allah. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise.

• ✓ 4:12 · An-Nisaa

  4:12 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  ۞ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِينَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَهُنَّ ٱلثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ تُوصُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌۭ يُورَثُ كَلَٰلَةً أَوِ ٱمْرَأَةٌۭ وَلَهُۥٓ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌۭ فَلِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى ٱلثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصَىٰ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّۢ ۚ وَصِيَّةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌۭ

  And unto you belongeth a half of that which your wives leave, if they have no child; but if they have a child then unto you the fourth of that which they leave, after any legacy they may have bequeathed, or debt (they may have contracted, hath been paid). And unto them belongeth the fourth of that which ye leave if ye have no child, but if ye have a child then the eighth of that which ye leave, after any legacy ye may have bequeathed, or debt (ye may have contracted, hath been paid). And if a man or a woman have a distant heir (having left neither parent nor child), and he (or she) have a brother or a sister (only on the mother's side) then to each of them twain (the brother and the sister) the sixth, and if they be more than two, then they shall be sharers in the third, after any legacy that may have been bequeathed or debt (contracted) not injuring (the heirs by willing away more than a third of the heritage) hath been paid. A commandment from Allah. Allah is Knower, Indulgent.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 4:12

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 4:12

  Allah, Exalted be He, says in this verse that men are entitled to half the inheritance of their wives if the wives die without leaving children. However, if the wives have children, the husband's share is a quarter of what they leave behind after any valid will or debt has been accounted for. It is established and agreed upon by scholars that debts take precedence over bequests, which in turn come before inheritance distribution — this sequence is unanimously accepted and forms part of the inheritance law. The ruling regarding children includes both legitimate offspring (descended through the father) and offspring born outside wedlock but acknowledged. The verse continues, stating that women receive a quarter of their husbands' inheritance if the husband leaves no children, and an eighth if he does. This share is the same whether it is a single wife or multiple wives, whether two, three, or four wives, they collectively share that portion. Regarding the phrase “after a bequest he makes or a debt,” the interpretation follows what was previously explained: the estate’s debts must be settled first, then bequests fulfilled before inheritance is distributed. Concerning the term “a man who dies leaving no direct heir,” known as “kalala” (derived from 'the crown'), it refers to a person whose closest inheritors are neither descendants nor ascendants — that is, he has no children, no parents. This is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, who was asked about the meaning of kalala and gave his opinion candidly, noting that if he was correct, it was by Allah’s guidance, and if mistaken, it was from himself and Satan, with Allah and His Messenger being innocent of his error. Umar ibn al-Khattab later affirmed this understanding but was reluctant to differ with Abu Bakr’s opinion. This is narrated by Ibn Jarir and others. Ibn Abi Hatim reports from Ibn Abbas that “kalala” means one who has neither child nor parent, supported also by Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Mas'ud, other companions, and several early scholars including Al-Shabi, Al-Nakha'i, Al-Hasan al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir ibn Zayd, Al-Hakam, and the jurists of Madinah, Kufa, and Basra. This consensus is robust and backed by a reported hadith. Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Laban mentions an opposing report from Ibn Abbas, but the authentic understanding supports the broader, established meaning. The next phrase, “and has a brother or sister,” is interpreted by some early authorities as siblings from the mother’s side, based on variant recitations and the explanation by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq via Qatadah. Each such sibling is entitled to one-sixth, but if there are more than two, they collectively share one-third of the estate. The siblings from the maternal side differ from other heirs in several ways: they inherit alongside whoever brought the deceased into the lineage (i.e., the mother), their male and female siblings from that side inherit equally, they only inherit if the deceased dies kalala (without descendants or ascendants) — thus they do not inherit alongside the deceased's father, grandfather, children, or grandchildren — and they cannot collectively exceed one-third of the estate, regardless of their number. Ibn Abi Hatim narrates from Al-Zuhri that Umar ibn al-Khattab ruled that siblings from the mother share the inheritance, the male receiving twice the female’s share. Muhammad ibn Shihab al-Zuhri remarks that Umar would not have ruled thus if he had not been assured it was the Prophet’s guidance. This verse supports that ruling mentioning the third shared among them. Scholars have differed regarding cases where the inheritance involves a spouse, a mother or grandmother, the two maternal siblings, and the paternal siblings. The majority opinion places the husband’s share at half, the mother or grandmother’s at one-sixth, and the maternal siblings share one-third, who share that portion with paternal siblings in proportion with the maternal siblings. This issue arose during Umar’s caliphate, when he allocated the husband half, the mother one-sixth, and the maternal siblings one-third. The children of the father’s side objected, asking whether they remain from the same mother if their father was a donkey, indicating their objection to this inclusion. Nonetheless, this division was affirmed by Umar and Uthman and aligns with one of the narrations from Ibn Mas’ud, Zayd ibn Thabit, and Ibn Abbas and is supported by many scholars including Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib, Shuraih, Masruq, Tawus, Muhammad ibn Sirin, Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Al-Thawri, and the schools of Malik, Shafi’i, and Ishaq ibn Rahwayh. Ali ibn Abi Talib opposed the inclusion of paternal siblings, limiting the third entirely to the maternal siblings alone, excluding paternal siblings because they form a closer group (asabah). Waki’ ibn al-Jarrah confirms this and this view is corroborated by Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari, and commonly traced to Ibn Abbas. It aligns with the opinions of Al-Shabi, Ibn Abi Layla, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, Al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, Zufar ibn al-Hudhail, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Adam, Nu‘aym ibn Hammad, Abu Thawr, and Dawud ibn Ali al-Zahiri. Abu al-Husayn ibn al-Laban endorses this position in his book 'Al-Ijaz'. The phrase “after any bequest he makes or debt not harming others” means the will must be just—not abusive or unfair by depriving some heirs of their rightful shares or exceeding Allah’s prescribed limits. Whoever attempts to surpass or diminish an heir’s due share through a bequest contradicts Allah’s divine wisdom and regulations. Ibn Abi Hatim quotes a chain including Ibn Abbas and the Prophet ﷺ who said, “Causing harm through bequests is one of the great sins.” Such hadiths are narrated by authentic chains, emphasizing that the bequest must not cause harm to the rightful heirs. Ibn Jarir also relates multiple chains through Umar ibn al-Mughira and others. Scholars disagree about the validity of acknowledgments or admissions by heirs regarding their inheritance shares: some consider such confessions invalid due to suspicion of prior unrecorded wills benefiting heirs unjustly. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah has given every rightful owner their due; there is no bequest for an heir.” This strict stance is held by Abu Hanifa, Malik, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and originally by Shafi’i, though the latter later posited that such acknowledgment might be valid. Tawus, Ata’, Al-Hasan, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, and also Abu Abdullah al-Bukhari in Sahih al-Bukhari hold the view that acknowledgment can be valid if it corresponds exactly with the rightful share and does not serve as a device to alter inheritance unjustly. Some argue that confirming inheritance shares is proper, others warn against suspicion of forgery or wrongdoing. Allah commands fulfilling trusts to those entitled (Quran 4:58), and this does not exclude heirs. Therefore, inheritance shares must not be undermined by forced acceptances of undue wills or admissions. Hence, if acknowledgment is genuine and matches the rightful share, the differences among scholars remain. But if used as a pretext to increase or reduce an heir’s rightful portion, it is forbidden unanimously according to this honorable verse that states bequests must not harm anyone and that Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.