Need helping applying 4:11-12

[Brian aka Reverted1]

Greetings to all,

I have not shared in this forum in quite sometime, but I have been a regular visitor and I continue to learn so much from the wisdom shared on this site.

I recall sometime ago coming across a christian website that was hostile toward Islam. The author claimed that the laws of inheritence distribution found in 4:11 - 12 of Qur'an do not add up properly. Until today, I had never taken the time to sit down and examine these verses.

(But first, just in case followers of N2I accuse me of disbelief for questioning, I think I need to let it be known that I Believe in Allah and I Believe that Qur'an is His Word as delivered to all of mankind by way of His Messenger, Muhammad.

Plus Allah commands us to seek answers:

17:36 And you shall not follow blindly any information of which you have no direct knowledge. (Using your faculties of perception and conception) you must verify it for yourself. In the Court of your Lord, you will be held accountable for your hearing, sight, and the faculty of reasoning. (And so, the insane and the disabled will have their incapacities taken into account in a court of law.) )

When I applied my brothers family make-up to the inheritance distribution guidelines found in Surah 4: Ayah 11-12, it did not add up correctly. If I made an error in my calculations, please help me find where it is.

My brother has

1 wife
2 sons
1 daughter
2 brothers
0 sisters
1 father
1 mother

according to 4: 11-12 inheritance would be as follows:

wife gets 1/8 = 3/24
mother gets 1/6 = 2/24
father gets 1/3 = 8/24
_________

Which equals 13/24

Where then is the remaining 11/24 or 45.8% of the inheritance?

Please show me what I am doing wrong.

Salaam,

Brian

[Saleena]

Hi Brian,

Have you accounted for the sons and daughters of your brother?

As I've never tried applying the rule before, I apologise now for any mistakes, but:

As sons would get twice what the daughter gets, and there are two sons, then the daughter would get 1/5 of the remaining 11/24, and each son 2/5 of said 11/24 that you say remains after other relatives (wife, mother and father) are accounted for.

It is important to note that the Quranic verses on inheritance serve as a guideline during a transitional period of the Islamic state. Logic dictates that once the 'economic system' of the Quran (i.e. zakaat, sadaqaat, etc) is firmly established and has completed its aim on the economic plane (i.e. to bring about universal socio-economic equity), then inheritance - itself a materialist concept - must necessarily become obsolete.

[Arnold Yasin Mol]

Salaam Aleikum dear Brian,

First of all, you don't never need to defend yourself. And to add the good answer of Saleena, the inheritance must also be used for the maintance of the widow for at least one year. This is seperate from her 1/8 share.

2:240 Men must testify in a written, legal will that, after their death, their widows will receive one year’s maintenance without their being obliged to leave the house. But, if they leave on their own accord, there is nothing wrong in letting them do whatever they wish to do with their own lives in a lawful manner. Allah, the Almighty, the Wise grants this permission.

But the 40% that is left must be handed out to the:

4:8 If at the time of distribution of the inheritance, relatives, orphans, and the needy are present, give them from it and treat them kindly.

And indeed in an Islamic State, people give away:

2:219 ......And they ask you what they should give. Say, "All that is surplus." Thus Allah makes His Messages plain for you, that you may reflect -

So the inheritance is distributed in this fashion:

wife gets 1/8 = 3/24
mother gets 1/6 = 2/24
father gets 1/3 = 8/24

40% that is left go to the needy relatives, 1 year maintance of the widow and the rest is used as part of the Zakah.

So the inheritance does count up. It is the fault of people to believe it should add up to a 100%. It is Allah's Wisdom to only determine 60% and leave 40% open as not everyone has children or relatives.

[Brian aka Reverted1]

Greetings to all,

Thank you for helping me to better understand. It may be helpful to include the ayah references mentioned in the above responses in the QXP to avoid confusion. They were not referenced in QXP 2nd edition, which i used.

Salaam,

Brian

[Dr. Shabbir]

Respected brother Brian, AA

You will be happy to know that the related verses have been referenced in QXPiii.

Also, please remember that verses 4:11-12 are talking about the left-over from a will and after all debts have been paid.

2:180 Regarding proper dispensation of property, it is prescribed for you, when death approaches any of you, and he is leaving behind much wealth – that he set up a will for parents and family in a decent, equitable manner. This is a binding duty on the upright. (Any oversight or leftover from the will shall be distributed according to portions described in 4:11.)

2:181 If anyone tampers with a will after hearing it, the guilt befalls those responsible for altering. Verily, Allah is all-Hearing, All-Knowing. (A will shall be attested by two trustworthy witnesses 5:106.)

2:182 So, if anyone, who has heard the will, fears some bias or diminishing of a due right, and then makes a mutually acceptable correction between the concerned parties, he will not be harming himself. Verily, Allah is Absolver of imperfections, Eternal Source of Beneficence. (‘Ithm’ = A violation that drags down human potential or harms the personality.)

4:11 Preparing a will is a duty ordained (2:180-182). Allah decrees a will for the benefit of your children.
(Since the sons have the responsibility to take care of the family, and daughters will be cared for by their husbands, or if unmarried, by other males in the family), sons get twice the share of daughters.
- If two or more daughters are the only inheritors, they get two-thirds.
- If only one daughter is left, she gets one-half.
- If the deceased has left any children, then parents get one-sixth each.
- If there are no children, and parents are the only heirs, the mother gets a third and the father gets two-thirds, since the male has the fiscal responsibility of the family.
- If the deceased has left brothers or sisters, the mother gets one-sixth and the father gets one third.
Remember, this distribution shall take place after fulfilling the will of the deceased and after paying off all debts. As for your parents and your children, you know not which of them is more deserving of benefit from you. Such is the Ordinance from Allah. Verily, Allah is All Knowing, Wise.
4:12 Additionally:
- If a couple had no children, the husband gets half of what the wife leaves behind.
- If they had children, the husband gets one-fourth.
- If they had no children, then the wives get one-fourth of what the husband leaves behind.
- If they had children then the wife gets one-eighth.
- If a man or a woman, whose inheritance is in question, was a loner, in the sense of leaving behind no ascendants or descendants, but leaves behind a sister and a brother, each of them gets one-sixth of the inheritance. If there are more than two siblings, they equally share one-third of the inheritance.
The above applies after fully satisfying the will, and after paying off all debts, so that no one's rights are infringed upon. This is the Will decreed by Allah who is All-Knowing, Clement. [Please see 2]

May God bless you, Sir! Thank you for helping us clarify a point.