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Islamic inheritance: wife only

The schools differ here. Ḥanafī: wife the whole estate; Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: needs a scholar's review.

On this page
  1. Shares from an estate of 100,000
  2. Where the schools differ
  3. Step by step
  4. The verses
  5. Questions
  6. The heirs in this case
  7. Related cases

Shares from an estate of 100,000

These are the only surviving heirs. The amounts assume 100,000 is left after funeral costs, debts and bequests; each is rounded to a whole unit and together they make 100,000.

Ḥanafī school. Choose another school in the comparison below.

HeirShare%Amount
Wife 1100%100,000
Total100%100,000
  • Ḥanafī: The later Ḥanafī fatwa returns the surplus to a sole spouse when no other relative remains (Radd al-Muḥtār, al-Ḥalabī printing, 6/788).
  • Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: needs a scholar's review. In this school no fixed-share heir or distant relative is left to take the surplus, so it passes to the public treasury (bayt al-māl) and the spouse keeps only their fixed share. Have a qualified scholar confirm this case.

Open in calculator

This is a religious calculation of shares, not legal advice. A court, notary or registry in your country decides what is legally valid.

Where the schools differ

The four schools do not divide this family the same way. Each column is one school's result.

Select a school's name to use it above.

Heir
Wife, the schools differ
1
100,000
Needs reviewNeeds reviewNeeds review

Step by step

Ḥanafī

The estate divides over a base (أصل المسألة, aṣl al-masʾala) of 1 shares (sihām):

Wife11 / 1
Total11 / 1

Step by step

  1. 1.

    Wife 1/4

    Qurʾan 4:12 — the wife (or wives, shared) takes ¼ when there is no child.4:12

  2. 2.

    Base (aṣl al-masʾala): 4

    Learn: Aṣl and taṣḥīḥ: the base of a case and its correction
  3. 3.

    Surplus returned (radd) to Wife, in proportion to their shares

    • Wife 1/4 becomes 1
    Learn: Radd (return): giving the surplus back to the heirs
  4. 4.

    School position applied

    The later Ḥanafī fatwa returns the surplus to a sole spouse when no other relative remains (Radd al-Muḥtār, al-Ḥalabī printing, 6/788).

Why these shares (daleel)

  • Wife الزَّوجة

    Qurʾan 4:12 — the wife (or wives, shared) takes ¼ when there is no child. Plus the surplus, returned to the sole spouse by the later Ḥanafī fatwa.4:12

The verses

The fixed shares in this case rest on these verses of Sūrat an-Nisāʾ.

an-Nisāʾ 4:12 — spouses and maternal siblings

Spouses and maternal siblings: the husband takes half, or a quarter when there is a child; the wife takes a quarter, or an eighth when there is a child. When the deceased leaves neither parent nor child (kalāla), one maternal sibling takes a sixth and two or more share a third.

Read 4:12 in the Quran reader

Questions

How is an estate divided between wife only?
The schools differ here. Ḥanafī: wife the whole estate; Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: needs a scholar's review.
How much does each heir get from an estate of 100,000?
Ḥanafī: wife 100,000; Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: needs a scholar's review. Amounts are rounded to whole units and add up to 100,000.
Do the four Sunni schools agree on this case?
No. Ḥanafī: wife the whole estate; Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī: needs a scholar's review.

The heirs in this case

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