Muwatta Malik (Yahya)

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, the ruling is that if a person gives gold or silver to his minor child, and then that child dies while the father was his guardian, then that wealth will not be considered as belonging to the child, except in the case where the father had separated that wealth or deposited it with someone else; then it will belong to the son (and now that wealth will reach all the son's heirs according to the shares prescribed).

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: According to us, this ruling is based on consensus: when a mother or father dies and leaves behind sons and daughters, the son will receive a double share and the daughter will receive a single share. If the deceased has only daughters, two or more, then they will receive two-thirds of the inheritance; if there is only one daughter, she will receive half of the inheritance. If there are also other heirs entitled to fixed shares (dhawu al-furud) along with sons and daughters, then after giving the shares to the dhawul furud, whatever remains will be divided so that the son receives a double share and the daughter a single share (1). And when there are no sons or daughters, then grandsons and granddaughters will be in their place; just as they would inherit, so will these, and just as they would be excluded (mahjub), so will these be excluded. If even one son is present, then the children of the son, i.e., grandsons and granddaughters, will not receive any inheritance. If there is no son but there are two or more daughters, then the granddaughters will not receive anything, except in the case where there is also a grandson with these granddaughters, whether he is of the same degree or even more distant (for example, a son’s son’s son or a son’s son), then after giving the daughters their shares and the remaining shares to the other dhawul furud, whatever remains will be divided among «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾», and with this grandson, those granddaughters who are closer to the deceased (in relation and inheritance) or equal to him will inherit; those granddaughters who are more distant than him will not inherit. And if nothing remains, then the grandsons and granddaughters will not receive anything (2). If the deceased has only one daughter, she will receive half of the wealth, and the granddaughters, however many they are, will receive one-sixth. If there is also a grandson with these granddaughters, then in this case, after giving the shares to the dhawul furud, whatever remains will be divided among «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾», i.e., this grandson and the granddaughters, and this grandson will enable those granddaughters to inherit who are of the same degree as him or closer, but those who are more distant than him will be deprived. If nothing remains after the shares of the dhawul furud, then these grandsons and granddaughters will not receive anything, because Allah, Glorious and Exalted, says in His Book: “Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, a share equal to that of two females; if there are only daughters, two or more, they will receive two-thirds of the estate; if there is only one daughter, she will receive half.”

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that when the deceased has neither a son nor a daughter nor a grandson nor a granddaughter, then the husband will receive half of the estate. If the deceased has children or the children of the deceased’s son, whether male or female, then the husband will receive one-fourth share after fulfilling the will and debt. And when the husband dies and there are no children nor children of his son, then his wife will receive one-fourth share. If there are children or children of the son, whether male or female, then the wife will receive one-eighth share after fulfilling the will and debt, because Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, says: “For you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then for you is one-fourth of what they leave after any bequest they may have made or debt. And for the women is one-fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child, then for them is one-eighth of what you leave after any bequest you may have made or debt.”

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: According to us, it is a unanimous ruling that if the deceased leaves behind a son or a grandson, then the father will receive one-sixth. If the deceased does not have a son or a grandson, then after giving the shares to all the rightful heirs, whatever remains—whether it is one-sixth or more—will go to the father. If, after distributing the shares of the rightful heirs, one-sixth does not remain, then the father will be given one-sixth as an obligatory share(1). The mother of the deceased will receive one-sixth when the deceased has children, or the children of his son, or two or more brothers or sisters, whether full, paternal, or maternal(2). Otherwise, the mother will receive a full one-third if the deceased has no children, no son’s children, and no two brothers or two sisters. However, in two cases: one is that if the deceased leaves behind a wife and parents, the wife will receive one-fourth, and the mother will receive one-third of what remains, that is, one-fourth of the total estate. The second is that if a woman dies and leaves behind a husband and parents, the husband will receive half, and after that, the mother will receive one-third of what remains, that is, one-sixth of the total estate, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says in His Book: “For each of the parents of the deceased, one-sixth of the inheritance if the deceased has children. If he has no children and his parents are his heirs, then his mother will receive one-third, and the rest will go to the father. If the deceased has brothers, then the mother will receive one-sixth.”
Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The established Sunnah is that “brothers” refers to two brothers, or two sisters, or two or more.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, this ruling is agreed upon that uterine brothers and uterine sisters, when the deceased has children or the children of his son, that is, grandsons or granddaughters, or the deceased's father or grandfather is present, then they will be deprived of inheritance. However, if these people are not present, then they will receive inheritance. If there is one uterine brother or one uterine sister, he or she will receive one-sixth share. If there are two, each will receive one-sixth share. If there are more than two, then all will share in one-third of the wealth, dividing it equally. The sister will receive the same as the brother, because Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, says: "If a man dies who is kalalah, or a woman dies being kalalah, and he has a brother or a sister (uterine, as in the recitation of Sayyiduna Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him), then each will receive one-sixth share. If there are more than that (i.e., one brother and one sister, or two sisters, two brothers, or more than that), then all will share in one-third." That is, men and women will all receive equally.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: According to us, this ruling is agreed upon that full brothers and sisters will not receive anything in the presence of a son or grandson, or in the presence of a father; rather, full brothers and sisters inherit along with daughters or granddaughters. When the deceased’s grandfather, that is, the father’s father, is not alive, then whatever wealth remains after giving the shares to the rightful heirs will go to the full brothers and sisters, and they will divide it among themselves according to the Book of Allah as «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾»; and if nothing remains, they will receive nothing. Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If the deceased has neither a father nor a grandfather, nor a son, nor a grandson, nor sons nor grandsons, and only one full sister remains, then she will receive half the wealth; if there are two or more full sisters, they will receive two-thirds; if there is a brother along with these sisters, then the sisters will not receive a fixed share, but after fulfilling the shares of the other rightful heirs, whatever remains will be divided among the brothers and sisters as «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾»; except in one case where nothing remains for the full brothers or sisters, then the maternal brothers and sisters will become their partners. The situation of this case is as follows: A woman dies and leaves behind a husband, mother, full brothers and sisters, and maternal brothers and sisters; the husband will receive half, the mother one-sixth, and the maternal brothers and sisters one-third. Now, if nothing remains for the full brothers and sisters, then in the one-third, they will become partners with the maternal brothers and sisters, but both men and women will receive equal shares, because all the brothers and sisters are maternal, having the same mother. Because Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, says: “If a person dies leaving neither descendants nor ascendants, and has a brother or a sister, each one of them shall have one-sixth; but if they are more than that, they shall share one-third.” Thus, in this case, the full brothers and sisters also become partners with the maternal brothers and sisters in the one-third, because they are also maternal siblings.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In our view, this ruling is agreed upon that when there are no full brothers or sisters, then the maternal brothers and sisters will be treated like them; their male is equal to their male, and their female is equal to their female. (If the deceased has only one maternal brother, he will take the whole estate; if only one maternal sister, she will take half; if there are two or three maternal sisters, they will take two-thirds; if there are both maternal brothers and sisters, it will be divided as «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾».) However, there is this difference among full brothers and sisters that maternal brothers and sisters will not participate in the matter of full brothers and sisters just mentioned, because their mother is different. If full sisters and maternal sisters are together, and with the full sisters there is also a full brother, then the maternal sisters will get nothing. If there is no full brother but only one full sister and the rest are maternal sisters, then the full sister will get half and the maternal sisters will get one-sixth, to complete two-thirds. If with the maternal sisters there is also a maternal brother, then their share will not be fixed, but after giving the shares to the rightful heirs (dhawi al-furud), whatever remains or is more, then two-thirds will go to them, and the maternal sisters will get nothing. However, when with the maternal sisters there is also a maternal brother, then after giving the share to the rightful heirs (dhawi al-furud), whatever remains will be divided as «﴿لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ﴾». If nothing remains, then the maternal brothers and sisters will get nothing, whether they are with full brothers and sisters or with maternal brothers and sisters. One will get one-sixth and two will get two-thirds; their males and females are all equal.

It is narrated from Sa'id bin al-Musayyib that Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: If a person gives something as a gift to his minor son, it is valid, provided he gives it openly and appoints witnesses to it. Then the guardian will remain the father himself (he will retain possession of that thing on behalf of the boy until the boy reaches maturity).