Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 11

(Ayah 11) ➊ {يُوْصِيْكُمُ اللّٰهُ فِيْۤ اَوْلَادِكُمْ:} Here, the detailed shares of the heirs begin to be explained. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that these two verses and the last verse of this surah hold the status of principles in the knowledge of inheritance. The detailed shares of inheritance are derived from these three verses, and the hadiths related to the shares of inheritance are also explanations of these very verses. (Ibn Kathir) In a hadith, when Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) fell ill, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) went to visit him. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about his wealth, upon which this verse was revealed: «يُوْصِيْكُمُ اللّٰهُ فِيْۤ اَوْلَادِكُمْ» [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب : «یوصیکم اللہ فی أولادکم» : ۴۵۷۷ ] In another hadith, Sa’d bin Rabi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away, and the uncle of his daughters took all the inheritance. Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) had two daughters. Their mother asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about their share of inheritance, so this verse was revealed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to the girls’ uncle: “Give Sa’d’s two daughters two-thirds, and their mother one-eighth, and whatever remains is for you.” [ أبو داوٗد، الفرائض، باب ما جاء فی میراث الصلب : ۲۸۹۱۔ عن جابر بن عبد اللہ رضی اللہ عنہما۔ ترمذی : ۲۰۹۲۔ أحمد : 352/3، ح : ۱۴۸۱۰، و قال الألبانی حسن ]

➋ {لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْاُنْثَيَيْنِ :} The meaning is that when there are both sons and daughters among the children, the son will receive twice as much as the daughter. The reason for giving him two shares is that a man has much greater financial responsibilities than a woman. (For example, the dowry is given by the man, the woman receives it; similarly, the maintenance of the woman is also the husband’s responsibility.) On this basis, giving the man twice the share of the woman is perfectly just. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir)

➌ {فَاِنْ كُنَّ نِسَآءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ …:} This ruling is not only for more than two, but also for two women, as mentioned in the first benefit of this verse regarding giving two-thirds to the two daughters of Sa’d bin Rabi’ (may Allah be pleased with him). Then, in the last verse of this surah, when two sisters are given two-thirds, then two daughters should be given it even more so, because a daughter is closer to a person than a sister. Therefore, we can say that the two-thirds share for two daughters is established from both the Qur’an and Hadith. (Ibn Kathir)

➍ There are a few exceptions to this ruling: (1) The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَا نُوْرَثَ مَا تَرَكْنَا صَدَقَةٌ ] [ بخاری، فرض الخمس، باب فرض الخمس : ۳۰۹۳ ] “We have no heirs; whatever we leave is charity.” Therefore, the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not distributed. See the commentary of Surah Maryam, verse (6). (2) Whoever intentionally kills will not inherit from the one he killed. This ruling is established from the Sunnah and there is consensus on it. [ ابن ماجہ، الفرائض، باب میراث القاتل : ۲۷۳۵، و قال الألبانی صحیح ] (3) Usamah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A disbeliever does not inherit from a Muslim, nor does a Muslim inherit from a disbeliever.” [بخاری، الفرائض، باب لا یرث المسلم الکافر… : ۶۷۶۴] Therefore, a disbeliever will be deprived of the inheritance of a Muslim, whether he is a son or daughter, father or mother, brother or sister, husband or wife, or any other relative. Similarly, a Muslim will be deprived of the inheritance of a disbeliever. Likewise, a slave heir will not inherit from a free person, nor will a free person inherit from a slave. (4) Likewise, a slave heir will not inherit from a free person, nor will a free person inherit from a slave.

➎ {وَ اِنْ كَانَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُ :} From this, it is also understood that when one daughter gets half, then two or more daughters should get two-thirds.

➏ {وَ لِاَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ … :} That is, in the case where the deceased has children, both the mother and father will each receive one-sixth of the total estate. For example, if the deceased has one daughter and both parents, the estate is divided into six equal parts: the daughter gets three parts (half), the mother gets one part (one-sixth), the father gets one part (one-sixth) as a fixed share, and one part (one-sixth) as ‘asabah (residual share). If the deceased has two or more daughters, then out of six parts, four parts (two-thirds) go to the daughters, and one part each (one-sixth) to the mother and father. If there are both sons and daughters along with the parents, then after giving one-sixth each to the mother and father, the remainder is divided so that the son gets twice the share of the daughter.

➐ {فَاِنْ لَّمْ يَكُنْ لَّهٗ وَلَدٌ … :} This is the second case for the parents, that is, if the deceased has no children and both parents are alive, the mother will get one-third, and the remaining two-thirds will go to the father. If, along with the parents, the deceased’s wife (in the case of a man) or husband (in the case of a woman) is also alive, then the share of the husband or wife, which will be mentioned ahead, is first deducted, and from the remainder, the mother gets one-third and the father two-thirds. Both of these cases for the parents are clarified in the Qur’an itself, because in the first case it is stated: {”وَرِثَهٗۤ اَبَوٰهُ“} meaning, the only heirs are the mother and father; the presence of a wife or husband is the second case. In this, the mother is given one-third of the remainder so that the woman’s (mother’s) share does not exceed half of the man's (father's) share. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that this is the view of the seven jurists, the four Imams, and the majority of scholars.

➑ {فَاِنْ كَانَ لَهٗۤ اِخْوَةٌ … :} This is the third case for the parents, that is, if the deceased has no children, but there are brothers (whether from both parents, only the mother, or only the father) in addition to the parents, then in the presence of the father, the brothers do not get a share, but they reduce the mother’s share from one-third to one-sixth. If, along with the mother, there is no other heir except the father, then the remaining 5/6 goes to the father. Note that {’’ اِخْوَةٌ ‘‘} is a plural word, and according to the majority of scholars, it includes two as well. Therefore, if there is only one brother, he cannot reduce the mother’s share from one-third to one-sixth. (Ibn Kathir)

➒ {مِنْۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ … :} From the deceased’s wealth, first the funeral and burial expenses are paid, then the remaining is used to pay debts in order of priority. The debt owed to Allah is the most deserving to be paid, for example, if zakat or hajj is due, it should be fulfilled, then other debts are paid, then the will is executed from one-third of the wealth, and after that, the remaining estate is distributed among the heirs. (Qurtubi) Although in the Qur’an, the mention of debt comes after the will, there is consensus among the early and later scholars that the payment of debt takes precedence over the will. Therefore, the debt should be paid first, then the will executed. If you look carefully, the meaning and context of the verse also indicate this. The scholars have mentioned several wisdoms for mentioning the will before the debt in the verse, one of which is that generally, there is negligence in executing the will, so Allah emphasized it by mentioning it first.

➓ {اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ عَلِيْمًا حَكِيْمًا:} That is, Allah is always All-Knowing and Wise. He Himself established this law of inheritance because you do not understand your own benefit and harm. If you had distributed the inheritance according to your own reasoning, it would have been difficult to regulate the shares precisely. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir) Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “That is, there is no room for intellect in these shares; Allah has determined them, and He is the wisest of all.” (Mawdhih)