Surah An-Nisa, Ayah 12
Quran 4:12 · The Women · Madani · Para 4 · Page 79
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ اَزْوَاجُكُمْ اِنْ لَّمْ یَكُنْ لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَاِنْ كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِیَّةٍ یُّوْصِیْنَ بِهَاۤ اَوْ دَیْنٍ ؕ وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ اِنْ لَّمْ یَكُنْ لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَاِنْ كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ مِّنْ بَعْدِ وَصِیَّةٍ تُوْصُوْنَ بِهَاۤ اَوْ دَیْنٍ ؕ وَاِنْ كَانَ رَجُلٌ یُّوْرَثُ كَلٰلَةً اَوِ امْرَاَةٌ وَّلَهٗۤ اَخٌ اَوْ اُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ ۚ فَاِنْ كَانُوْۤا اَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِی الثُّلُثِ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِیَّةٍ یُّوْصٰی بِهَاۤ اَوْ دَیْنٍ ۙ غَیْرَ مُضَآرٍّ ۚ وَصِیَّةً مِّنَ اللّٰهِ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ عَلِیْمٌ حَلِیْمٌ ۟ؕ
Transliteration
Walakum nisfu ma taraka azwajukumin lam yakun lahunna waladun fa-in kana lahunna waladunfalakumu arrubuAAu mimma tarakna min baAAdi wasiyyatinyooseena biha aw daynin walahunna arrubuAAumimma taraktum in lam yakun lakum waladun fa-in kanalakum waladun falahunna aththumunu mimma taraktummin baAAdi wasiyyatin toosoona biha awdaynin wa-in kana rajulun yoorathu kalalatan awiimraatun walahu akhun aw okhtun falikulli wahidin minhumaassudusu fa-in kanoo akthara min thalikafahum shurakao fee aththuluthi min baAAdi wasiyyatinyoosa biha aw daynin ghayra mudarrin wasiyyatanmina Allahi wallahu AAaleemun haleem
Saheeh International
And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for them [i.e., the wives] is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allāh, and Allāh is Knowing and Forbearing.
Al-Mukhtasar fi Tafsir
You have half of what your wives leave, if they have no child. If they have a child, whether it is your child or not, then you get a fourth of the wealth they leave, after any bequest they have made and the repayment of any debts they had. Wives get a quarter of what you leave, if you have no child, whether it is their child or not. If you have a child, then they get an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you have made and the repayment of any debts you had. If someone dies without any parents or children to inherit from them, but they have a brother or sister from the same mother as them, then each of them gets a sixth. If they have more than one brother or sister from the same mother as them, then they share a third, with brothers and sisters receiving the same share – this is after any bequest that they leave and the repayment of any debts they had, with the condition that the bequest does not cause harm to any of the inheritors, such as it being more than a third of the total of the wealth. The rulings contained in the verses about inheritance law are an obligation on you, and Allah knows what is in the interests of His servants in this world and the Afterlife. He is forbearing, and not quick to punish.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)
In that which your wives leave, your share is half if they have no child; but if they leave a child, you get a fourth of that which they leave after payment of legacies that they may have bequeathed or debts. In that which you leave, their (your wives) share is a fourth if you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they get an eighth of that which you leave after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in 'Kalālah' has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of legacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused (to anyone). This is a Commandment from Allah; and Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most Forbearing (12)
Share of the Spouses in the Inheritance
Allah says to the husband, you get half of what your wife leaves behind if she dies and did not have a child. If she had a child, you get one-fourth of what she leaves behind, after payment of legacies that she may have bequeathed, or her debts. We mentioned before that payment of debts comes before fulfilling the will, and then comes the will, then the inheritance, and there is a consensus on this matter among the scholars. And the rule applies to the grandchildren as well as the children, even if they are great-grandchildren (or even further in generation) Allah then said,
وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ
(In that which you leave, their (your wives) share is a fourth) and if there is more than one wife, they all share in the fourth, or one-eighth that the wife gets. Earlier, we explained Allah's statement,
مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ
(After payment of legacies)
The Meaning of Kalālah
Allah said,
وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً
(If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question was left in 'Kalālah'.)
Kalalah is a derivative of Iklil; the crown that surrounds the head. The meaning of 'Kalālah' in this Ayah is that the person's heirs come from other than the first degree of relative. Ash-Sha'bi reported that when Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was asked about the meaning of 'Kalālah', he said, "I will say my own opinion about it, and if it is correct, then this correctness is from Allah. However, if my opinion is wrong, it will be my error and because of the evil efforts of Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it. 'Kalālah' refers to the man who has neither descendants nor ascendants." When 'Umar became the Khalifah, he said, "I hesitate to contradict an opinion of Abu Bakr." This was recorded by Ibn Jarir and others.
In his Tafsir, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn 'Abbas said, "I was among the last persons to see 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, and he said to me, 'What you said was the correct opinion.' I asked, 'What did I say?' He said, 'That 'Kalālah' refers to the person who has no child or parents.'" This is also the opinion of 'Ali bin Abi Talib, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Abbas, Zayd bin Thabit, Ash-Sha'bi, An-Nakha'i, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd and Al-Hakam . This is also the view of the people of Al-Madinah, Kufah, Basrah, the Seven Fuqaha', the Four Imams and the majority of scholars of the past and present, causing some scholars to declare that there is a consensus on this opinion.
The Ruling Concerning Children of the Mother From Other Than the Deceased's Father
Allah said,
وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ
(But has left a brother or a sister), meaning, from his mother's side, as some of the Salaf stated, including Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas. Qatadah reported that this is the view of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.
فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِن كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فِي الثُّلُثِ
(Each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third.) There is a difference between the half brothers from the mother's side and the rest of the heirs. First, they get a share in the inheritance on account of their mother. Second, the males and females among them get the same share. Third, they only have a share in the inheritance when the deceased's estate is inherited in 'Kalālah', for they do not have a share if the deceased has a surviving father, grandfather, child or grandchild. Fourth, they do not have more than a third, no matter how numerous they were. Allah's statement,
مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَىٰ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَارٍّ
(After payment of legacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused (to anyone).) means, let the will and testament be fair and free of any type of harm, without depriving some rightful heirs from all, or part of their share, or adding to the fixed portion that Allah or dained for some heirs. Indeed, whoever does this, will have disputed with Allah concerning His decision and division. An authentic Hadith states,
إِنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَعْطَى كُلَّ ذِي حَقٍّ حَقَّهُ فَلَا وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِثٍ
(Allah has given each his fixed due right. Therefore, there is no will for a rightful inheritor.)