In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Death
is imminent and can come any time. It can come during childhood, or
when grown up or after becoming old. One may be married or may be not,
he or she has to die on one day and most probably leaving heirs behind.
Since the stages change according to the time, a person’s
responsibility also gets change. Men have their responsibilities and
women have their. So it is necessary to find the right dividends for
the right heirs. BUT it is extremely hard to determine these dividends
without the help of Allah. Allah already mentioned in the Quraan
dealing with all these issues categorically and in great detail.
Islaamic
Sharia Law stipulates how the estate of a Muslim is to be dealt with
and distributed after his or her death. The rules described here
reflect the Commandments of Allah according to the Quraan; some
differences or variations may be adopted under the Hanafi, Maliki,
Shafi and Hanbali schools.
Knowledge
of Mathematics:
To understand these calculations, you must know the middle school
mathematics, which are not complex as of university level or even as of
high school level mathematics. E.g. one of the bases of inheritance is
male gets 2/3 and female gets 1/3. Although 2/3 + 1/3 = 1 looks
PERFECT, BUT you cannot exactly divide 100 or 50 Dollars equally among
the males and females. There are many cases in which you may need to
deal with the prime numbers (e.g. 89), which are only divisible by 1 or
by itself. Islaamic Inheritance Law are based on complete Quraan and
are NOT limited to few verses only, and answers PERFECTLY to deal with
all those cases. Presently with the help of science and specially the
computers, it became more easier to search many things and find the
answers more easily ever than before.
Hold
the
division of the Inheritance in case, the wife of the deceased could be
pregnant.
And the divorced women should keep themselves in waiting for three
courses; and it
is
not lawful for them that they should conceal what Allah has created in
their wombs, if they believe in Allah and the last day;
and their husbands have a better right to take them back in the
meanwhile if they wish for reconciliation; and they have rights similar
to those against them in a just manner, and the men are a degree above
them, and Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Al_Quraan_002.228)
From the above Ayah, it very clear that the main perpose of the Iddat
is to wait and see if she is pregnent or not. Waiting is variable
according to cases. Also it is
advised that people shoud hold the division of the Inheritance in
case, the wife of the deceased could be pregnant.
In this way we also will come to know if she delivers the boy/s or
girl/s.
To
understand the logic of Islaamic Inheritance Law, we need to keep in
our mind the following Ayaat from the Quraan:
If
one gets Booty, pay a fifth of shares to relatives and orphans etc.:
If one
gets produced of gardens / farm pay the Due:
If one
earns pay the Due:
How much
to spend:
WILL:
A Muslim must make a will in favor of his Specified as well as
non-Specified Heirs, when death approaches. In case of accidental death
or the remainder of the estate after WILL, should be divided among the
heirs according to the Quraan:
Close
Relatives from where you can eat and vice versa: If you can eat from
someone’s house, then they can do so:
You must
give due to your relatives as well:
We must
need to think of Orphans:
It
is advised to announce the day of distribution of the heirs among
closed as well as far relatives. If any of them are not present without
any valid reason or have no interest in getting some from the
inheritance then we may proceed without them and there shares may be
excluded. One of the great wisdom in the following Ayaat that it did
not mentioned any exact figure of share for the other relatives or
charity, could be that we might need to deal with the prime numbers or
other number which are not divisible among the heir. So choice is
totally left upon us so that we can balance it:
Woe to
Prayers who neglect the Charity:
Below are
the Ayaat which mentions about inheritance in more detail and are the
limits imposed by Allah:
Basic
Logic of Distribution after paying all the debts including funeral
expenses and wills:
Case-1:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.011
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind children only, since
spouse might already had passed away or were separated.
And when there are present at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Case
-2:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.011
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind children and
parents, since spouse might already had passed away or were separated.
And when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and
the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Case
-3:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind spouse without any
children and may or may not have parents.
And when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and
the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Case
-4:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind spouse and children.
And when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and
the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Case
-5:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was un-married or married and leaving behind
parents and brothers and sisters, without any children or spouse.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Case
-6:>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.176
The Deceased Person was un-married or married and leaving behind
brothers and / or sisters only (no ascendants - no descendents and no
parents - no spouse - no children).
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Because a
male is responsible for the maintenance of the family, not the female,
Male gets 2/3 and Female gets 1/3.
And when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and
the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Other
Relatives and Charity:>
Do not neglect other relatives and charity. Also we need to keep in
mind, if only daughter or only sister is the heir, where could she feel
comfortable to live with, either state need to look after her or she
will feel more comfortable with her uncle and aunt. So uncle and aunt
should also get some shares as well as. Under the light of the list of
above Ayaat, if I don’t forget any, it is my suggestion to be
in the middle and pay to other relatives as well as charity which may
be around 10 percent upon the
consult of all the specified heirs if they agree. Now we
can realize why Allah did not fix the shares for other relatives and
charity in Ayaat Al_Quraan_004.008, since in dividing shares we may
come up with dealing of prime numbers or other numbers which do not
perfectly divide among heir.
Division
of dividends for simple case (Male 2/3 and Female 1/3):
Because a male is responsible for the maintenance of the family, not
the female, Male gets 2/3 and Female gets 1/3.
Remember: If
any of the specified heirs is not alive BUT his / her
descendents are alive. He or she will be treated as alive and later his
/ her shares will then be divided among his or her heirs.
Priority
of payments:
Before the estate of the deceased can be distributed to his/her heirs,
all the debts owing by the deceased, all prior claims against him/her
and all the wills must first be paid.
In order of priority, payments from the estate are as follows:
a> Payment of funeral expenses.
b> Payment of ALL the DEBTS owing by the deceased.
c> Satisfaction of all Zakaat payments that are unpaid;
d> Making donations of the specified amount to redeem fast days
unobserved;
e> Payment of legacies under a valid will. Wills could be for
those how are heirs as well, so they should get both Wills and heirs on
top of Wills.
f> Distribution of net estate among Specified Heirs according to
the Quraan and Authentic Sunnah (described below).
Specified heirs:
Heirs entitled to share in the net estate of the deceased in accordance
with Islaamic Sharia Law. These Specified Heirs include the following:
a>
MALES who are entitled to succeed are:
1> Son of the deceased.
2> Grandson of the
deceased how low so ever.
3> Father of the
deceased.
4> Grandfather of the
deceased how high so ever.
5> Brother of the
deceased.
6> Son of the brother
of the deceased.
7> Uncle, i.e. brother
of the parents of the deceased.
8> Son of Uncle, i.e.
Son of brother of the parents of the deceased.
9> Husband of the
deceased.
b>
FEMALES who are entitled to succeed are:
1> Daughter of the
deceased.
2> Granddaughter of the
deceased how low so ever.
3> Mother of the
deceased.
4> Grandmother of the
deceased how high so ever.
5> Sister of the
deceased.
6> Daughter of the
Sister of the deceased.
7> Aunt, i.e. sister of
the parents of the deceased.
8> Daughter of Aunt,
i.e. Daughter of sister of the parents of the deceased.
9> Husband of the
deceased.
c>
Other close relatives.
d>
Charity.
These heirs are entitled to certain prescribed shares which are
intended to effect an equitable distribution of the estate. For
instance, males are given 2 shares of the estate to every share given
to his female counterpart because they are expected to assume financial
responsibility for the women. In addition, female heirs are allocated a
specified portion of the estate (e.g. half or one sixth) which means
they will always be entitled to a portion of the estate, regardless how
small, while male heirs are often residuary heirs who are only entitled
to what is left of the estate after the claims of female heirs have
been met. It may happen that a residuary heir is left with nothing or a
very tiny portion after claimants with specific shares have been paid
off.
Specified Heirs forfeit their claim under the following circumstances:
a. he caused the death of the deceased, whether deliberately or
unintentionally; or
b. he is not a Muslim (the deceased may be a Muslim convert, or the
heir may have renounced Islam).
Making
of Wills:
A Muslim can make a will in favor of his Specified Heirs as well as
non-Specified Heirs, such as his adopted children, paternal relatives,
maternal relatives, or third parties such as close friend.
Sharia
Court administration:
The first step is for a beneficiary to apply to the Syria Court for a
Certificate of Inheritance to be issued. The Certificate will identify
the surviving Specified Heirs, state their relationship to the
deceased, and specify his precise share to the estate.
Computation
of shares of specified heirs:
We must try our best to do the justice in dividing the shares among the
heirs for the case where there is no wills or there is some leftover
after the payment of wills.
Followings
are six main categories of the deceased person.
Remember: If any of the specified heirs is not alive BUT his / her
descendents are alive. He or she will be treated as alive and later his
/ her shares will then be divided among his or her heirs.
Category-1
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.011
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind children only, since
spouse might already had passed away or were separated.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Category-2
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.011
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind children and
parents, since spouse might already had passed away or were separated.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Category-3
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind spouse without any
children and may or may not have parents.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Category-4
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was married and leaving behind spouse and children.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Category-5
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.012
The Deceased Person was un-married or married and leaving behind
parents and brothers and sisters, without any children or spouse.
And
when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the
orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
Category-6
:::>>>
Ref: Al_Quraan_004.176
The Deceased Person was un-married or married and leaving behind
brothers and / or sisters only (no ascendants - no descendents and no
parents - no spouse - no children).
And when there are present (alive) at the division the relatives and the orphans and the needy, give them (something) out of it as well.
For more detail with
examples download:
http://www.global-right-path.com/Downloads/Global_Islaamic_Inheritance_Law.pdf