Surah An Nisa Tafseer

Share of the Spouses in the Inheritance

Allah says;

وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَاجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ

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.

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 إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ تُوصُونَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ

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.

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,

مِّن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ

(After payment of legacies).

The Meaning of Kalalah

Allah said,

وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَلَةً أَو امْرَأَةٌ

If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question was left in Kalalah,

Kalalah is a derivative of Iklil; the crown that surrounds the head.

The meaning of Kalalah 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 Kalalah, 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.

Kalalah 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 Kalalah 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-Nakhai, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd and Al-Hakam.

This is also the view of the people of Al-Madinah, Kufah, Basra, 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 كَانُوَاْ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَاء 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 Kalalah, 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 يُوصَى بِهَأ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَأرٍّ

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 ordained 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 حَقَ حَقَّهُ فَلَ وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِث

Allah has given each his fixed due right. Therefore, there is no will for a rightful inheritor.

وَصِيَّةً مِّنَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ

This is a Commandment from Allah; and Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most Forbearing