Distribution Of Inheritance

QUESTION:

A woman passed away and is survived by 2 sons and 4 daughters. Her husband and parents are also deceased. However, one daughter predeceased her mother, and she is survived by children.

How should the estate be distributed according to Islamic inheritance law? Do the children of the predeceased daughter receive any share, and if so, how much? Please provide the breakdown for each heir.

ANSWER:

According to the Islamic law of succession, the estate will be dissolved in the following manner:

a) The burial expenses will be paid by the estate.

b) Any debts incurred by the deceased which still remain outstanding, will be settled.

d) Any bequests made by the deceased will be settled from 1/3 of the remainder. (i.e. the remainder after off–setting the debts and paying burial expenses)

d) The remainder will be distributed amongst the legal heirs according to the Quraan and Sunnah, as calculated in the table below:

SON 1: 2 shares (28,57%)

SON 2: 2 shares (28,57%)

DAUGHTER 1: 1 share (14,28%)

DAUGHTER 2: 1 share (14,28%)

DAUGHTER 3: 1 share (14,28%)

TOTAL: 7 shares (99,98%)

N.B. Due to the difficulty of rounding off, there is a remainder of 0.02%. This amount may be given in charity, with the consent of all the heirs, or re-distributed according to the above percentages.

The children of the deceased daughter will not receive any share.

ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!

ANSWERED BY:

Mufti Ahmed Saeed

Date: 03 Dhul Qa’dah 1447 / 21 April 2026

CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:

Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb