Chapter on the Inheritance of the Brothers and Sisters

Hadith.5621 - The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "The full siblings from the same mother are more entitled to inheritance than the paternal half-siblings." [AL SADUQ] If a person leaves behind full sisters (from the same father and mother), paternal sisters (from the same father only), and a paternal nephew, then the full sisters are entitled to two-thirds of the inheritance, and the remainder is also returned to them, as they are the closest in kinship. If the deceased leaves a paternal brother and a paternal nephew from both parents, then the entire estate belongs to the paternal brother, as he is closer by one degree. The paternal brother takes the place of a full brother (from both parents) if no such full brother exists. Since he stands in the position of the full brother and is closer by one degree, he has a stronger claim to the inheritance than the nephew. If the deceased leaves a full brother and a maternal brother, the maternal brother receives one-sixth, and the remainder belongs to the full brother. If a person leaves full siblings (brothers and sisters) and a maternal sister, the maternal sister receives one-sixth, and the remainder is distributed among the full siblings, with the male receiving twice the share of the female. If the deceased leaves a full sister and a maternal brother or sister, the maternal sibling receives one-sixth, and the full sister takes the remainder. If the deceased leaves two or more maternal siblings and full siblings, the maternal siblings collectively receive one-third of the estate, divided equally among them, regardless of gender. The remainder belongs to the full siblings. If there is only one maternal sibling, whether male or female, they receive one-sixth of the inheritance. If there are two or more maternal siblings, whether male or female, they collectively share one-third of the inheritance, and they are not entitled to more than one-third of the estate. And they shall not be given less than a sixth if there is only one. Allah (swt), the Blessed and Exalted, said: "And if a man or a woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, each one of them shall have a sixth; but if they are more than that, they shall share in a third." If he leaves behind his paternal brother, his maternal brother, and his paternal and maternal brother, the maternal brother shall receive one-sixth, and whatever remains shall belong to the paternal and maternal brother, and the paternal brother shall be excluded. If he leaves behind maternal brothers and sisters, paternal and maternal brothers and sisters, and paternal brothers and sisters, the maternal brothers and sisters shall have a third, with males and females being equal, and whatever remains shall belong to the paternal and maternal brothers and sisters, with the male receiving twice the share of the female, and the paternal siblings shall be excluded. If he leaves behind a maternal sister, a paternal and maternal sister, and a paternal sister, the maternal sister shall receive one-sixth, and whatever remains shall belong to the paternal and maternal sister, and the paternal sister shall be excluded. If he leaves behind two maternal sisters, two paternal and maternal sisters, and two paternal sisters, the maternal sisters shall receive a third equally between them, and whatever remains shall belong to the paternal and maternal sisters, and the paternal sisters shall be excluded. If he leaves behind a paternal and maternal sister, maternal brothers and sisters, and the son of a paternal and maternal brother, the maternal brothers and sisters shall have a third, with males and females being equal. And whatever remains shall belong to the sister from the father and mother, and the son of the brother from the father and mother shall be excluded. If he leaves behind a brother from the father and a nephew from the mother, then the entire inheritance belongs to the brother from the father. If he leaves behind a brother from the mother and a nephew from the father and mother, then the entire inheritance belongs to the brother from the mother, and the nephew from the father and mother shall be excluded. Al-Fadl ibn Shadhan erred in this issue and said that the brother from the mother shall receive the sixth, which is his designated share, and whatever remains shall go to the nephew from the father and mother. He supported this with a weak argument, saying that the nephew from the father and mother takes the place of the brother who would have been entitled to the entire inheritance according to the Book, and thus he is like the brother from the father and mother and has the additional tie of kinship through the mother. The compiler of this book, may Allah (swt) have mercy on him, said that the nephew only takes the place of the brother if there is no brother. If there is a brother, then he does not take the place of the brother, just as the son of a son is considered a son only if the deceased has no son or parents. If analogy (qiyas) were permissible in the religion of Allah (swt), the Exalted, then if a man left behind a brother from the father and a nephew from the father and mother, the entire inheritance would belong to the nephew from the father and mother by analogy to the paternal uncle. And the cousin from the father and mother, for the entire estate belongs to the cousin from the father and mother because he combines both paternal and maternal ties. This is based on the transmitted report from the Imams, peace be upon them, to whom submission is obligatory. Al-Fadl states in this matter that the estate belongs to the brother from the father, and the nephew from the father and mother is excluded. According to his analogy, the estate should be divided between the nephew from the father and mother and the brother from the father because the nephew from the father and mother has the advantage of a closer maternal connection, and he is related to the one who is entitled to the entire inheritance by designation, as well as to the one who does not inherit alongside the brother from the father. If the deceased leaves behind a nephew from the mother, a nephew from the father and mother, and a nephew from the father, the nephew from the mother shall receive one-sixth, and the remainder shall go to the nephew from the father and mother, while the nephew from the father shall be excluded. If the deceased leaves behind a nephew from the father and a nephew from the father and mother, the entire estate belongs to the nephew from the father and mother, and the nephew from the father shall be excluded. If the deceased leaves behind a niece from the mother, a niece from the father and mother, and a niece from the father, the niece from the mother shall receive one-sixth, and the remainder shall belong to the niece from the father and mother. And the remaining share belongs to the niece from the father and mother, while the niece from the father is excluded. If the deceased leaves behind a niece from the father and mother and the sons of a brother from the father and mother, if they are from the same brother, the inheritance is divided among them with the share of a male being equal to that of two females. However, if the niece's father is different from the father of the sons of the brother, then the niece inherits half of the estate as the share of her father, and the sons of the brother inherit the other half as their father's share. If the deceased leaves behind a nephew from the mother and the great-grandson of a nephew from the father and mother, the entire estate belongs to the nephew from the mother, as he is closer. Contrary to what Al-Fadl ibn Shadhan stated, the nephew from the mother does not inherit only one-sixth while the remainder goes to the great-grandson of the nephew from the father and mother. Such a claim contradicts the foundational principle upon which Allah (swt), the Almighty, has established the rules of inheritance. If the deceased leaves behind the great-grandson of a nephew from the father and mother, or from the father, or from the mother, along with an uncle, an aunt, a maternal uncle, or a maternal aunt, the estate belongs to the great-grandson of the nephew from the father and mother. This is because the descendants of a brother, even if distant, are considered from the line of the father, while an uncle and aunt are from the line of the grandfather, and a maternal uncle and maternal aunt are also from the line of the grandfather. The descendants of the father, even if distant, have a stronger claim to inheritance than the descendants of the grandfather. Similarly, the same rule applies to the children of a sister, whether she is from the father, the mother, or both. They are given precedence, and no uncle, aunt, maternal uncle, or maternal aunt inherits alongside them. Just as the presence of a grandchild, even if distant, excludes siblings from inheriting, whether they are from the father, the mother, or both.

Translation: Bab Ul Qaim Publications — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

Hadith.5622 - Ibn Abi Umayr narrated from Ibn Udhaynah from Bukayr ibn A'yan, who said: I asked Abu Abdullah (as) about a woman who died and left behind her husband, maternal brothers, and paternal brothers. Imam (as) said: "The husband receives half of the inheritance, which is three shares. The maternal brothers receive one-third, with males and females sharing equally. The remaining share goes to the paternal brothers and sisters, where the share of a male is equal to that of two females."

Translation: Bab Ul Qaim Publications — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

Hadith.5623 - A man came to Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir (as) and asked him about a woman who passed away, leaving behind her husband, maternal brothers, and a paternal sister. Imam (as) said: "The husband receives half of the inheritance, which is three shares. The maternal brothers receive two shares, and the paternal sister receives one share." The man then said to Imam (as): "But the inheritance rulings of Zayd and the general scholars differ from this, O' Abu Ja'far (as). They say that the paternal sister receives three shares out of six, which are then adjusted to eight." Imam (as) asked him: "And why do they say this?" The man replied: "Because Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, said: 'And if he has a sister, then she shall have half of what he leaves behind.'" (Surah An-Nisa 4:176) Imam (as) said: "What if the sister were a brother?" The man replied: "Then he would receive only one-sixth." Imam (as) responded: "Why have you then reduced the brother's share? If you argue that the sister receives half because Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, has explicitly designated half for her, then know that Allah (swt) has designated the entire inheritance for the brother, and the whole is greater than half. For Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, said regarding the sister: 'Then she shall have half of what he leaves behind.'" (Surah An-Nisa 4:176) And Allah (swt) said regarding the brother: "And he shall inherit her" (Surah An-Nisa 4:176) - meaning he inherits all of her wealth if she has no child. Yet, in some of your rulings, you do not give anything to the one whom Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, has assigned the entire inheritance, while you give the one whom Allah (swt) has assigned only half the full share. You say in the case of a husband, a mother, maternal siblings, and a paternal sister that the husband receives half, the mother receives one-sixth, the maternal siblings receive one-third, and the paternal sister receives half. You calculate this from nine shares when it should be six, increasing it to nine. The man replied: "Yes, that is what they say." Imam (as) asked: "What if the paternal sister were a paternal brother?" The man answered: "He would receive nothing." Imam (as) then said: "Neither the full brothers and sisters nor the paternal brothers and sisters inherit alongside the mother."

Translation: Bab Ul Qaim Publications — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.