سورة النساء

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah has included the husband and the wife among all the heirs, and has not reduced their share of one-fourth and one-eighth.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If a woman's inheritance passes to her husband, her father and mother, and her sons and daughters, the husband's share is one-fourth, which is stated in the Book of Allah, and the father and mother receive two-sixths, and the remainder is divided on the basis of the rule that the male receives twice the share of the female.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Bukayr said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "A woman who, after her death, leaves behind a husband, brothers on her mother's side, and brothers and sisters on her father's side — how is their share of the inheritance?" He said: "To the husband, half, which is three shares; and to the brothers on the mother's side — whether male or female, equally — one-third; and the remaining share to the brothers and sisters on the father's side, لِلذَّکَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَیَیْنِ [the male receives the like of the share of two females], the male receives twice the share of the female; because the shares are not diminished. So neither is the husband's share reduced from the half, nor the share of the brothers on the mother's side reduced from one-third. Allah says: فَإِن کَانُوَاْ أَکْثَرَ مِن ذَلِکَ فَهُمْ شُرَکَاء فِی الثُّلُثِ [but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third]. And if she has only one sister, her share is one-sixth; for Allah says in this verse: وَ إِن کَانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلاَلَةً أَو امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِکُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِن کَانُوَاْ أَکْثَرَ مِن ذَلِکَ فَهُمْ شُرَکَاء فِی الثُّلُثِ [and if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third], and what is meant by this is specifically the brothers and sisters on the mother's side."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that concerning a woman who has died and whose inheritance passes to her husband, her father and mother, and her daughter, he said: "To the husband goes one-fourth of the inheritance, which is three shares out of twelve; to the father and mother, each one-sixth, which is two shares out of twelve; and the remaining five shares go to the daughter — because if the child had been a son, he would not have received more than five shares out of twelve, since nothing is reduced from the one-sixth of the father and mother nor from the one-fourth of the husband."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ismail ibn Ju'fi said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said concerning an estate that includes the wife and the parents of the deceased: "The wife's share is one-fourth, the mother's share is one-third, and the remainder belongs to the father."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ismail ibn Ju'fi said: The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about the heirs of a deceased person consisting of a husband and the father and mother. He said: "Half of the property is for the husband, one third of it is for the mother, and the rest is for the father."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zurarah said: The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about a woman: "About a woman who leaves behind her husband, her mother and her two daughters — he answered: to the husband, one fourth; to the mother, one sixth; and the rest goes to the two daughters. And if those two daughters had been sons, still the remainder of the share would have gone to them. But if in place of the husband there had been a wife, nothing extra would have been added to her share. If the deceased leaves behind a mother and a father, or a wife and a daughter, it is obligatory that the inheritance be divided into twenty-four portions: the wife receives one eighth, which is three shares out of twenty-four; the father or mother receives one sixth, which is four shares; and the daughter receives half of the inheritance, which is twelve shares. The remainder, which is five shares, is added to the shares of the daughter and to each of the father and mother in proportion to their shares, and this remainder does not go to the wife. If the inheritance reaches the father, the mother, the wife and the daughter, once again out of twenty-four shares, the father and mother receive two sixths, which is eight shares — that is, four shares each; the wife receives one eighth, which is three shares; and the daughter receives half of the inheritance, which is twelve shares. The remainder, which is one share, goes to the daughter and to the father and mother in proportion to their shares, and nothing goes to the wife. If a woman dies and her father, her husband and her daughter inherit from her, the father inherits two shares out of twelve, which is one sixth; the husband inherits three shares out of twelve; and the daughter inherits half of the inheritance, which is six shares out of twelve. The remainder of the inheritance, which is only one share, goes to the daughter and the father in proportion to their shares, and nothing goes to the husband."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Shurayh the judge issued a ruling on a case. The case concerned a woman who had died, and her husband along with her two paternal cousins — one of whom was also her maternal brother — remained as her heirs. [Shurayh's ruling was that] half of the property went to her husband, and the remainder was given to the paternal cousin who was also her maternal brother, and the other paternal cousin was deprived. The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (peace be upon him), became aware of this matter and Shurayh's ruling, and said to Shurayh: "What ruling is this that you have issued regarding that deceased woman?" He said: "O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! I have acted according to the ruling of the Book of Allah; I reckoned that paternal cousin who was also her maternal brother in the position of a maternal brother, and I considered the other as a paternal brother [and on this basis I ruled]." Imam Ali (peace be upon him) rejected this assumption and said: "Is it stated in the Book of Allah that the remainder of the inheritance, after paying the spouse's share, goes to the paternal cousin who is also a maternal brother?!" He said: "No." He said: "Allah has said: وَ إِنْ کانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِکُلِّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ [And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth]. On this basis, the spouse's share is half of the property, and the maternal brother [in that capacity] receives one sixth of the property; the remainder of the property is then divided between the paternal cousins [in their capacity as paternal cousins] — so the paternal cousin who was also a maternal brother receives one third, and the paternal cousin who was not a maternal brother receives one sixth. And the spouse's share is half of the property. In this way the ruling was completed and Shurayh's ruling was invalidated and the true ruling was made known."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Imam (peace be upon him) said regarding the verse إِنْ کانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ [And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister]: [in explanation and commentary on this verse, it is as if] it was revealed thus — إِنْ کانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ [meaning only a brother or sister] on the mother's side فَلِکُلِّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِنْ کانُوا أَکْثَرَ مِنْ ذلِکَ فَهُمْ شُرَکاءُ فِی الثُّلُثِ [each of the two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third] — that is, what is meant is only the maternal brother and sister.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the book al-Irshad it is stated: Abu Bakr was asked about the meaning of kalala. He answered: "If I speak according to my own opinion and [by chance] happen to give the correct answer, Allah has confirmed me, and if I err, it was from myself and Satan." This statement reached Ali (peace be upon him). He said: "How strange! What need has he for his baseless opinion? Does he not know that brothers and sisters — whether full brothers and sisters (from father and mother), or only from the father, or only from the mother — are called kalala? As Allah says: يَسْتَفْتُونَکَ قُلِ اللهُ یُفْتِیکُمْ فِی الْکَلالَةِ إِنِ امْرُؤٌ هَلَکَ لَیْسَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَ لَهُ أُخْتٌ فَلَها نِصْفُ ما تَرَکَ [They ask you (for a legal decision), say: Allah gives you a decision concerning the kalala. If a man dies and he has no child and he has a sister, she shall have half of what he leaves] (An-Nisa/176). And He said: وَ إِنْ کانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِکُلِّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِنْ کانُوا أَکْثَرَ مِنْ ذلِکَ فَهُمْ شُرَکاءُ فِی الثُّلُثِ [And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah says in this verse: وَ إِنْ کَانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِکُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِنْ کَانُوا أَکْثَرَ مِنْ ذَلِکَ فَهُمْ شُرَکَاءُ فِی الثُّلُثِ [And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third], and what is meant by it is only the brothers and sisters on the mother's side.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): In the verse: وَ إِنْ کانَ رَجُلٌ یُورَثُ کَلالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَ لَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِکُلِّ واحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ [And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth], this is the kalala of the mother, and they are the brothers and sisters on the mother's side. So if they are more than that, they take one-third of the inheritance and divide it equally among themselves, and in this share the male and the female are equal.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Whoever makes a bequest that causes harm [to the heirs in terms of the distribution of the inheritance and the shares by its execution], the carrying out of that bequest is not permitted, and the basis for this statement is the words of Allah the Exalted: غَیْرَ مُضَارّ [without causing harm].