sum
Special Case: Inheritance by Dual Relationship
Here is the answer key for the mini-quiz we concluded with in the previous post:
- Yes
- No
- No
- No
- No
- Yes
Any questions/confusions should, as always, be expressed in the comments section below, insha’Allah.
In certain cases of inheritance the mayyit may have two relationships with an heir. Such an heir will inherit through both relationships. The way to solve such a problem is simple; the heir will be treated as two distinct people, inheriting as both, and getting the sum of the two shares at the end.
Lets try one out, insha’Allah.
Example 1: A woman dies leaving behind
- Husband/Haqeeqi paternal uncles son
- 1 Haqeeqi paternal uncles sons
The mayyits husband is also her haqeeqi paternal uncles son, i.e. cousin.
This is a case of a woman marrying her paternal cousin. In this case, the husband will inherit as a husband and also as a cousin. In addition, the mayyit also has another separate cousin of the same kind. In conclusion, the mayyit has two cousins, one of them also being her husband. We can turn this into a new list of distinct heirs as below:
Introduction to Radd
Below is the answer to the problem presented at the end of the previous post:
The estate will be divided into 30 equal portions:
The Husband gets 9 portions.
Each Haqeeqi sister gets 4 portions.
Each Akhyaafi brother gets 2 portions.
The Mother gets 3 portions.
The rest are all deprived.
As usual, if there is any confusion as to how the above answer was reached, please let us know in the comments section, insha’Allah.
Consider a problem in which only zaawil furoodh heirs are inheriting, and there shares add up to less than 1. Who would get the residue? Usually we would give it to the `asabaat, but this time there are no `asabaat. So what happens now? This is where the principle of radd comes in. The principle of radd can be thought of as the opposite of the principle of `awl. While in `awl the shares add up to greater than 1, in radd the shares add up to less than 1.
Radd is applied when the shares of zaawil furoodh heirs add up to less than 1 and there are no `asabaat inheriting to claim the residue. The basic idea behind radd is to increase the share of each category of heirs in proportion to their shares or – thinking of it another way – in proportion to the portions they received. Simply speaking, by the time we are done applying radd, the residue will be redistributed among each of the zaawil furoodh categories according to the ratio of their respective portions.
Solving Problems Using the Principle of `Awl
In this post, insha’Allah, we will learn how to apply `awl by solving example problems.
It should be understood that `awl can only be applied when the sum of the shares is greater than 1. When the sum of the shares is greater than 1, this will result in the sum of the portions being greater than the base number.
The application of `awl is actually very simple: As discussed in the previous post, after calculating the base number and the resulting portions we find that the sum of the portions is actually greater than the base number. To apply `awl, all we have to do is make this sum our new base number, while keeping the portions the same. This will result in reducing the shares of the categories proportionally.
Lets demonstrate with a few examples, insha’Allah.
Introduction to `Awl
Consider the following scenario:
A man dies leaving behind:
- 1 Wife
- Mother
- Father
- 2 Daughters
All of them inherit, no one is excluded. Upon adding up the shares, we find something seemingly strange. Take a look:
1/8 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 2/3 ＝ 1.125 ＝ 9/8
The shares add up to greater than 1. Has there been a mistake? No, not at all. In fact, there are numerous scenarios in which the shares of the heirs add up to greater than 1. Consequently, in these types of problems, when we calculate the base number and the portions given to each heir, we find that the sum of all portions is actually greater than the base number. In such scenarios, we apply the principle of `awl.
Islamic Inheritance Laws 