When a Muslim man dies leaving behind a wife but no issue, his wife will inherit 1/4th share of his property.

 2023 YLR 675

When a Muslim man dies leaving behind a wife but no issue, his wife will inherit 1/4th share of his property. The remaining 3/4th will go to the remaining legal heirs. In this proposition one real brother of the deceased was left who died after one month of deceased. He had a wife and three daughters. Now remaining 3/4th property will be divided to his legal heirs. His wife will get share as sharer to the extent of 1/8th of the property, 3/4th and 2/3rd of the remaining property will be given to the daughters (three in number) with equal share. Now if the deceased had a son then the sons of deceased’s stepbrother would not get any share, but in this case since Abdul Rehman had only three daughters and no son, therefore, the remaining 1/3rd will go to the sons of the deceased Muhammad Iqbal.

There are three classes of heirs namely;

1. Sharers,

2. Residuaries, and

3. Distant Kindred.

“Sharers” are those who are entitled to a prescribed share, of the inheritance;

“Residuaries” are those who take no prescribed share, but succeed to the “residue” after the claims of the sharers are satisfied; and

“Distant Kindred” are all those relations by blood who are neither Sharers nor Residuaries.

According to the Hanfi Law the first in the distribution of estate of a deceased Muhammadan, after payment of his funeral expenses, debts, and legacies, is to allot their respective shares to such of the relations as belong to the class of sharers and are entitled to a share. The next step is to divide the residue (if any) among such of the residuaries as are entitled to the residue. If there are no sharers, the residuaries will succeed to the whole inheritance. If there are neither sharers nor residuaries, the inheritance will be divided among such of the distant kindred as are entitled to succeed thereto. The distant kindred are not entitled to succeed so long as there is any heir belonging to the class of sharers or residuaries. But there is one case in which the distant kindred will inherit with a sharer, and that is where the sharer is the wife or husband of the deceased. Thus if a Muhammadan dies leaving a wife and distant kindred, the wife as sharer will take her share which is 1/4 and the remaining three-fourths will go to the distant kindred, the husband as sharer will take his 1/2 share, and the other half will go to the distant kindred.