Hadith 1358

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that Umar ibnal-Khattab asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and granthim peace, about someone who died without parents or offspring, andthe Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saidto him, "The ayat which was sent down in the summer at the end of theSurat an-Nisa (Sura 4) is enoughfor you."Malik said, "Thegenerally agreed on way of doing things among us, in which there is nodispute, and which I saw the people of knowledge in our city doing, isthat the person who leaves neither parent or offspring can be of twotypes. As for the kind described in the ayat which was sent down atthe beginning of the Surat an-Nisa in which Allah, the Blessed, theExalted! said, 'If a man or a woman has no direct heir, but has abrother or a sister by the mother, each of the two has a sixth. Ifthere are more than that, they share equally in a third.' (Sura 4 ayat12) This heirless one does not have heirs among his mother's siblingssince there are no children or parents. As for the other kinddescribed in the ayat which comes at the end of the Surat an-Nisa,Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in it, 'They will ask you for adecision. Say, "Allah gives you a decision about the indirect heirs.If a man perishes having no children, but he has a sister, she shallreceive a half of what he leaves, and he is her heir if she has nochildren. If there are two sisters, they shall receive two-thirds ofwhat he leaves. If there are brothers and sisters, the male shallreceive the portion of two females. Allah makes clear to you that youmight not go astray. Allah has knowledge of everything" ' " (Sura 4ayat 176).Malik said, "If this person without direct heirs(parents) or children has siblings by the father, they inherit withthe grandfather from the person without direct heirs. The grandfatherinherits with the siblings because he is more entitled to theinheritance than them. That is because he inherits a sixth with themale children of the deceased when the siblings do not inheritanything with the male children of the deceased. How can he not belike one of them when he takes a sixth with the children of thedeceased? How can he not take a third with the siblings while thebrother's sons take a third with them? The grandfather is the one whoovershadows the half-siblings by the mother and keeps them frominheriting. He is more entitled to what they have because they areomitted for his sake. If the grandfather did not take that third, thehalf-siblings by the mother would take it and would take what does notreturn to the half-siblings by the father. The half-siblings by themother are more entitled to that third than the half-siblings by thefather while the grandfather is more entitled to that than the half-siblings by the mother."