She died and left behind a daughter, husband and full brother
Question I have a sister who died two months ago in childbirth. The reason why she died was a serious mistake on the part of the doctor who was supervising the birth. The case went to court the doctor paid a sum of money as compensation (diyah). I would like to know what is the…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
This diyah is to be divided
among the heirs, and it is like the rest of the estate.
Before dividing the estate,
the number of heirs should be listed, so as to determine the share of each
of them.
You mentioned that the
deceased had a daughter and a husband.
As for the husband, he gets
one-quarter because there is a descendent of the deceased, namely the
daughter. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“In that which your
wives leave, your share is a half if they have no child; but if they leave a
child, you get a fourth of that which they leave after payment of legacies
that they may have bequeathed or debts”
[al-Nisa’ 4:12]
As for the daughter, she
gets half, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah commands you as
regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that
of two females; if (there are) only daughters, two or more, their share is
two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half”
[al-Nisa’ 4:11]
If the deceased
had no father or mother who were still alive, then the rest of the
inheritance, which is one-quarter, goes to her ‘asabah (relatives on the
father’s side), namely her full brother or siblings, with each male getting
the share of two females. If there are no full siblings, then the remaining
amount goes to brothers through the father … and so on, according to the
order of closeness.
The court should take
charge of distributing the estate, after the death has been announced and
the number of heirs has been counted.
And Allaah knows best.
