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She died and left behind a husband, five sons and four daughters

Question: 118766

The mother died, leaving behind a husband, five sons and four daughters. She owned some money, gold and land. How should the money, gold and land be divided? Is it permissible for us all to agree to give the money in charity as ongoing charity (sadaqah jaariyah) on behalf of our mother? Is it permissible for us males, including the father, to give up our share of the gold so that it will be part of the share of the females?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly: 

If a woman
dies and leaves behind a husband, five sons and four daughters, then the
estate is to be divided as follows:

The husband
gets one quarter, because of the words of Allaah (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” [al-Nisa’ 4:12].

The children
get the rest, with each male getting the share of two females, 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” [al-Nisa’
4:11]. 

When the
estate is shared out among the heirs, it should be divided into 56 equal
parts. The husband’s share of it is 14 parts, the share of each son is six
parts and the share of each daughter is 3 parts. 

So the
husband’s share = the estate

× 14

÷ 56 

The share of
each daughter = the estate

× 3

÷ 56 

The share of
each son = the estate

× 6

÷ 56 

Secondly: 

The heir may
donate his share, such as making it a waqf (ongoing charity) on behalf of
his mother, so long as he is an adult of sound mind, because if the child or
foolish person who does not handle money well donates something, their
donation is not valid. 

There is
nothing wrong with you donating part of the money or all of it to be ongoing
charity on behalf of your mother. This is part of respecting her and
treating her kindly. 

Thirdly: 

It is
permissible for the male heirs to give up their share of the gold to the
female heirs, if they are adults of sound mind as stated above. 

If the father
gives up his share of the gold to the daughters, this comes under the
heading of giving gifts, and the basic principle is that the father should
be fair in giving to his children, and he should not favour the females over
the males. But if this is done with the consent of the males, there is
nothing wrong with it, and in that case they will be doing good and will be
rewarded, in sha Allaah. 

May Allaah
help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. 

And Allaah knows best.

Source

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