Rules of inheritance when there are no children
| Fatwa #2256 | Category: Inheritance | Country: United Kingdom | Date: 6th February 2026 |
| Fatwa #2256 | Date: 6th February 2026 |
| Category: Inheritance | |
| Country: United Kingdom | |
Question
Assalaamu alaikum,
Hope this finds you well in health and imaan.
Alhamdulillah I’ve been married for a long number of years and unfortunately we have no children so far. Though we are very sad we are accept the decree of Allah and whatever He plans. Alhamdulillah.
There have been a number of deaths in my family and talks of inheritance which have made me think about my question.
In the event of my death does my wife get all of my estate/inheritance?
And…
What if she dies at the same time as me or afterwards. Who gets my inheritance? I have siblings and nephew and nieces. So does she.
Jazzak Allah khair
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Islam has already stipulated who is an heir and who is not. Seldom is the case that a person will pass away without leaving behind any heirs. In all cases, deserving heirs and their shares can only be accurately ascertained upon the demise of an individual.
As for the enquired situation, your wife, parents and siblings will be your heirs upon your demise. Similarly, her husband, her parents and her siblings would be her heirs upon her demise.
Nephews and nieces stand to inherit if their parents i.e. the siblings of the deceased, have passed away already.
Given that you do not have any children, the maximum your wife would inherit is one quarter of your estate. The rest would go to your parents, siblings, nephews, nieces etc. As her husband, you would inherit a maximum of one half of her estate should she pass away before you. The balance will go to her parents, siblings, nephews and nieces.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia