Muslim Wife Inheritance Share
Husband and wife have equal rights, as no one can deprive them of taking their portion. The widow's share in Husband's property in Islamic succession is fixed and prescribed. The Widow's division under Muslim law is either One-fourth (i.e., 1/4) or One-eighth (i.e., 1/8) of estates. The Widow receives One-fourth of the property of the deceased Husband's assets if there are no children or no grandchildren how low soever (i.e., in the absence of lineal descendants); otherwise, she receives One-eighth of the Husband's assets as stipulated in the Holy Quran 4:12.
The surviving spouse does not receive residue as a Residuary. Share for Widow is half of the widower because she does not own a financial burden. However, there has been an ongoing debate about the Women's division under Islamic law by attorneys, lawyers, orientalists, writers, and researchers. The division of surviving spouses can vary in certain conditions due to the decrease or increase of total portion under the Radd and Awal (or Aul) scenario.
No Hajb (i.e., blocking or exclusion) rules are applicable for spouses and do not block any legal heirs from taking division and vice-versa.
The widow receives from her husband only if she is married as per a Muslim ceremony called "Nikah." The surviving spouse does not receive under shariah if he is legally married.
A man's property can be inherited by his spouse, children (or grandchildren), and parents (or grandparents) as primary heirs. These are the legal heirs after the death of a married man. Refer to "Sharer and Residuary" to learn more.
The second wife has the right to the Husband's properties in Islam, and multiple surviving wives are shared equally as stipulated in the Holy Quran 4:12. Refer to Fixed or Prescribed sharers in Islam for more information.
If a Muslim man enters into marriage while being ill and later passes away due to that medical condition without significant recovery or the marriage being consummated, his widow is not entitled to inherit his assets. However, if the husband, while still ailing, divorces his wife and then succumbs to the illness, the widow retains her succession rights until she decides to remarry. Some differences of opinion among Madhab need to be taken into account.
The wife also can own lifetime gifts (i.e., Hiba) from Husband's property without any classification or restrictions.
The content of this article has been reviewed and endorsed by Dr. Mahir J. (Ph.D.) and Mufti Muhammad Nazir K. (Pursuing Ph.D.)
