In the previous article, we examined who residuaries are under Islamic law of Inheritance. In case you missed that, you can click here to catch up.

In this article, we would be discussing the status of siblings in Islamic succession.

Who are Siblings under Islamic Law of inheritance?  

Siblings are another category of beneficiaries to the estate of a deceased Muslims estate under Islamic law of inheritance. However, according to Islamic inheritance jurisprudence, they do not inherit except in the absence of the parents of the deceased, his children, and his children’s children.

What Share of the estate can siblings inherit under Islamic law of inheritance?

Siblings and their inheritable claim under Islamic law of inheritance can be discussed under three categories. They are:

1. Full siblings
2. Consanguine siblings (siblings who share a common father)
3. Uterine siblings (siblings who share a common mother)

Full Siblings (siblings who share the same father and mother)

The inheritance of full siblings can be discussed under the following circumstances:

Full brother

A full brother shall not be entitled to inherit in the presence of the son, the grandson and his descendant, or the deceased’s father. However, in the absence of any of these heirs, the following rules apply:

• If he is the sole heir, the full brother receives the entire estate.
• He gets the residue (the remainder of the estate after the Quranic/primary heirs have taken their share) in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude him.
• If there are two or more full brothers, they shall share the entire estate equally if they are the only heirs or divide the residue equally if other heirs are present.

Full Sister

The same heirs who exclude the full brother are also those who exclude the full sister.

However, in the absence of these heirs, the following rules apply:

• When a full sister is alone or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude her, the full sister is entitled to ½ of the estate.
• When there is more than one full sister who are the only heirs, or other heirs who do not exclude them, they shall share 2/3 of the estate equally.
• When a full sister inherits alongside daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s), or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s) through son(s), the full sister receives the estate’s residue. In this situation, she assumes the role of a full brother and excludes whoever he excludes.
• When there are two or more full sisters and other heirs, the full sisters shall share the residue in equal proportions with daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s), or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s) through son(s).

Full brother(s) and sister(s)

When the deceased Muslim leaves behind both full brother(s) and full sister(s), the following rules apply:

• If they are the only heirs, they shall share the entire estate in a 2 to 1 ratio.
• They would also share the residue in the same proportion in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude them (i.e., 2:1).

Consanguine Siblings

Consanguine siblings are subjected to the following rules concerning inheritance under Islamic law:

Consanguine Brother(s)

Any heir who excludes the full brother automatically excludes all other males, including the consanguine brother. Thus, the consanguine brother is excluded by the son, grandson, descendant, and father. In addition, a full brother also excludes a consanguine brother. However, in the absence of these heirs, the following rules apply:

• A consanguine brother inherits the entire estate if he is the only heir.
• When other heirs do not exclude him, he inherits the residue of the estate.
• When there are two or more consanguine brothers, they shall share the entire estate equally if there are no other heirs.
• When there are other heirs who do not exclude them, they shall share the residue of the estate.

Consanguine Sister(s)

The heirs also exclude a consanguine sister, who exclude a consanguine brother. She is, however, not excluded from inheriting if there is only one full sister but when there is more than one full sister, she becomes excluded.

In the absence of excluding heirs, the following rules apply to a consanguine sister:

• When there is only one consanguine sister, without other heirs who do not exclude her, she gets ½ of the estate.
• When other heirs do not exclude her, she still gets ½ of the estate.
• When there are two or more consanguine sisters, they shall share 2/3 of the estate equally.
• A consanguine sister receives the remainder of the estate, whether inheriting with daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s), or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s).

Consanguine Brother(s) and Consanguine Sister(s)

When there is a combination of consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s), either when there are no other heirs, or when there are heirs who do not exclude them, they will distribute the whole estate in the ratio of 2:1.

Uterine Siblings

The following category of heirs excludes uterine siblings (siblings who share a common mother):

1. the son of the deceased;
2. his grandson (or his descendant);
3. the daughter
4. the granddaughter through a son;
5. the father and paternal grandfather or his ascendant.

However, in the absence of these heirs, the following rules apply to them:

• They both receive 1/6 of the estate when they are the only heirs and when other heirs do not exclude them.
• When there are two or more uterine brothers or two or more uterine sisters, the two or more uterine brothers or sisters shall share 1/3 of the estate equally.
• If there is a combination of uterine brother and sisters, then the brother(s) and sister(s) shall share 1/3 of the estate equally, and the general rule of the male taking a more significant portion than the female wouldn’t apply here.

Thank you for sharing your time with us, we hope you have learnt something new. Remember that we are available to answer your questions so kindly reach out at contact@fiduciaryservicesltd.com if you need clarifications on this subject.

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Worry less because at Fiduciary Services Limited, we have professionals who are experts at handling Islamic estate planning and distribution. Our experts are well trained to handle the distribution of your Estate regardless of its size or the complexities of your family tree.

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Shukran Jazeelan for reading.