One of the gravest yet most normalised sins in our Ummah today is the unjust division of mīrāth (inheritance). I have personally witnessed families — even those who pride themselves on following the Qur’an and Sunnah — trampling over the laws of Allah without a flinch of guilt. This happens most often when the deceased leaves behind only daughters and no son.
Allah has Himself decreed the shares — not leaving this matter to human emotion, custom, or “family understanding”:
“Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two-thirds of one’s estate…”
— Surah an-Nisā’ 4:11
📜 The Sharʿī Distribution (when deceased leaves wife + only daughters, no son):
– Daughters (two or more): 2/3 collectively (one daughter alone: 1/2)
– Wife: 1/8 (because children exist; it would be 1/4 only if there were no children)
– Parents (if alive): each 1/6
– The remaining residue (ʿasabah): goes to the deceased’s father — and in his absence, to the deceased’s brothers (and through them, to his nephews, paternal uncles, and male agnatic relatives) in the order fixed by the Shariah.
This residue is not the property of the wife. It is not the property of the daughters. It is the ḥaqq (right) of the deceased’s blood relatives — a right placed there by Al-Ḥakīm, The Most Wise.
❗Yet what do we see?
The widow says, “It was my husband’s, so it is mine.”
The daughters quietly absorb the entire estate, telling themselves they “deserve” it.
The husband’s brothers, sisters, and father are pushed aside — sometimes mocked for even raising the subject — as if asking for what Allah gave them is shameful.
Subḥān-Allāh — do we truly believe we are more merciful, more fair, or more wise than the One who created us?
Allah said in the end of the very Ayah 4:11 that mentions this:.. (these fixed shares) are ordained by Allâh. And Allâh is Ever All-Knower, All-Wise.
🌸 A Sincere Plea to the Daughters:
Dear sisters — do not destroy your ākhirah for a fleeting share of this dunyā. The house, the land, the bank balance — none of it will enter the grave with you. But the ḥuqūq (rights) you devoured will.
If your mother did not give your father’s siblings, father, or paternal family their ordained shares — then at the very least, you give it. Break the chain. Return what is not yours. Cleanse the wealth before it becomes a fire around your neck.
And fear the Day when…
“…wealth and sons will be of no benefit, except for one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”
— Surah ash-Shu’arā’ 26:88-89
…the Day when every dirham unlawfully taken will be weighed, when the oppressed will stand before Allah with their claim, and when no lawyer, no excuse, and no family tradition will save you.
📿 The Prophet ﷺ warned us in terrifying words: “Whoever wrongfully takes a span of land, Allah will encircle him with it from the seven earths on the Day of Resurrection.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2454
And in another narration:
“Beware of injustice (ẓulm), for injustice will be darknesses (ẓulumāt) on the Day of Resurrection.”
— Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2578
And concerning those who consume the rights of heirs:
“Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire. And they will be burned in a Blaze.”
— Surah an-Nisā’ 4:10
🤲 A Final Word
Wealth taken without right is not barakah — it is bala’ (a trial). It poisons marriages, breaks children, eats away health, and ruins the ākhirah. Returning a usurped share, even after years, is a sign of īmān, not weakness.
May Allah make us among those who fear Him in matters no court can see — and who honour His laws even when our own families look the other way. Aameen.
(Mohammed bin Thajammul Hussain Manna)