ٱلنِّسَاء : ١١

  • يُوصِيكُمُ Instructs you
  • ٱللَّهُ Allah
  • فِيٓ concerning
  • أَوۡلَٰدِكُمۡۖ your children
  • لِلذَّكَرِ for the male
  • مِثۡلُ like
  • حَظِّ (the) portion
  • ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِۚ (of) two females
  • فَإِن But if
  • كُنَّ there are
  • نِسَآءٗ (only) women
  • فَوۡقَ more (than)
  • ٱثۡنَتَيۡنِ two
  • فَلَهُنَّ then for them
  • ثُلُثَا two thirds
  • مَا (of) what
  • تَرَكَۖ he left
  • وَإِن And if
  • كَانَتۡ (there) is
  • وَٰحِدَةٗ (only) one
  • فَلَهَا then for her
  • ٱلنِّصۡفُۚ (is) half
  • وَلِأَبَوَيۡهِ And for his parents
  • لِكُلِّ for each
  • وَٰحِدٖ one
  • مِّنۡهُمَا of them
  • ٱلسُّدُسُ a sixth
  • مِمَّا of what
  • تَرَكَ (is) left
  • إِن if
  • كَانَ is
  • لَهُۥ for him
  • وَلَدٞۚ a child
  • فَإِن But if
  • لَّمۡ not
  • يَكُن is
  • لَّهُۥ for him
  • وَلَدٞ any child
  • وَوَرِثَهُۥٓ and inherit[ed] him
  • أَبَوَاهُ his parents
  • فَلِأُمِّهِ then for his mother
  • ٱلثُّلُثُۚ (is) one third
  • فَإِن And if
  • كَانَ are
  • لَهُۥٓ for him
  • إِخۡوَةٞ brothers and sisters
  • فَلِأُمِّهِ then for his mother
  • ٱلسُّدُسُۚ (is) the sixth
  • مِنۢ from
  • بَعۡدِ after
  • وَصِيَّةٖ any will
  • يُوصِي he has made
  • بِهَآ [of which]
  • أَوۡ or
  • دَيۡنٍۗ any debt
  • ءَابَآؤُكُمۡ Your parents
  • وَأَبۡنَآؤُكُمۡ and your children
  • لَا not
  • تَدۡرُونَ you know
  • أَيُّهُمۡ which of them
  • أَقۡرَبُ (is) nearer
  • لَكُمۡ to you
  • نَفۡعٗاۚ (in) benefit
  • فَرِيضَةٗ An obligation
  • مِّنَ from
  • ٱللَّهِۗ Allah
  • إِنَّ Indeed
  • ٱللَّهَ Allah
  • كَانَ is
  • عَلِيمًا All-Knowing
  • حَكِيمٗا All-Wise
Allāh instructs you concerning your children [i.e., their portions of inheritance]: 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.1 And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [and/or sisters], for his mother is a sixth,2 after any bequest he [may have] made or debt.3 Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise.
Footnotes
1 Literally, "that which he left."
2 Although the siblings themselves do not inherit in this case.
3 Based upon prophetic ḥadīths, scholars have ruled that debt takes precedent over a bequest, that a bequest may not include any who inherit by law, and that the total bequest may not be more than one third of one's estate. After the fulfillment of debts and bequests (if any), the remainder of the estate is to be divided according to the ordinances in this sūrah.
God charges you, He commands you, concerning, the matter of, your children, with what He will mention: to the male, of them, the equivalent of the portion, the lot, of two females, if there are two [women] with him, so that half the property is his, and the other half is theirs; if there is only one female with him, then she has a third, and he receives two thirds; if he is the only one, he takes it all; and if they, the offspring, be, only, women more than two, then for them two-thirds of what he, the deceased, leaves; likewise if they be two women, since in the case of two sisters, more deserving of such a share, God says, They shall receive twothirds of what he leaves [Q. 4:176]; and since a female is entitled to a third with a male, she is all the more deserving [of the same share] with a female. It is said that fawq, 'more than', introduces a relative clause; it is also said to guard against the wrong impression that the greater the number [of females] the greater the portion [they are entitled to], since, it is [mistakenly] thought that the entitlement of two females to twothirds derives from the fact that a female is entitled to one third when with a male; but if she, the daughter, be one (waahidatan, is also read waahidatun, making the kaana [construction] syntactically complete) then to her a half; and to his parents, the deceased's, to each one of the two (li-kulli waahidin minhumaa, substitutes for the previous li-abawayhi, 'to his parents') the sixth of what he leaves, if he has a child, male or female: the point of the substitution is to show that they do not share the sixth [but receive one each]. [The term] 'child' (walad) also applies to a grandchild, and likewise 'parent' (abb) to a grandparent; but if he has no child, and his heirs are his parents, alone or along with a spouse, then to his mother (read li-ummihi; also read, in both places [here and further down], li-immihi in order to avoid the cumbersome transition from a damma ['u'] to a kasra ['I']) a third, of the property, or what remains after the spouse, the rest being for the father; or, if he has siblings, two or more, males or females, to his mother a sixth, and the rest for the father, and nothing for the siblings. The inheritance stipulated for those mentioned shall take place, after, the fulfilment of, any bequest that he may bequeath (read active yoosee, or passive yoosaa), or, the repayment of, any debt, that he may owe. 'Bequest' comes before 'debt', even though it should only be fulfilled after the latter [has been repayed], to show that it should be taken seriously. Your parents and children (aabaa'ukum wa-abnaa'ukum, is the subject, its predicate being [what follows]) - you know not which of them is nearer in benefit to you, in this world and the Hereafter. It may be that one supposes his son to be beneficial to him, leaves him an inheritance, and then it turns out that the father had been the more beneficial [of the two], and vice versa. The only One with knowledge of this [reality] is God, and for this reason He has prescribed for you inheritance: a prescription from God; surely God is ever Knowing, of His creation, Wise, in what He has ordained for them, that is to say, He is ever possessed of such attributes.