سورة النِّسَاء
Surah Al-Nisâ’ 4:12
The Women · Verse 12 of 176
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَاجُكُمْ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ ۚ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ تُوصُونَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ وَإِنْ كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِنْ كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فِي الثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَىٰ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَارٍّ ۚ وَصِيَّةً مِنَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ
Abdul Mannan Omar
And for you is half of that which your wives leave behind, if they have no child; but if they have a child, then for you is one fourth of what they leave behind, after (the payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or (still more important) of any (of their) debt. And for them (- your wives) is one fourth of what you leave behind if you have no child; but if you leave a child, then, for them is an eighth of what you leave after (the payment of) any bequest you have bequeathed or (still more important) of any debt. And if there be a man or a woman whose heritage is to be divided and he (or she - the deceased) has no child and he (or she) has (left behind) a brother or a sister then for each one of the twain is a sixth; but if they be more than one then they are (equal) sharers in one third after the payment of any bequest bequeathed or (still more important) of any debt (provided such bequest made by the testator and the debt) shall be without (any intent of) being harmful (to the interests of the heirs). This is an injunction from Allâh, and Allâh is All-Knowing, Most Forbearing.
Abdullah Yusuf Ali
In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to any one). Thus is it ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Most Forbearing.
Ahmed Ali
Your share in the property the wives leave behind is half if they die without an issue, but in case they have left children, then your share is one-fourth after the payment of legacies and debts; and your wife shall inherit one-fourth of what you leave at death if you die childless, if not, she will get one-eighth of what you leave behind after payment of legacies and debts. If a man or a woman should die without leaving either children or parents behind but have brother and sister, they shall each inherit one-sixth. In case there are more, they will share one-third of the estate after payment of legacies and debts without prejudice to others. This is the decree of God who knows all and is kind.
12 more translations
Ali Unal
And for you is a half of what your wives leave behind, if they have no children; but if they have a child, then you shall have one-fourth of what they leave behind – after deduction for any bequest they may have made and any debt (incurred by them). And for them is one-fourth of what you leave behind, if you have no children; but if you have a child, then they shall have one-eighth of what you leave behind – after deduction for any bequest you may have made and any debt (incurred by you). And if a man or a woman has no heir in the direct line, but has a brother or a sister (on the mother’s side), for him or her is one-sixth; but if there are two or more, then they shall be sharers in one-third – after deduction for any bequest that may have been made or debt; neither (bequest or debt) intending harm (to the rights of the heirs in such ways as declaring fictitious debts or bequeathing more than one-third of one’s estate). A commandment from God. God is All-Knowing (of all your intentions, actions, and outcomes), All-Clement (not hasty to punish the errors of His servants).
Daryabadi
And ye will have half of that which your wives may leave, if they have no Child, but if they have a child then ye shall have one- fourth of that which they may leave, after paying a bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt. And they shall have one-fourth of that which ye may leaves if ye have no child; but if ye have a child then they will have one-eighth of that which ye may leave, after paying a bequest ye may have bequeathed or a debt. And if a man or a woman who leaveth the heritage hath no direct heirs but hath a brother or a sister, each of the twain will have a sixth; and if more than one, then they will have equal shares in one third after paying a bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt without prejudice: an ordinance this from Allah; and Allah Is Knowing, Forbearing.
Faridul Haque
And from what your wives leave, half is for you if they do not have any child; or if they have a child for you is a fourth of what they leave, after any will they may have made or debt to be paid; and to the women is a fourth of what you leave behind, if you do not have any child; or if you have a child then an eighth of what you leave behind, after any will you may have made, or debt to be paid; and if a deceased does not leave behind a mother, father or children but has a brother or a sister through a common mother, then to each of them a sixth; and if they (brothers and sisters) are more than two, then they shall all share in a third, after any will that may have been made or debt to be paid, in which the deceased has not caused a loss (to the heirs); this is the decree of Allah; and Allah is All Knowing, Most Forbearing.
Maulana Muhammad Ali
And yours is half of what your wives leave if they have no child; but if they have a child, your share is a fourth of what they leave after (payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and theirs is the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child, their share is the eighth of what you leave after (payment of) a bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt. And if a man or a woman, having no children leaves property to be inherited and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then for each of them is the sixth; but if they are more than that they shall be sharers in the third after (payment of) a bequest that may have been bequeathed or a debt not injuring (others). This is an ordinance from Allah: and Allah is Knowing, Forbearing.
Maulvi Sher Ali
And you shall half of that which your wives leave, if they have no child; but if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of that which they leave, after the payment of any bequests they may have bequeathed or of debts. And they shall have a fourth of that which you leave, if you have no child; but if you have a child, then they shall have an eighth of that which you leave, after the payment of any bequests you may have bequeathed or of debt. And if there be a man or a woman whose heritage is to be divided and he or she has neither parent nor child, and he or she has a brother and a sister, then each one of them shall have a sixth. But if they be more than that, then they shall be equal sharers in one-third, after the payment of any bequests which may have been bequeathed or of debt. And all this shall be without intent to cause injury to anyone. This is an injunction from ALLAH and ALLAH is Wise, Forbearing.
Muhammad Asad
And you shall inherit one-half of what your wives leave behind, provided they have left no child; but if they have left a child, then you shall have one-quarter of what they leave behind, after [the deduction of] any bequest they may have made, or any debt [they may have incurred]. And your widows shall have one-quarter of what you leave behind, provided you have left no child; but if you have left a child, then they shall have one-eighth of what you leave behind, after [the deduction of] any bequest you may have made, or any debt [you may have incurred].
Muhammad Musin Khan
In that which your wives leave, your share is a half if they have no child; but if they leave a child, you get a fourth of that which they leave after payment of legacies that they may have bequeathed or debts. In that which you leave, their (your wives) share is a fourth if you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they get an eighth of that which you leave after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of lagacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused (to anyone). This is a Commandment from Allah; and Allah is Ever All-Knowing, Most-Forbearing.
Muhammad Pickthall
And unto you belongeth a half of that which your wives leave, if they have no child; but if they have a child then unto you the fourth of that which they leave, after any legacy they may have bequeathed, or debt (they may have contracted, hath been paid). And unto them belongeth the fourth of that which ye leave if ye have no child, but if ye have a child then the eighth of that which ye leave, after any legacy ye may have bequeathed, or debt (ye may have contracted, hath been paid). And if a man or a woman have a distant heir (having left neither parent nor child), and he (or she) have a brother or a sister (only on the mother's side) then to each of them twain (the brother and the sister) the sixth, and if they be more than two, then they shall be sharers in the third, after any legacy that may have been bequeathed or debt (contracted) not injuring (the heirs by willing away more than a third of the heritage) hath been paid. A commandment from Allah. Allah is Knower, Indulgent.
Muhammad Sarwar
If your wives die without any surviving children, you will inherit half of their legacy. If they have children, you will inherit one-fourth of their legacy after the debts and things bequeathed have been excluded from the legacy. After the payment of debts and things bequeathed have been excluded from the legacy, your wives will inherit one-fourth of your legacy if you have no surviving children. If you leave a child, they will inherit one eighth of your legacy. If the deceased, either male or female, has no surviving heirs such as parents or children but has a brother or a sister, the brother or sister will each inherit one-sixth of the legacy. If there are more than just a brother or a sister, they will share one-third of the legacy. This is after the payment of any debts and things bequeathed have been excluded from the legacy, so that no one will be caused to suffer any loss. It is a guide from God, the All-knowing and Forbearing.
Muhammed ali Shakir
And you shall have half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of what they leave after (payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child then they shall have the eighth of what you leave after (payment of) a bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt; and if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third after (payment of) any bequest that may have been bequeathed or a debt that does not harm (others); this is an ordinance from Allah: and Allah is Knowing, Forbearing.
Rashad Khalifa
You get half of what your wives leave behind, if they had no children. If they had children, you get one-fourth of what they leave. All this, after fulfilling any will they had left, and after paying off all debts. They get one-fourth of what you leave behind, if you had no children. If you had children, they get one-eighth of what you bequeath. All this, after fulfilling any will you had left, and after paying off all debts. If the deceased man or woman was a loner, and leaves two siblings, male or female, each of them gets one-sixth of the inheritance. If there are more siblings, then they equally share one-third of the inheritance. All this, after fulfilling any will, and after paying off all debts, so that no one is hurt. This is a will decreed by GOD. GOD is Omniscient, Clement.
Shabbir Ahmed
(Additionally)
Commentary 4:12 In the case when the deceased is survived by parents, the parents first take their respective shares and the remainder goes to the children. When the…
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَاجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۚوَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ تُوصُونَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ
4:12 In the case when the deceased is survived by parents, the parents first take their respective shares and the remainder goes to the children. When the deceased leaves a husband or a wife, the spouse takes his or her share first, as in the case of parents, and the remaining portion goes to the children. If there are parents as well as a spouse and children, the parents and spouse take their shares first.
وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ
Kalâlah كَلَالَةً is a person who has no children, whether he has parents or not. Ibn ‘Abbâs is reported to have explained this word as meaning “one who does not leave offspring whether he leaves parents or not.” ‘Umar (rz) also is reported to have said that kalâlah is one who has no children (Râghib). Kalâlah spoken of here is one who has no children but has parents. The case of kalâlah who has neither children nor parents is dealt with in the last verse (4:177) of this chapter.
The words Ghair Mudzâr غيرمضار, “without being harmful,” mean that equity and fair dealing should be observed in all matters so that no persons interests are prejudiced. Thus, funeral expenses should be reasonable, debts must be genuine, bequests should not be made that would leave nothing for legal heirs, and the shares must be calculated with fairness.