Surah Nisa ayat 12 Tafsir Quran 4:12

﴿۞ 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 ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَالَةً أَوِ امْرَأَةٌ وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوا أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ فِي الثُّلُثِ ۚ مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَىٰ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَارٍّ ۚ وَصِيَّةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ﴾
[ النساء: 12]

4:12 And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.

And for you a half of what your wives leave if they have no children from you or from another; but if they have children then for you a fourth of what they leave after any bequest they may bequeath or any debt the consensus is that the grandchild in this case is like the child. And for them the wives whether one or more a fourth of what you leave if you have no children; but if you have children from them or from others then for them an eighth of what you leave after any bequest you may bequeath or any debt; again the consensus is that the grandchild is as the child. If it be a man leaving an inheritance yūrathu ‘being inherited from’ is an adjectival qualification the predicate of which is the following kalālatan ‘without direct heir’ and not having a direct heir that is having neither a parent nor child or it be a woman leaving an inheritance and having no direct heir but it be that such a man leaving an inheritance with no direct heir has a brother or a sister from the same mother as read by Ibn Mas‘ūd and others then to each of the two a sixth of what he leaves; but if they the siblings from the same mother be more than that that is more than one then they share a third the male and female equally after any bequest to be bequeathed or any debt without prejudice ghayra mudārrin is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the person governing the verb yūsā ‘to be bequeathed’ in other words without causing any prejudice to the inheritors by bequeathing more than the third; a charge wasiyyatan a verbal noun reaffirming the import of yūsīkum ‘He charges you’ of the beginning of the previous verse from God. God is Knowing of the obligations which He has ordained for His creatures Forbearing in deferring the punishment of those that disobey Him. The Sunna specifies that the individuals mentioned may receive the relevant inheritance provided that they are not barred from it on account of their having committed murder or their belonging to a different religion or being slaves.

And you have a rightful claim to half what your wives have left if they have no child

Share of the Spouses in the Inheritance Allah says to the husband, you get half of what your wife leaves behind if she dies and did not have a child.
If she had a child, you get one-fourth of what she leaves behind, after payment of legacies that she may have bequeathed, or her debts.
We mentioned before that payment of debts comes before fulfilling the will, and then comes the will, then the inheritance, and there is a consensus on this matter among the scholars.
And the rule applies to the grandchildren as well as the children, even if they are great-grandchildren ( or even further in generation ) Allah then said, وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ ( In that which you leave, their (your wives ) share is a fourth) and if there is more than one wife, they all share in the fourth, or one-eighth that the wife gets.
Earlier, we explained Allah's statement, مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ ( After payment of legacies ) The Meaning of Kalalah Allah said, وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَـلَةً ( If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question was left in Kalalah. ) Kalalah is a derivative of Iklil; the crown that surrounds the head.
The meaning of Kalalah in this Ayah is that the person's heirs come from other than the first degree of relative.
Ash-Sha`bi reported that when Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was asked about the meaning of Kalalah, he said, "I will say my own opinion about it, and if it is correct, then this correctness is from Allah.
However, if my opinion is wrong, it will be my error and because of the evil efforts of Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it.
Kalalah refers to the man who has neither descendants nor ascendants." When `Umar became the Khalifah, he said, "I hesitate to contradict an opinion of Abu Bakr." This was recorded by Ibn Jarir and others.
In his Tafsir, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "I was among the last persons to see `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and he said to me, `What you said was the correct opinion.' I asked, `What did I say' He said, `That Kalalah refers to the person who has no child or parents."' This is also the opinion of `Ali bin Abi Talib, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Zayd bin Thabit, Ash-Sha`bi, An-Nakha`i, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd and Al-Hakam .
This is also the view of the people of Al-Madinah, Kufah, Basrah, the Seven Fuqaha', the Four Imams and the majority of scholars of the past and present, causing some scholars to declare that there is a consensus on this opinion. The Ruling Concerning Children of the Mother From Other Than the Deceased's Father Allah said, وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ ( But has left a brother or a sister ), meaning, from his mother's side, as some of the Salaf stated, including Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas.
Qatadah reported that this is the view of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. فَلِكُلِّ وَحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِن كَانُواْ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى الثُّلُثِ ( Each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third. ) There is a difference between the half brothers from the mother's side and the rest of the heirs.
First, they get a share in the inheritance on account of their mother.
Second, the males and females among them get the same share.
Third, they only have a share in the inheritance when the deceased's estate is inherited in Kalalah, for they do not have a share if the deceased has a surviving father, grandfather, child or grandchild.
Fourth, they do not have more than a third, no matter how numerous they were.
aAllah's statement, مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّ ( After payment of legacies he (or she ) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused ( to anyone ).) means, let the will and testament be fair and free of any type of harm, without depriving some rightful heirs from all, or part of their share, or adding to the fixed portion that Allah or dained for some heirs.
Indeed, whoever does this, will have disputed with Allah concerning His decision and division.
An authentic Hadith states,
«إِنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَعْطَى كُلَّ ذِي حَقَ حَقَّهُ فَلَا وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِث»
( Allah has given each his fixed due right.
Therefore, there is no will for a rightful inheritor. )

(4:12) And to you belongs half of whatever has been left behind by your wives if they die childless; but if they have any children then to you belongs a fourth of what they have left behind, after payment of the bequest they might have made or any debts outstanding against them. And to them belongs a fourth of what you leave behind, if you die childless; and if you have any child then to them belongs one-eighth of what you have left behind, *22 after the payment of the bequest you might have made or any debts outstanding against you.

And if the man or woman has no heir in the direct line, but has a brother or sister, then each of these shall inherit one-sixth; but if they are more than two, then they shall inherit one-third of the inheritance, *23 after the payment of the bequest that might have been made or any debts outstanding against the deceased, providing that the bequest causes no injury. *24 This is a commandment from Allah; Allah is All-Knowing, All-Forbearing. *25

And for you is half of what meaning

*22).
Whether a man has one wife or several wives the share of the wife/wives is one-eighth of the inheritance when the deceased has issue, and one-fourth when he has no issue.
The share of the wives, whether one-fourth or one-eighth, will be distributed equally among them.

*23).
The remaining five-sixths or two-thirds of the inheritance goes to the legal heirs, if any.
Where there are no legal heirs, the person concerned is entitled to make a bequest with regard to the remaining part of the inheritance.
Commentators are agreed that the sisters and brothers mentioned here mean half-brothers and half-sisters, i.e.
those who have kinship with the deceased on the mother's side.
Injunctions affecting full brothers and sisters, and half-brothers and half-sisters on the father's side are mentioned towards the end of the present surah.
( See verse 176 below, and nn.
219 ff.
- Ed. )
*24).'Bequests which cause injury' are those that entail depriving deserving kin of their legitimate rights.
Similarly, the debt which causes injury is the fake debt which one falsely admits to owing, and any other device to which one resorts merely in order to deprive the rightful heirs of their shares in inheritance.
This kind of injury has been declared to be a major sin in a tradition from the Prophet ( peace be on him ).
According to another tradition the Prophet ( peace be on him ) said that even if a man worked all his life, like the men of Paradise, yet ended his life's record by making a wrongful bequest, he would be consigned to Hell.
( Ibn Kathir, vol.
2, p.
218. ) Such an act of deliberate injury and calculated effort designed to deprive people of their due rights is always a sin, but it is mentioned by God particularly in the case of kalalah ( the person who leaves behind neither parents nor descendants ).
( For kalalah see nn.
219 ff.
below - Ed. ) The reason for this seems to be that a man who has neither issue nor parents is often prone to squander his property and somehow prevent his distant relatives from receiving any share in the inheritance.

*25).
God's knowledge is referred to here for two reasons.
First, to stress that if a man violates God's Law he will not be able to escape from the grip of God, for He is Omniscient.
Second, to emphasize that the shares in inheritance fixed by God are absolutely sound, for God knows better than His creatures where their true interests lie.
Reference is also made to God's forbearance.
This is in order to point out that harshness could not characterize the laws laid down by God in respect of inheritance since He Himself is not harsh.
On the contrary, the aim of God's laws is to prevent people suffering inconvenience and hardship.

 

Share of the Spouses in the Inheritance Allah says to the husband, you get half of what your wife leaves behind if she dies and did not have a child.
If she had a child, you get one-fourth of what she leaves behind, after payment of legacies that she may have bequeathed, or her debts.
We mentioned before that payment of debts comes before fulfilling the will, and then comes the will, then the inheritance, and there is a consensus on this matter among the scholars.
And the rule applies to the grandchildren as well as the children, even if they are great-grandchildren ( or even further in generation ) Allah then said, وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ ( In that which you leave, their (your wives ) share is a fourth) and if there is more than one wife, they all share in the fourth, or one-eighth that the wife gets.
Earlier, we explained Allah's statement, مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ ( After payment of legacies ) The Meaning of Kalalah Allah said, وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَـلَةً ( If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question was left in Kalalah. ) Kalalah is a derivative of Iklil; the crown that surrounds the head.
The meaning of Kalalah in this Ayah is that the person's heirs come from other than the first degree of relative.
Ash-Sha`bi reported that when Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was asked about the meaning of Kalalah, he said, "I will say my own opinion about it, and if it is correct, then this correctness is from Allah.
However, if my opinion is wrong, it will be my error and because of the evil efforts of Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it.
Kalalah refers to the man who has neither descendants nor ascendants." When `Umar became the Khalifah, he said, "I hesitate to contradict an opinion of Abu Bakr." This was recorded by Ibn Jarir and others.
In his Tafsir, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "I was among the last persons to see `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and he said to me, `What you said was the correct opinion.' I asked, `What did I say' He said, `That Kalalah refers to the person who has no child or parents."' This is also the opinion of `Ali bin Abi Talib, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Zayd bin Thabit, Ash-Sha`bi, An-Nakha`i, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd and Al-Hakam .
This is also the view of the people of Al-Madinah, Kufah, Basrah, the Seven Fuqaha', the Four Imams and the majority of scholars of the past and present, causing some scholars to declare that there is a consensus on this opinion. The Ruling Concerning Children of the Mother From Other Than the Deceased's Father Allah said, وَلَهُ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ ( But has left a brother or a sister ), meaning, from his mother's side, as some of the Salaf stated, including Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas.
Qatadah reported that this is the view of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. فَلِكُلِّ وَحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ فَإِن كَانُواْ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى الثُّلُثِ ( Each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third. ) There is a difference between the half brothers from the mother's side and the rest of the heirs.
First, they get a share in the inheritance on account of their mother.
Second, the males and females among them get the same share.
Third, they only have a share in the inheritance when the deceased's estate is inherited in Kalalah, for they do not have a share if the deceased has a surviving father, grandfather, child or grandchild.
Fourth, they do not have more than a third, no matter how numerous they were.
aAllah's statement, مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّ ( After payment of legacies he (or she ) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused ( to anyone ).) means, let the will and testament be fair and free of any type of harm, without depriving some rightful heirs from all, or part of their share, or adding to the fixed portion that Allah or dained for some heirs.
Indeed, whoever does this, will have disputed with Allah concerning His decision and division.
An authentic Hadith states, «إِنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَعْطَى كُلَّ ذِي حَقَ حَقَّهُ فَلَا وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِث» ( Allah has given each his fixed due right.
Therefore, there is no will for a rightful inheritor. )

( And unto you belongeth a half of that which your wives leave ) of property, ( if they have no child ) male or female, from you or from other than you; ( but if they have a child then unto you the fourth of that which they leave ) of property, ( after any legacy they may have bequeathed, or debt ) after paying back any debt that they may have contracted and extracting any bequest she may have bequeathed. ( And unto them belongeth the fourth of that which ye leave ) of property ( if ye have no child ) male or female from them or from other than them, ( but if ye have a child ) male or female, from them or from other than them ( then the eighth of that which ye leave ) of property, ( after any legacy ye may have bequeathed, or debt (ye may have contracted, hath been paid )) after paying back any debt you may have contracted and extracting any bequest you may have bequeathed to someone. ( And if a man ) who does not have parents, children or kinsfolk related to his parents or children ( or a woman ) who is in the same situation ( have a distant heir (having left neither parent nor child )) brothers or sisters from the mother side. It is also said that this refers to any kin other than parents and children, ( and he (or she )) the deceased ( 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) the male and the female having equal share, ( after any legacy that may have been bequeathed or debt (contracted )) after paying back any debt that the deceased may have contracted and after extracting any bequest that he may have bequeathed provided it does not exceed a third of the inheritance ( not injuring ) the heirs by willing away more than a third of the inheritance ( hath been paid. A commandment from Allah ) it is an obligation upon you from Allah that you must divide inheritance. ( Allah is Knower ) regarding the division of inheritance, ( Indulgent ) in relation to that which happens between you of ignorance and deception regarding the division of inheritance, despite of which He does not hasten His punishment upon you.

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.

Page 79 English transliteration