Mirath - The Laws of Islamic Inheritance

Note: If the original sum is not 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 24 or the `Awl is not
of 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, or 27, and the situation is not of only sharing
residuary heirs, then one should realise that there is an error in the
issuing of allotments or the working out.
Note: There are some people who (either through ignorance or
malice) have said that in the allocation of allotments, the Qur’\n does
not add up. Quoting the following arguments:
“Verse 4:11-12 and 4:176 state the Qur'\nic inheritance law. When a
man dies, and is leaving behind three daughters, his two parents and
his wife, they will receive the respective shares of 2/3 for the 3
daughters together, 1/3 for the parents together [both according to
verse 4:11] and 1/8 for the wife [4:12] which adds up to 27/24, i.e.
more than the available estate. A second example: A man leaves only
his mother, his wife and two sisters, then they receive 1/3 [mother,
4:11], 1/4 [wife, 4:12] and 2/3 [the two sisters, 4:176], which again
adds up to 15/12 of the available property.”
There are many ways of answering this, of which one argument is that
the accusers have missed the obvious. The Qur’\n is not only relating
one circumstance but is providing the formula for the working out of
the allotments in proportion to all heirs, not the exact parts in all
situations. If the Qur’\n was trying to teach the latter, then there would
be millions of combinations that the Qur’\n would have to explain.
This would be both pointless and an issue that would show
imperfection. The Qur’\n showed the formula to the Muslims, who
understood it and implemented it immediately. The example given
previously of `Awl, i.e.
24 27
¬dam ___________________________________________________________
Wife Daughter Daughter Mother Father
1/8 2/3
3
16
59
1/6 1/6
4 4