Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterThe Wife’s Share in Inheritance and Her Right Regarding Division of the Property
Question
My father died 4 years ago.He has 5 daughters and a son.The mother of all his 6 children died in 2007Two years later he married another woman.He does not have children with her.After his death he left behind a house and some savings.His wife is giving us a hard time while we are trying to solve the inheritance.My question is:If she dies, do her own relatives have right to my father's house.Will they inherit a part of the house?Djazzakum ALLAHU gayran.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His Slave and Messenger.
Your father’s wife is entitled to one-eighth of his house, as Allah, the Exalted, says regarding the share of the wife in inheritance (what means): {But if you have children, then for them is one-eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you may have made or any debt.} [Quran 4: 12]
If she dies before receiving her share from the house, her share does not lapse due to her death. Rather, it passes on to her heirs. In this case, they are not considered heirs of your father; rather, they are heirs to the share of their deceased relative—your father’s wife—from your father’s estate.
She does not have the right to prevent the heirs from dividing the house and receiving their shares from it. As we have clarified in previous rulings, if inherited property cannot be practically divided and one of the heirs requests that it be sold, the others will be compelled to agree to the sale, and the price is then distributed among them according to the prescribed shares of inheritance.
Therefore, if your father’s wife is preventing you from obtaining your share of the house, you should refer the matter to the court.
Allah Knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
