Chapter: Inheritance of Brothers and Sisters in the Presence of the Grandfather

In this issue, Imams Ahmad, al-Shāfiʿī, and Mālik adopted the opinion of Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him). The same position was also taken by Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan from the Ḥanafī school, along with many other scholars.

In brief, when siblings inherit alongside the grandfather, they fall into one of three categories: full siblings (from both parents) only, paternal siblings only, or a combination of the two groups.

If only one of these two categories is present with the grandfather, two basic situations arise:

First situation: a fixed-share heir (ṣāḥib farḍ) is present with them.

In this circumstance the grandfather faces three possible arrangements with the siblings:

1. The first arrangement: sharing the estate with them by equal division (muqāsama) is more beneficial to him than taking one-third of the estate. The criterion here is that the number of siblings is less than twice his own—namely, that they are one-and-a-half times his number or fewer. This occurs in five specific scenarios: