is closer to the deceased. When two relatives are equally close in degree, the one related through both parents takes precedence over the one related through the father alone.

Since the Quran establishes that the sister receives half when there is no child, and that, where there is a male child, the son is a residuary heir who excludes the sister just as he excludes her brother, there remains the question of the sister inheriting alongside female children. Nothing in the Quran rules out her inheritance in this situation.

When she inherits alongside a daughter, there are three possibilities: she is excluded, she receives half, or she inherits as a residuary heir. There is no basis for excluding her, since she does not encroach upon the daughter’s share. Her brother would not be excluded, so neither should she. Were she excluded, it would be in favour of a more distant relative; yet a more distant relative does not exclude a closer one.

Moreover, assigning her half would place her on an equal footing with the daughter when they inherit together. The daughter, however, has the stronger claim, so the sister cannot be treated as her equal. Indeed, prescribing half for the sister could reduce the daughter’s share below half. For example, where there are a husband and a daughter, assigning the sister half would make the prescribed shares exceed the estate, requiring a proportional reduction that would bring the daughter’s share below half. Siblings do not encroach upon children’s shares, whether through a prescribed share or through residuary inheritance, for children have the stronger claim. Allah has only granted the sister half when the deceased leaves neither a father nor a child.

Once both her exclusion and her entitlement to a prescribed share have been ruled out, the only remaining possibility is that she inherits as a residuary heir, taking precedence over more distant relatives such as a paternal uncle or a paternal uncle’s son. This is the view of the majority.

This is also supported by the hadith reported by al-Bukhārī: “When Ibn Masʿūd was told that Abū Mūsā and Salmān ibn Rabīʿa had said, concerning a daughter, a son’s daughter, and a sister: ‘The daughter receives half