to divide the available property, but the others were prevented from doing so until the wife gives birth. If she gives birth, will she have a share in the property?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. As for the first deceased man, his wife receives one-eighth, and the remainder goes to his sons and daughters, each male receiving the share of two females. The brother’s son receives nothing. Thus, the wife receives three twenty-fourths, each son seven twenty-fourths, and the two daughters together seven twenty-fourths.

When the first son died, he left his brother, his two sisters and his mother. The second brother left his two sisters, his mother and his paternal cousin. If the unborn child had already been conceived when either of them died, the child inherits from him, being his maternal half-sibling.

The woman’s husband should refrain from intercourse with her from the time of this son’s death, as ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—directed in such a case. If he does not have intercourse with her and she gives birth, it will be known that the child had already been conceived at the time of death. If he has intercourse with her and the pregnancy is delayed, the matter becomes uncertain. Nevertheless, any heir who wishes to receive his entitlement may be given two-thirds, while a share of one-third is held back for the unborn child. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

An orphan had property held by a court-appointed trustee. His paternal uncle deliberately killed him out of envy, and this was established against him. What penalty does Islamic law require for him? What is Allah’s ruling concerning the division of the victim’s estate, including endowed property and other assets, when his heirs include his father, a maternal half-brother, a maternal grandfather and the killer’s children?