—the more distant of those cousins; so long as any agnatic heir exists, the estate belongs to him.

If no agnatic heir at all can be found and only the maternal uncle and the maternal aunt remain, the estate devolves upon them. This is a case of the inheritance of dhawī al-arḥām (uterine relatives): the estate reverts to them because they inherit through the mother, whose position they now occupy.

Question: Is the estate divided equally between them?

Answer: No. It is treated as though the mother herself had died and they were inheriting from her. Consequently, the entire estate goes to the maternal aunt, and the daughters of the maternal uncle receive nothing, for the aunt is closer to the deceased. A nearer relative excludes a more distant one when they belong to the same class.

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The brother’s daughters receive nothing

Question: A woman has a husband, a daughter from a previous husband, and the daughters of a deceased brother. Which of these inherit from her, and what share does each receive?

Answer: She leaves a husband, a daughter from another husband, and the daughters of a deceased brother. The husband takes one-quarter, the daughter one-half, and the remainder goes to the nearest male agnatic heir. If she has no agnatic heir whatsoever, that remainder is returned to the daughter. The daughters of her brother receive nothing so long as there is any fixed-share heir other than the two spouses; according to the sound view, the residue is redistributed among those fixed-share heirs.