Inheritance for the daughter and the paternal nephew
Question: My half-sister through my mother has passed away. She leaves behind sons of a brother on her father’s side and a daughter of her own. Who is entitled to her estate? Kindly advise, may Allah bless you.
Answer: The deceased left a uterine brother, a daughter, and paternal nephews. The estate goes only to the daughter and to the son(s) of the paternal brother.
The uterine brother receives nothing, for he is excluded by a descendant heir—in this case, the daughter. Thus the daughter takes one-half, and the residue is divided among the male children of the paternal brother. The females among those nephews receive nothing.
***
Grandchildren through daughters do not inherit
Question: We are a family of seven daughters. Our eldest half-sister (sharing the same father) has died, leaving eight sons. Our father is still alive, and she died before him. Do her surviving sons have any right to our father’s estate? Several disputes have arisen with them over this inheritance.
Answer: The children of daughters have no share of the inheritance, because they fall under dhawī al-arḥām (uterine relatives). As long as there are fixed-share heirs or agnatic heirs, uterine relatives are not entitled to inherit. Two-thirds of your father’s estate therefore goes to his daughters, and the remainder to the nearest agnatic heir. If no agnatic heir is found, that remainder is redistributed among the daughters. The daughters of a daughter likewise receive nothing in this case, for they too are among the uterine relatives. Allah, Exalted is He, knows best.