and complained to the Holy Prophet, saying that they were required to make over half the property to a daughter who did not ride on horseback or fight with the enemy (IJ-C IV. p. 171). The general principle of inheritance is first laid down in the following words: “For men is a share of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and for women a share of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether it be little or much” (4:7).
The law of inheritance is then stated in the following words: “Allāh enjoins you concerning your children: for the male is the equal of the portion of two females; but if there be more than two females, two-thirds of what the deceased leaves is theirs, and if there be one, for her is the half. And as for his parents, for each of them is the sixth of what he leaves if he has a child; but if he has no child and only his two parents inherit him, for his mother is the third; but if he has brothers, for his mother is the sixth, after the payment of any bequest he may have bequeathed, or a debt … And yours is half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, your share is a fourth of what they leave after payment of any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and theirs is the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child, their share is the eighth of what you leave after payment of any bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt. And if a man or a woman having no children, leaves property to be inherited and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then for each of these is the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third after payment of a bequest that may have been bequeathed or a debt not injuring others” (4:11, 12). “Allāh gives you a decision concerning the person who has neither parents nor children. If a man dies and he has no son, and he has a sister, hers is half of what he leaves, and he shall be her heir if she has no son; but if there be two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of what he leaves. And if there are brethren, men and women, then for the male is the like of the portion of two-females” (4:176).
The persons spoken of in these verses, as inheriting the property of the deceased, may be divided into two groups, the first group