One common misconception about the status of women is the claim that a woman receiving, in certain cases, half the portion of a male reflects a lower status. To clarify this matter, it is important to understand the true nature of women’s inheritance in the Sharia.
This page presents the shares as they stand in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 2, and the Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Surah an-Nisa 4:7 to 4:12, and on 4:176 at the end of the surah.
Inheritance Before Islam
Before revelation was sent to the Prophet ﷺ, pre-Islamic Arab customs restricted inheritance to male warriors who were able to fight in battle. Islam abolished this injustice and established the right of women to inherit, reflecting the principles of justice and fairness in the Sharia. The Qur’an clearly affirms the right of women to inherit before detailing the specific inheritance shares.
The Qur’an Established Women’s Right to Inheritance
Allah says:
“Men have a share in what parents and relatives leave behind, and women have a share in what parents and relatives leave behind, whether it be little or much; this is ordained [by Allah].”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:7)
This verse establishes the foundational principle that inheritance is a divinely legislated right for both men and women, and that the division of shares is based upon wisdom and justice determined by Allah, not human custom or personal preference.
In his commentary on this verse, as-Sa’di states the equality of the law itself:
But the Most Wise, Most Merciful Lord wanted to ordain laws for His slaves in which men and women, strong and weak, would be equal.
He also answers a second misconception in the same passage:
Moreover, there may be another misconception, which is that women and children have no share except in cases where the wealth is abundant, so Allah dispelled that notion by saying: [whether it be little or much]. Blessed be Allah, the best prescriber of laws.
The Qur’anic Shares of Inheritance
This foundation is further explained in the verses that follow. Allah says:
“Allah instructs you concerning [the inheritance of] your children: to the male, a portion equal to that of two females; if there are only daughters, more than two, their share is two-thirds of the estate; if there is only one [daughter], her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the estate goes to each, if the deceased left children; if [he left] no children, and the parents are the [only] heirs, the mother has a third, but if the deceased left siblings, the mother has a sixth. [The distribution in all cases is] after the payment of bequests and debts. With regard to your parents and your children, you do not know which of them is going to benefit you more. [These fixed shares] are ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise.”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:11)
The inheritance laws in the Qur’an clarify that, in some cases, a male receives a share equal to that of two females. A daughter receives half of the estate if she is the only child. And when there are two or more daughters, they collectively receive two-thirds of the inheritance: this ruling for two daughters is proven in the Book and the Sunnah, as Ibn Kathir states, and as-Sa’di records that there is scholarly consensus on it.
Ibn Kathir, in his commentary on this verse, states the justice of this division, and the reason the male’s portion is twice the female’s:
(Allah commands you for your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females;) Allah commands: observe justice with your children. The people of Jahiliyyah used to give the males, but not the females, a share in the inheritance. Therefore, Allah commands that both males and females take a share in the inheritance, although the portion of the males is twice as much as that of the females. There is a distinction because men need money to spend on their dependants, commercial transactions, work and fulfilling their obligations. Consequently, men get twice the portion of the inheritance that females get.
One further share of a woman is not mentioned in these verses at all. As-Sa’di notes, in his commentary on this same verse, that the grandmother’s share is established by the Sunnah instead: “But it is proven in as-Sunan from al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah and Muhammad ibn Maslamah that the Prophet ﷺ gave the grandmother one-sixth and, moreover, there is scholarly consensus on this point.”
Evidence from the Sunnah
Ahmad recorded from Jabir that the wife of Sa’d bin Ar-Rabi’ came to Allah’s Messenger and said to him:
“O Allah’s Messenger! These are the two daughters of Sa’d bin Ar-Rabi’, who was killed as a martyr at Uhud. Their uncle took their money and did not leave anything for them. They will not be married unless they have money.”
The Messenger said, “Allah will decide on this matter.” The Ayah about the inheritance was later revealed, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent word to their uncle commanding him:
“Give two-thirds (of Sa’d’s money) to Sa’d’s two daughters and one eighth for their mother, and whatever is left is yours.”
(Recorded by Ahmad from Jabir; collected by Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah.)
Cases Where Women Receive Equal Shares
When the deceased left children, the parents each receive a sixth of the estate, as the verse above states: “For parents, a sixth share of the estate goes to each, if the deceased left children.” As-Sa’di explains that the children meant here are the deceased’s own children or his son’s children, whether male or female, one or several, and that the mother gets no more than one-sixth if there are any children. Here the mother receives the same share as the father. This is not the parents’ ruling in every case: as-Sa’di notes that “the regular scenario is either that the mother takes a share equal to that of the father, or the father takes double what the mother takes.” Where there are no children and the parents are the only heirs, the mother takes a third and the father takes what remains.
The next verse gives a second case of equality, between brothers and sisters through the mother. Allah says:
“If a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two has a sixth; but if they are more than two, they share in a third, after payment of bequests and debts, without prejudice to the rights of the heirs.”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:12)
This is the case called kalalah, where the deceased leaves neither ascendants nor descendants. As-Sa’di explains that the scholars are unanimously agreed that the siblings meant here are siblings through the mother, His own words on the verse’s phrase are: “The words [they share in a third] indicate that both male and females get equal shares in this case, because the word translated here as [share] indicates equal shares..” Ibn Kathir records the same: the males and females among the maternal siblings get the same share, and they do not have more than a third, no matter how numerous they are.
The Shares of the Spouses
Surah an-Nisa 4:12, whose second half is quoted in the equal-shares section above, opens with the shares of the spouses. In as-Sa’di’s printing, the verse begins:
Your share of your wives’ estate is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, you have a fourth, after payment of bequests and debts. Their share of your estate is a fourth, if you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they have an eighth of the estate, after payment of bequests and debts.
(Surah an-Nisa 4:12)
The Sisters’ Shares: The Verse at the End of the Surah (4:176)
The surah returns to inheritance in its last verse, which gives a ruling on kalalah from the side of the siblings: a sister’s share of her brother’s estate, and a brother’s share of his sister’s. Allah says:
They ask you for a ruling. Say: Allah gives you a ruling concerning those who die leaving neither ascendants nor descendants. If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child [or surviving parent], she will have half of the estate. If [the deceased] is a woman who left no child [or surviving parent], her brother will have the [entire] estate. If there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of the estate [between them]. If there are brothers and sisters, [they will share the estate], each male having a portion equal to that of two females. Allah explains things to you lest you go astray. And Allah has knowledge of all things.
(Surah an-Nisa 4:176)
As-Sa’di ends his commentary on the surah with the verse’s closing words:
Allah explains things to you lest you go astray: that is, He explains to you in detail the rulings that you need to know, as a favour and kindness on His part, so that you will be guided by His explanation and will act upon His rulings, lest you go astray from the straight path because of your ignorance and lack of knowledge.
And Allah has knowledge of all things: that is, He has knowledge of the unseen and the seen, the past and the future; He knows that you need explanations and to learn, so He teaches you from His knowledge that which will benefit you always, in all times and places.
Ibn Kathir’s commentary on this verse completes the derivation noted earlier on this page for the two daughters: the ruling of the two daughters in 4:11 and the ruling of the two sisters here are taken from one another.
(If there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the inheritance;) meaning, if the person who dies in Kalalah has two sisters, they get two-thirds of the inheritance. More than two sisters share in the two-thirds. From this Ayah, the scholars took the ruling regarding the two daughters, or more, that they share in the two-thirds, just as the share of the sisters (two or more) was taken from the Ayah about the daughters, (if (there are) only daughters, two or more, their share is two thirds of the inheritance.) 4:11
The Wisdom and Justice of the Shares
The verse 4:11 closes with words the quotation above already carries: that we do not know which of our parents and our children will benefit us more, and that the fixed shares are ordained by Allah, All-Knowing, Most Wise. As-Sa’di explains those closing words:
[With regard to your parents and your children, you do not know which of them is going to benefit you more.] If dividing the estate were left to be worked out according to your reasoning and choice, it would result in harm, of which only Allah knows the extent, because people are lacking in reason and do not know what is best and more appropriate at any time or in any place. No person knows which, out of their children and their parents, will be more beneficial to them and more helpful in attaining their aims, both religious and worldly.
[These fixed shares] are ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, Most Wise: that is, they have been enjoined by Allah, Whose knowledge encompasses all things, Whose prescription of laws and regulations is precise and perfect, and whatever He decrees, He decrees it in the best way, and human minds cannot produce anything close to His sound rulings and regulations that are suitable for all times, places and situations.
Key Lessons
The claim this page opened with does not survive the verses themselves. Allah first established that women have a share, ordained by Him, and then detailed the shares: a daughter alone takes half of the whole estate, daughters together take two-thirds, the mother takes a sixth alongside the father when there are children, and a sister through the mother shares a third equally with her brothers; a wife takes a fourth of her husband’s estate, or an eighth if he left a child, and sisters take a half, or two-thirds together, under the surah’s final verse. The shares vary by relationship and by case, and in some of those cases the woman’s share is equal to the man’s. This page sets out the shares the verses themselves name, in the words of these two commentaries. In every position the verses name, daughter, mother, wife and sister, the share reaches her as her own right, and the division is Allah’s own, fixed by His knowledge and wisdom, not left to people’s reasoning and choice. The detailed case law of inheritance, such as ‘awl and radd and the ordering of residuary heirs, is a study of its own and is not treated here.
This page sits in the Financial Rights section of Women in Islam.
References
- Tafsir as-Sa’di, Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di, International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018, translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Vol. 2 (Juz 4-6): on Surah an-Nisa 4:7, printed pp. 125-126; on Surah an-Nisa 4:11, printed pp. 130-136; on Surah an-Nisa 4:12, printed pp. 130 and 136-137; on Surah an-Nisa 4:176, printed pp. 344-345
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), English translation, the ten-volume compilation held in the library (no publisher is named for this copy): on Surah an-Nisa 4:7, combined file PDF pp. 976-977; on Surah an-Nisa 4:11, including the hadith of the two daughters of Sa’d ibn al-Rabi’, combined file PDF pp. 980-983; on Surah an-Nisa 4:12, combined file PDF pp. 984-987; on Surah an-Nisa 4:176, combined file PDF pp. 1241-1245.
Further Reading
- The Mahr in Islam: the dowry a wife owns outright from her marriage
- Nafaqah: The Wife’s Right to Maintenance in Islam: the maintenance a husband owes his wife
- A Woman’s Own Property in Islam: a woman’s property as her own, to keep and dispose of
- Women’s Testimony: the testimony of women and the verse that governs it
Verified on 2026-10-26 against the books listed above.