Surah An-Nisa 4:12

Share of the Spouses in the Inheritance

Allah says to the husband, you get half of what your wife leaves behind if she dies and did not have a child. If she had a child, you get one-fourth of what she leaves behind, after payment of legacies that she may have bequeathed, or her debts. We mentioned before that payment of debts comes before fulfilling the will, and then comes the will, then the inheritance, and there is a consensus on this matter among the scholars. And the rule applies to the grandchildren as well as the children, even if they are great-grandchildren (or even further in generation) Allah then said,

(In that which you leave, their (your wives) share is a fourth) and if there is more than one wife, they all share in the fourth, or one-eighth that the wife gets. Earlier, we explained Allah's statement,

(After payment of legacies)

The Meaning of Kalalah

Allah said,

(If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question was left in Kalalah.) Kalalah is a derivative of Iklil; the crown that surrounds the head. The meaning of Kalalah in this Ayah is that the person's heirs come from other than the first degree of relative. Ash-Sha`bi reported that when Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was asked about the meaning of Kalalah, he said, "I will say my own opinion about it, and if it is correct, then this correctness is from Allah. However, if my opinion is wrong, it will be my error and because of the evil efforts of Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it. Kalalah refers to the man who has neither descendants nor ascendants." When `Umar became the Khalifah, he said, "I hesitate to contradict an opinion of Abu Bakr." This was recorded by Ibn Jarir and others. In his Tafsir, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "I was among the last persons to see `Umar bin Al-Khattab, and he said to me, `What you said was the correct opinion.' I asked, `What did I say' He said, `That Kalalah refers to the person who has no child or parents."' This is also the opinion of `Ali bin Abi Talib, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Zayd bin Thabit, Ash-Sha`bi, An-Nakha`i, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Qatadah, Jabir bin Zayd and Al-Hakam . This is also the view of the people of Al-Madinah, Kufah, Basrah, the Seven Fuqaha', the Four Imams and the majority of scholars of the past and present, causing some scholars to declare that there is a consensus on this opinion.

The Ruling Concerning Children of the Mother From Other Than the Deceased's Father

Allah said,

(But has left a brother or a sister), meaning, from his mother's side, as some of the Salaf stated, including Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas. Qatadah reported that this is the view of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.

(Each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third.) There is a difference between the half brothers from the mother's side and the rest of the heirs. First, they get a share in the inheritance on account of their mother. Second, the males and females among them get the same share. Third, they only have a share in the inheritance when the deceased's estate is inherited in Kalalah, for they do not have a share if the deceased has a surviving father, grandfather, child or grandchild. Fourth, they do not have more than a third, no matter how numerous they were. aAllah's statement,

(After payment of legacies he (or she) may have bequeathed or debts, so that no loss is caused (to anyone).) means, let the will and testament be fair and free of any type of harm, without depriving some rightful heirs from all, or part of their share, or adding to the fixed portion that Allah or dained for some heirs. Indeed, whoever does this, will have disputed with Allah concerning His decision and division. An authentic Hadith states,

(Allah has given each his fixed due right. Therefore, there is no will for a rightful inheritor.)

Ayat ini menjelaskan perincian pembagian hak waris untuk suami atau istri yang ditinggal mati. Suami yang ditinggalkan mati oleh istrinya jika tidak ada anak maka ia mendapat ½ dari harta, tetapi bila ada anak, ia mendapat ¼ dari harta warisan. Ini juga baru diberikan setelah lebih dahulu diselesaikan wasiat atau utang almarhum. Adapun istri yang ditinggalkan mati suaminya dan tidak meninggalkan anak maka ia mendapat ¼ dari harta, tetapi bila ada anak, istri mendapat 1/8. Lalu diingatkan bahwa hak tersebut baru diberikan setelah menyelesaikan urusan wasiat dan utangnya.

Apabila seseorang meninggal dunia sedang ia tidak meninggalkan bapak maupun anak, tapi hanya meninggalkan saudara laki-laki atau perempuan yang seibu saja maka masing-masing saudara seibu itu apabila seorang diri bagiannya adalah 1/6 dari harta warisan dan apabila lebih dari seorang, mereka mendapat 1/3 dan kemudian dibagi rata di antara mereka. Dalam hal ini tidak ada perbedaan antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Allah menerangkan juga bahwa ini dilaksanakan setelah menyelesaikan hal-hal yang berhubungan dengan wasiat dan utang almarhum. Allah memperingatkan agar wasiat itu hendaklah tidak memberi mudarat kepada ahli waris. Umpama seorang berwasiat semata-mata agar harta warisannya berkurang atau berwasiat lebih dari 1/3 hartanya. Ini semua merugikan para ahli waris.