Section: If the estate consists of shares of real estate, multiply the base of the real estate shares by the number from which the problem is correctly derived; the result is the shares of the real estate. Multiply the shares of each heir from the base of the problem by the inherited shares(20) of the real estate, and multiply the shares of the partners by the base of the heirs' problem. An example of this is a husband, a mother, and a sister, and the estate is a quarter and a sixth of a house. The problem is from eight, and the base of the real estate shares is twelve. Multiply them by eight, and they become ninety-six. The husband has three from the problem, multiplied by the inherited shares, which are five, totaling fifteen. The same applies to the sister; relate them to the house, and it becomes one-eighth and one-quarter of one-eighth of it. The mother has two shares multiplied by five, totaling ten, which is half of a sixth of the house and one-eighth of its sixth. If you wish, you may say: it is half of its eighth and one-third of its eighth. If you wish, expand the quarter and the sixth into carats of the dinar, which is ten, and divide them by the problem. The mother has a quarter of it, which is(21) two and a half carats, and the sister has three-eighths of it, which is three carats and three-quarters of a carat. The same applies to the husband.

1012- Issue: He said: (And [the remainder] is returned to all the inheritors entitled to fixed shares in proportion to their inheritance, except for the husband and the wife.)

The gist of this is that if the deceased leaves no heir other than those with fixed shares, and [the fixed shares] do not encompass the entire wealth—such as daughters, sisters, and grandmothers—then the surplus beyond the fixed shares is returned to them in proportion to their fixed shares, except for the husband and wife. This was narrated from Umar, Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. It is also narrated from al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Shurayh, Ata', Mujahid, al-Thawri, Abu Hanifah, and his companions. Ibn Suraqah(2) said: This is the practice today in the cities, except that it is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that he would not return [the surplus] to a son's daughter alongside a daughter, nor to a sister from the father alongside a sister from both parents, nor to a grandmother alongside one who has a [fixed] share. Ibn Mansur narrated from Ahmad that he would not return [the surplus] to the mother's children alongside the mother, nor to the grandmother(3) alongside one who has a [fixed] share. What al-Khiraqi mentioned is more apparent in the school (madhhab) and more correct, and it is the opinion of the generality of those who hold the view of return (radd); because they are equal in the shares, so they must be equal in what stems from them, and because if the fixed share (faridah) were to be subject to the 'awl (increase in the divisor), the deficiency would fall upon everyone, so the return should reach them as well. As for the spouses, it is not returned to them by consensus of the scholars, although it is narrated from [Uthman, may Allah be pleased with] him that he did return [the surplus] to a husband. Perhaps he was a residuary (asabah) or a relative (dhu rahim), so he gave it to him for that reason, or he gave it to him from the public treasury (bayt al-mal), not by way of inheritance. The reason for this, if Allah wills, is that all those to whom the return is made are from the relatives (dhu al-arham), and they enter under the generality of the word of Allah the Almighty: {But those of blood relationships are more entitled to one another in the Book of Allah} (5). The spouses are excluded from that. Zayd ibn Thabit held that the surplus beyond the fixed shares belongs to the public treasury, and it is not returned to anyone beyond their fixed share. Malik, al-Awza'i, and al-Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with them, said this; because Allah the Almighty said regarding the sister: {She shall have half of what he leaves} (6). Whoever returns [the surplus] to her gives her the whole, and because she is a holder of a named fixed share, it should not be returned to her, just like the husband. Our evidence is the statement of Allah the Almighty: {But those of blood relationships are more entitled to one another in the Book of Allah} (5). These are among the relatives, and they have precedence through proximity to the deceased, so they are more entitled than the public treasury, because it is for the rest of the Muslims, and the relative is more deserving than strangers, acting according to the text. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever leaves wealth, it is for his heirs, and whoever leaves a burden (kall), it is for me" (7). In another wording: "Whoever leaves a debt, it is for me, and whoever leaves wealth, it is for the heirs." It is agreed upon. This is general in...