Section: There is no difference regarding the inheritance of the spouses between what occurs before consummation and after it, due to the generality of the verse, and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) decreed an inheritance for Barwa' bint Washiq, even though her husband died before consummating the marriage with her, and without him having specified a dowry for her (48). Moreover, the marriage is valid and established, so inheritance is established through it, just as it is after consummation.

Section: As for an invalid marriage, inheritance does not exist between the spouses through it because it is not a legal marriage. If the case of a woman whose marriage is invalid becomes conflated with one whose marriage is valid, the view transmitted from Ahmad is that he said regarding one who marries two sisters and does not know which one he married first: they must be separated. He refrained from saying anything regarding the dowry. Abu Bakr said: It follows from his opinion that they should draw lots between them. Thus, on this view, lots are drawn between them for the inheritance if he dies leaving them. From al-Nakha'i and al-Sha'bi, there is a position indicating that the dowry and inheritance are divided between them according to the claims and the application of rules, like the inheritance of hermaphrodites (khunatha). This is the view of Abu Hanifah and his companions. Al-Shafi'i (may God be pleased with him) said: The disputed portion of that is held in abeyance until they reconcile among themselves or the matter becomes clear. If he married one woman in one contract, and four in another contract, then died and left behind a brother, and it is not known which contract came first, then according to the view of Abu Hanifah, each woman claims a full dowry which the brother denies, so each one is given half a dowry, and a quarter of the remainder is seized, which the one woman and the four women claim; it is divided so that the one gets half of it, and the four get half of it. According to al-Shafi'i, the most that could be incumbent upon him is four dowries, so that amount is taken; a dowry is held in abeyance from it between the five women, and three [dowries] remain—the one woman claims a quarter of them as inheritance, and the brother claims three-quarters of them; thus, three-quarters of a dowry is held in abeyance between the five women, and the rest, which is two and a quarter dowries, is held between the four and the brother, then a quarter of what remains is taken.