The Quran

176

يَستَفتونَكَ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفتيكُم فِي الكَلالَةِ ۚ إِنِ امرُؤٌ هَلَكَ لَيسَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَهُ أُختٌ فَلَها نِصفُ ما تَرَكَ ۚ وَهُوَ يَرِثُها إِن لَم يَكُن لَها وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كانَتَا اثنَتَينِ فَلَهُمَا الثُّلُثانِ مِمّا تَرَكَ ۚ وَإِن كانوا إِخوَةً رِجالًا وَنِساءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثلُ حَظِّ الأُنثَيَينِ ۗ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُم أَن تَضِلّوا ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيءٍ عَليمٌ

Muhammad Asad

THEY WILL ASK thee to enlighten them.¹ Say: "God enlightens you [thus] about the laws concerning [inheritance from] those who leave no heir in the direct line: If a man dies childless and has a sister, she shall inherit one-half of what he has left, just as he shall inherit from her if she dies childless. But if there are two sisters, both [together] shall have two-thirds of what he has left; and if there are brothers and sisters,² then the male shall have the equal of two females' share." God makes [all this] clear unto you, lest you go astray; and God knows everything.

I.e., about the laws of inheritance mentioned in the next sentence. Regarding the meaning of istifta ("a request for enlightenment about a [particular] law"), see note on verse 127 of this surah. The seemingly abrupt transition from the preceding passages - dealing with questions of theology - to this one is in accord with the Qur'anic principle of deliberately interweaving moral exhortation with practical legislation: and this in pursuance of the teaching that man's life - spiritual and physical, individual and social - is one integral whole, and therefore requires simultaneous consideration of all its aspects if the concept of "the good life" is to be realized. The above verse completes the series of inheritance laws dealt with early in this surah.
Lit., "brethren (ikhwah), men and women". It is to be noted that the expression ikhwah comprises either brothers, or sisters, or brothers and sisters.