The Viewpoint in Jafari Jurisprudence in the Disbursement of the Remaining Estate to the Wife

Whether women can inherit at all is not the controversy but, rather, the dispute centers around the “share”that is to be inherited.According to Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic laws of inheritance the wife shall inherit one eight of his estate if the deceased is survived by children. Otherwise she can only inherit one fourth.A question arises if a man has no other heirs except his wife, then who should inherit the remaining estate.Some Shiite schools believe that the remaining estate should be given to the infallibles or the poor in the locality of the deceased.In order to ensure women’s protection some other Shiite schools disagree and believe that in the absence of the infallibles the wife shall inherit the whole estate of the husband.So there are many conflicting opinions regarding the above mentioned issues,but obviously the source of those beliefs are narrations of the infallibles.In this article the writer addresses this issue to focus on those challenging laws of inheritance, that the wife shall be the sole heir and inherit the whole estate.