What is Al-Shafi'i's ruling regarding inheritance when a man divorces four wives and marries four new ones in one or more contracts while terminally ill?
Chapter on Distant Kindred (Dhawu al-Arham)
Al-Mughni
Book of Inheritance Shares (Farā'id)
Primary text
Al-Shafi'i permits marriage during the Iddah of divorced women. Upon his death, the inheritance belongs to the newly married women. Based on his older position, two views arise: the inheritance is shared among all eight women, or it belongs to the divorced wives excluding the newly married ones. If some divorced wives die or their Iddah ends, the newly married wives inherit the portion of the deceased ones. If one divorced wife dies, the wives receive one-fourth of the total inheritance share for women. If two die, they receive half. If three die, they receive three-fourths, if the marriages were in a single contract.
Supporting text
If the marriages were in separate contracts, the inheritance of the deceased divorced wife goes to the first newly married woman, the second divorced wife's portion goes to the second new wife, and the third divorced wife's portion goes to the third new wife, in addition to whomever remains from the original divorced wives.