Division of inheritance and dowry when a man marries one, two, and three women in successive unknown order contracts before death.
Chapter on Distant Kindred (Dhawu al-Arham)
Al-Mughni
Book of Inheritance Shares (Farā'id)
Primary text
If a man marries one woman in one contract, two in another, and three in a third, and the sequence is unknown, the marriage of the single woman is valid, and she receives her certain dowry. Uncertainty remains regarding the remaining five wives. According to the jurists of Iraq (Ahl al-Iraq), they are certainly entitled to two dowries, and the third dowry is divided such that they receive half of it, and subsequently, the remainder of the inheritance is divided based on their claims.
Supporting text
According to Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf, the certain amount is divided equally between the two and three sets of wives. Al-Shafi'i holds that the single wife receives her dowry, and three dowries remain suspended: two among the five, and one claimed by the single wife and shared as inheritance with the other two sets of wives. If any of the five women claim from the suspended inheritance, nothing is given to her, unless one from the two-set and one from the three-set claim it, in which case one-fourth of the inheritance is given to them.