Are spouses included in the return (radd) of surplus inheritance?

Primary text

Spouses are excluded from the return of the surplus inheritance by consensus among scholars. The rationale is that the heirs eligible for the return are considered relatives through *Arham* (uterine kin) covered by the general scope of the Divine decree: {And those who are of kin, some of them are nearer to others in the Book of Allah} [Quran 8:75]. Spouses are outside this category. A narration exists that Uthman returned the surplus to a spouse, but this is likely because the spouse was an agnatic heir (*asabah*) or a relative (*dhu rahm*), or the distribution was from the public treasury (*bayt al-mal*) and not by inheritance succession rules.