Islamic Inheritance: Law, Logic, and Legacy in Sharia Jurisprudence
Comparative Perspectives on Sunni and Shia Traditions with Contemporary Application

Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri

Advocate Supreme Court Pakistan, Arbitrator Fellow CIArb,

Mediator CEDAR,IMI,CMC,U.S.A. , Master Trainer Mediation CEDAR , Legal Educator, Reformist of Judicial System and Legal education, White collar Crime Investigator

Preface

Inheritance is not merely a distribution of wealth in Islam; it is a divine command, an ethical obligation, and a reflection of social justice. The rules governing Islamic inheritance, referred to as ʿIlm al-Farāiḍ, are among the most precise and sacred in the Sharia, as evidenced by their direct articulation in the Quran.

This book emerged from my lifelong engagement with Islamic legal thought and judicial reform. As a legal educator and practitioner, I have witnessed first-hand the challenges faced by families, courts, and scholars in interpreting and applying inheritance rules rooted in classical jurisprudence within modern legal systems. Through this work, I aim to provide clarity, structure, and comparative insight into both Sunni and Shia traditions, drawing on primary sources, scholarly interpretations, and case law.

This treatise is written not just for students of law and Islamic studies but also for judges, lawyers, scholars, and community members seeking a grounded understanding of how Islamic inheritance operates, and how it must be preserved, modernized, and contextualized for today’s world.

Executive Summary

This book is a comprehensive examination of Islamic inheritance jurisprudence (Mīrāth), exploring its theological roots, legal structure, and practical application across both Sunni and Shia schools. Drawing upon the Quran, Hadith, classical Fiqh, and modern judicial interpretations, the author synthesizes complex doctrines and provides comparative insights that are academically rigorous and practically applicable.

Key highlights include:

A doctrinal analysis of Quranic verses on inheritance (Surah al-Nisa: 4:11, 4:12, 4:176)
A breakdown of fixed shares (Ashab al-Faraid) and the role of residuaries (Asabah)
Rules of exclusion, disqualification (e.g., homicide, apostasy), and representation
Detailed comparison of Sunni (particularly Hanafi) and Shia (Jafari) schools of thought
Case examples and illustrations of inheritance calculation
Legal reforms in Muslim-majority jurisdictions and the tension between Sharia and secular codes
Practical guidance for Islamic estate planning and will-making in multicultural contexts

By tracing the evolution of Islamic inheritance from pre-Islamic tribal customs to Quranic mandates and contemporary codifications, this book provides both historical insight and future directions. Special emphasis is placed on the rights of women, orphans, and marginalized heirs under Islamic law.

About the Author

Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri
Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan , Arbitrator Fellow CIArb , International Mediator (CEDR, IMI, CMC-USA) , Master Trainer, Legal Educator, Judicial Reformist

Mr. Kalanauri is a distinguished legal expert in Islamic law, dispute resolution, and legal education reform. With over four decades of experience in advocacy, arbitration, and legal academia, he has contributed to major legal reforms in Pakistan and has trained judges and lawyers both locally and internationally.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and a certified mediator by leading global institutions, Mr. Kalanauri has also played a key role in legal literacy through his writings, seminars, and legal aid programs. His scholarship bridges classical Islamic jurisprudence and modern law, offering nuanced insights that are both doctrinally sound and practically grounded.

This book is a continuation of his mission to provide clarity in legal understanding, empower future jurists, and preserve the balance of justice as prescribed in Islam.

Index of Contents

Title: Islamic Inheritance: Law, Logic, and Legacy in Sharia Jurisprudence
Author: Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri

Preface
Executive Summary
About the Author
Introduction to Islamic Inheritance Law
1. Definition of Mīrāth and Ilm al-Faraiḍ
1. Historical Evolution and Sources
1. Importance in Sharia and Modern Legal Systems
Chapter 1: Islamic Inheritance and the Qur’an
1. Qur’anic Verses on Inheritance
1. Hadith Supporting Inheritance Norms
1. Importance of Drafting an Islamic Will
1. Prohibitions and Limitations in Testamentary Bequests
Chapter 2: Sunni Law of Inheritance
1. Categories of Legal Heirs: Sharers and Residuaries
1. Fixed Shares of Male and Female Heirs
1. Quranic Heirs (Ashab al-Furud)
1. Residuary Heirs (Asabah)
1. Primary Heirs and Rules of Exclusion
1. Disqualifications (Difference of Religion, Homicide)
1. Islamic Inheritance Table: Sharers and Residuaries
1. Case Studies and Practical Illustrations
Chapter 3: Inheritance under Shia Law in Pakistan
1. Doctrinal Foundations of Jafari Law
1. Key Principles: Representation, Bequests, Widow’s Rights
1. Classification of Heirs: Consanguinity and Special Cause
1. Per Stripes vs. Per Capita Distribution
1. Doctrine of Increase (Aul) and Return (Rudd)
1. Comparative Analysis: Sunni vs. Shia Interpretation
1. Case Law and Judicial Practice in Pakistani Courts
Chapter 4: How to Split Inheritance in Islam
1. Fixed vs. Residual Shares
1. Order of Distribution
1. Obligations Before Distribution (Funeral, Debts, Wills)
1. Role of Executors and Witnesses
1. Nuzriah and Pre-Death Gifts
1. Zakat and Charitable Dispositions
1. Case Examples with Percentages
Chapter 5 Who will Inherit
Male Heirs
Female Heirs
Non Heirs
Chapter 6: Impediments To Inheritance
Murder
Difference of religion
Simultaneous death
Li’an (Cursing for adultery)
Slavery
“Emergency marriage”
Chapter 7 : Exclusion
Chapter 8: Inheritance Of Children
Son
Daughter
Son(s) and daughter(s)
Grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)
Daughter(s) and granddaughter(s)
Daughter(s) and grandson(s)
Daughter(s), grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)
Son(s) and grandchildren
Chapter 10: Inheritance of Spouses
Husband
Wife
Chapter 11: Inheritance Of Parents
Father
Mother

15. Chapter 12: Inheritance of Grandparents

Grandfather
Grandmother

16. Chapter 13 :Inheritance of Siblings

o Uterine brother

o Uterine sister

o Uterine brother(s) and sister(s)

o Full brother

o Full sister

Sister

o Full brother(s) and full sister(s)

o Consanguine brother

o Consanguine sister

o Consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

o Full sister(s), consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

o Full brother, consanguine brother(s), consanguine sister(s)

Chapter 14 : Residuaries (‘Asabah)
Residuaries by themselves (‘Asabah bin-Nafs)
Residuaries by another (‘Asabah bil-ghair)
Residuaries with another (‘Asabah ma’al ghair

Chapter 15 : Partial Exclusion
Chapter 16: Islamic Succession Law (7 Fundamentals)
FIRST – Eligibility & Reasons
SECOND – Prescribed sharer
THIRD – Residuary sharer
FOURTH – Conditions
FIFTH – Blocking Rules
SIXTH – Apply to Assets
SEVENTH – Islamic estate planning

Chapter 17: Inheritance Arithmetic (“Inherithmetic”)

Chapter 18: Special Cases
Chapter 19: Further Reading
Chapter 20: Islamic Inheritance Calculation System Based On Arabic Ontology
Comparative Structures and Legal Commentary
Modern Islamic Countries’ Approaches (e.g., Malaysia, Pakistan, UK)
Codification of Faraid Laws
Role of Qiyas in Expanding Heir Categories
Women and Inheritance: Traditional and Modern Debates
Challenges in Implementing Islamic Inheritance
Illiteracy, Gender Discrimination, and Misconceptions
Wills vs. Court-Enforced Inheritance
Need for Legal Awareness and Mediation Mechanisms

CHAPTER 1: ISLAMIC INHERITANCE AND THE QURAN

Islamic Inheritance jurisprudence is a field of Islamic jurisprudence (Arabic: فقه) that deals with inheritance, a topic that is prominently dealt with in the Qur’an. It is often called Mīrāth (Arabic: ميراث, literally “inheritance”), and its branch of Islamic law is technically known as illam al-Faraid (Arabic: علم الفرائض, “the science of the ordained quotas”).[1]

Islam imposes an obligation upon Muslims to write a will to ensure wealth is distributed in accordance with Islamic principles. The foundation for the inheritance scheme is set forth in several verses in the Quran. Although there are multiple schools of Sunni jurisprudence, they have mostly reached consensus as to how to interpret those specific verses pertaining to inheritance.

A common thread concerning the Islamic inheritance laws is that the rules are not easy to decipher and apply. Even in Muslim majority countries, Islamic courts struggle to decipher the rules and apply them to a given fact pattern.

In the United States, Muslim Americans face an additional hurdle because they must find someone knowledgeable of the Islamic inheritance laws, which includes the Quranic verses, the Sunnah (way and teachings) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and other fiqh rulings pertaining to the topic. Failure to draft a custom Islamic estate plan will result in the State applying its own default rules of inheritance, which conflict with the Islamic inheritance laws.

Furthermore, a person who tries to apply these rules themselves—or relies on an Islamic Will template—will not know if they have followed all the proper procedures for executing an estate plan according to Islamic and secular law. Only by working with an Islamic law expert and an estate planning lawyer licensed in your state can you rest assured. Unfortunately, many families realize that the estate plan done by the (now) deceased family member was not drafted or executed properly and therefore cannot be enforced in the court. By that point, it is too late.

In this Book, we help break down some of the rules pertaining to the Islamic inheritance laws and some of the special exceptions and rules set forth by the Sunnah. This discussion is not an exhaustive guide to the Islamic inheritance laws and therefore should not be relied upon exclusively. It is strongly recommended you consult with a person knowledgeable about the Islamic laws of inheritance and an attorney licensed in your state.

Hadith Establishing Parameters of Who Can Inherit

One famous hadith pertaining to inheritance is in Al-Bukhari.

It states: “There shall be no will (wasiyyah) in favor of a wa’rith (a legal heir).”

This hadith is where scholars draw the foundation used to prohibit making a discretionary wasiyyah in favor of someone who is already receiving a mandatory share. In other words, one cannot use the wasiyyah to supplement the shares to fixed heirs such as daughters and spouses.

This stipulation creates a foundation of fairness. It limits what someone can inherit and eliminates the ability to discretionarily awarding more to the “favorite” child. Disinheriting a mandatory heir is also impermissible.

There are, however, two hadith that indicate certain persons can be disinherited by operation of Islamic law. First, where a potential heir leaves the fold of Islam, they are no longer entitled to a fixed share (though a person may designate a share for them in the wasiyyah, if desired), and second, where the potential heir murdered the deceased. The hadith from which these two rules derive are as follows:

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was reported to have said: “A Muslim cannot be the heir of a disbeliever, nor can a disbeliever be the heir of a Muslim.” (Sahih al Bukhari).

This view is an accepted limitation for who can be an heir.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also stated that, “one who kills a man cannot inherit from him.” (Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah), Jurists agree that unjustifiable or intentional homicide bars one from inheriting from the victim.

Obligation and Benefit of Creating a Will

A famous hadith in Sahih Al Bukhari indicates that a believer “should not let two nights pass without writing a will about it.” The Prophet, peace be upon him, thus stressed the importance of having a will.Creating an Islamic will also allow the testator to depart with justice and possibly rectify past mistakes. Another hadith of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, states that:

A man may do good deeds for seventy years but if he acts unjustly when he leaves his last testament, the wickedness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the fire. If (on the other hand), a man acts wickedly for seventy years but is just in his last will, the goodness of his deed will be sealed upon him, and he will enter the garden.

The Qur’an introduced a number of different rights and restrictions on matters of inheritance, including what were at that time general improvements to the treatment of women and family life. The Qur’an also presented efforts to fix the laws of inheritance, and thus forming a complete legal system. This development was in contrast to pre-Islamic societies where rules of inheritance varied considerably. They do, however, also differ from ongoing secular changes since that time, up to, though principally in, the modern era.

Furthermore, the Qur’an introduced additional heirs that were not entitled inheritance in pre-Islamic times, mentioning nine relatives specifically of which six were female and three were male. The laws of inheritance in the Qur’an also included other male relatives, such as the husband and half-brothers from the mother’s side, who were excluded from inheritance in old customs. The heirs mentioned in the Qur’an are the mother, father, husband, wife, daughter, brother who shares the same mother, full sister, sister who shares the same mother, and consanguine sister.[2]

In general, the Qur’an improved the status of women by identifying their share of inheritance in clear terms. It also completely forbade the practice of inheriting widows.[4:19] Orientalist Joseph Schacht states that “this is not meant as a regular legal ordinance, but is part of the Qur’anic endeavor to improve the position of women.” The Qur’an does not explicitly mention the shares of male relatives, such as the decedent‘s son, but provides the rule that the son’s share must be twice that of the daughter’s. Muslim theologians explain this aspect of inheritance by looking at Islamic law in its entirety, which bestows the responsibility and accountability on men to provide safety, protection and sustenance to women.[Qur’an 4:34]. One explanation of why a daughter is entitled to only half that of the son is that Islam decrees that women, upon marriage are entitled to a “dowry” from the husband (in addition to any provision by her parents). It is thereafter the husband’s obligation to care for and maintain his wife and the “dowry” is, therefore, essentially an advance of inheritance rights from her husband’s estate.

Before the revelation of the verses containing the above changes[Qur’an, 4:11-12, 4:176], the Qur’an used to require Muslims to write down a will detailing how they wish to dispose of their entire property.[Qur’an, 2:180–182, 2:240, 4:33, 5:106–107] Nonetheless, in the now optional will, called waṣeyya, Muslims are allowed to give out a maximum of one third of their property, while the rest will be divided according to the verses of inheritance,[3] after all debt, should there be any, be relieved, as most Jurists now agree that the verses of waṣeyya has been abrogated by the verses of inheritance.

Muslims are also encouraged to give money to the orphans and poor if they are present during the division of property. [Qur’an, 4:8]

Inheritance in Islam

Typer of Laws Types of Laws in Islam

Criminal laws: theft, murder, slander…
Civil laws: regulates relations between people and state
Business laws: buying, selling, hiring, Riba (interest)…
Family Laws: marriage, divorce, inheritance
International laws: , warfare, treaties, places of peace, places of war, slavery…
Ritual laws (rules): how should I pray, do pilgrimage?

Divine Decree for Inheritance

“Allah instruct you concerning your children’s (inheritance); a male receive a share equal to that of two females. But if they (the children) are women, and are more then (or equal to) two, their share is two thirds of that which he (the deceased) had left. And if there is only one woman, her share is half (of the estate). And for his parents, each one’s share is a sixth of that which he left if he had children. But if he had no children, and the parents inherits from him, the mother’s share is one third. And if he had siblings, the mother share is one sixth. (These distribution should be done) after the payment of any bequeathals that he may have made or debts (that he may have had). Your parents and offspring– you do not know which among them are nearest to you in benefit. (These share are) an ordainment imposed by Allah. Indeed, Allah is knowing and wise.

Surah-e-Nisa : Verse 11

When a Muslim dies there are four duties which need to be performed. These are:

Payment of funeral expenses.
Payment of his/her debts.
Execution of his/her will.
Distribution of remaining estate amongst the heirs according to Sharia.

Inheritance in Pre-Islamic Arabia

In old customary system only the male agnates (asaba) were entitled to inherit. (Rejected by Law Giver )
Females were not entitled for any type of inheritance (Rejected by Law Giver )
Amongst the male agnates there were rules of priority, which determined which of the surviving male agnates were entitled to inherit. (It is likely that this rule of priority is continued in Islam. In Islam son takes priority over the father who in turn takes priority over the brothers who in turn take priority over the paternal uncles.)

The Pre-Islamic Practice according to Sunnis and Shias

The Sunni Islamic law of inheritance is therefore, an amalgamation of the Quranic law superimposed upon the old customary law to form a complete and cohesive system. The rights of
the asaba were recognized by the Prophet Muhammad () himself. Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet Muhammad () said, “Give the Faraid (the shares of the inheritance that are prescribed in the Quran) to those who are entitled to receive it. Then whatever remains, should be given to the closest male relative of the deceased.” (Sahih al- Bukhari)
The Shia jurists on the contrary took the view that since the old agnatic customary system had not been endorsed by the Quran it must be rejected and completely replaced by the new Quranic law.

Obligatory Sharer ( Ashab al-Farid)

Women in this context refers to daughters. The Quran gives the daughter a specific share. In legal terminology the daughter is referred to as a Quranic heir or sharer (ashab al-faraid). The Quran mentions nine such obligatory sharers as we shall see later. Muslims jurists have added a further three by the juristic method of qiyas (analogy). So, in Islamic jurisprudence there are a total of twelve relations who inherit as sharers.

Safeguard to the Interest of Women

“Allah commands you regarding your children. For the male a share equivalent to that of two females.” [Quran 4:11]

This first principle which the Quran lays down refers to males and females of equal degree and class.
This means that a son inherits a share equivalent to that of two daughters, a full (germane) brother inherits twice as much as a full sister,
Similarly, a son’s son inherits twice as much as a son’s daughter and so on.
This principle is however, not universally applicable as we shall see later in verse 4:12, the descendants of the mother notably the uterine brother and uterine sister inherit equally as do their descendants.

“If (there are) women (daughters) more than two, then for them two thirds of the inheritance; and if there is only one then it is half.” [Quran 4:11]

If there are any sons the share of the daughter(s) is no longer fixed because the share of the daughter is determined by the principle that a son inherits twice as much as a daughter. In the absence of any daughters this rule is applicable to agnatic granddaughters (son’s daughters). The agnatic granddaughter has been made a Quranic heir (sharer) by Muslim jurists by analogy.

“If (there are) women (daughters) more than two, then for them two thirds of the inheritance; and if there is only one then it is half.” [Quran 4:11]

If there is only a single daughter or agantic granddaughter her share is a fixed one-half.
if there are two or more daughters or agnatic granddaughters then their share is two-thirds.
Two or more daughters will totally exclude any granddaughters.
If there is one daughter and agnatic granddaughters, the daughter inherits one-half share and the agnatic granddaughters inherit the remaining one-sixth, making a total of two-thirds. If there are agnatic grandsons amongst the heirs then the principle that the male inherits a portion equivalent to that of two females applies.

Parents and Grand Parents

“And for his parents for each of them there is one-sixth of the inheritance if he has a child, but if he does not have a child and the parents are the heirs then for the mother

one-third.” [Quran 4:11]

The Arabic word “walad” has been variously translated as child, son, children and offspring by translators. However, there is universal agreement amongst the Sunni Muslim jurists that “walad” here refers to any child or agnatic grandchild (grandchild through son).

“And for his parents for each of them there is one- sixth of the inheritance if he has a child, but if he does not have a child and the parents are the (only) heirs then for the mother one-third.” [Quran 4:11]

If there is a child or agnatic grandchild amongst the heirs then
each of the parents inherits one-sixth.
In the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild the mother inherits one-third.
The share of the father is not mentioned under these circumstances. The father in fact inherits as a residuary (a residuary heir gets whatever remains of the inheritance after the Quranic sharers have been allocated their shares, residuary heirs are generally male agnates) under these circumstances.
To these two Quranic heirs, the mother and the father, the maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather have been added by analogy. The maternal grandmother substitutes the mother in the latter’s absence.

“… but if he has brothers (or sisters) then for the mother one- sixth” [Quran 4:11]

The consensus of opinion is that the word “akhwatun” used in the Quranic text means two or more brothers or sisters of any kind. So that any combination of full, consanguine or uterine brothers and sisters, if two or more will mean that the mother inherits a one-sixth share.

Husband

“And for you there is one-half of what your wives leave behind if there is no child, but if they leave a child then for you there is one-

fourth of what they leave behind; … ” [Quran 4:12]

Again, according to Islamic law, the word “walad” here is interpreted as child or agnatic grandchild.
The husband, another Quranic heir, inherits one- half in the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild.
He will inherit one-quarter in the presence of a child or agnatic grandchild.

Husband ( Case Study)

Before continuing with the translation of verse 4:12 let us consider a situation where a woman dies leaving behind a husband and both parents as the only heirs.
The husband inherits one half of the estate; there is no argument on this point.
However, if we give the mother a one-third share then the father is left with only one-sixth. Should the male (father) not get twice the share of the female (mother) of equal degree and class?
This problem arose during the caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab (RA). After consultation with the learned companions (RA) the majority opinion was that the father should get twice the share of the mother, that is to say, the principle that the male inherits the share of two females is upheld. The father therefore, inherits one-third and the mother one-sixth

Widow (s)

“And for them one-fourth of what you leave behind if you did not have a child, but if you have a child then for them one-eighth of what you leave behind; …” [Quran 4:12]

This statement gives us the ruling on the share of the wife (widow).
The share of the wife is one-quarter in the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild
Her share will be one-eighth in the presence of a child or agnatic grandchild.
Two or more wives share equally in this prescribed share.

Kalala man and Kalala Woman

“And if a kalala man or woman (one who has neither ascendants nor descendants) is inherited from, and he (or she) has a (uterine) brother or (uterine) sister then for each of them (there is) one-sixth. But if they (uterine brothers and sisters) are more than that then they are sharers in one-third (equally).” [Quran 4:12]

The interpretation of the second half of verse 4:12 has been a source of controversy, one reason being the meaning of the word “kalala”.
This word “kalala” occurs only in two places in the Quran [4:12 and 4:176] and in both occasions regarding inheritance. “Kalala” may mean “one who leaves neither parent nor child” or “all those except the parent and child”. It is generally taken to mean the former.

Uterine Siblings

Uterine Siblings (Same Mother, Different Fathers)

It is universally agreed that the siblings referred to in the above verse are uterine siblings (those with the same mother but different fathers).
The uterine siblings only inherit in the absence of any descendants or ascendants. If there is only one uterine sibling he or she inherits a one-sixth share. If there are two or more
The heirs mentioned in the Quran (mother, father, husband, widow, daughter, uterine brother, full sister, uterine sister
r, consanguine sister) together with the three heirs added by juristic method of analogy (paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother and agnatic granddaughter) form a group of heirs called Quranic heirs or sharers (ashab al-furud). These heirs when entitled to inherit are given their fixed shares and the remaining estate is inherited by the residuaries (asaba).

Other Residuaries

Under Islamic law some of the Quranic heirs, namely the father, paternal grandfather, daughter, agnatic granddaughter, full sister, consanguine sister and the mother, can also inherit as residuaries under certain circumstances.

Primary Heirs

Certain heirs referred to as primary heirs are always entitled to a share of the inheritance, they are never totally excluded. These primary heirs consist of the spouse relict, both parents, the son and the daughter.

Rules of Exclusion

All remaining heirs can be totally excluded by the presence of other heirs. There are several rules of exclusion which determine the exclusion of some heirs by the presence of others. In brief the rules of exclusion are as under:

A person (e.g. brother) who is related to the deceased through another (i.e. father) is excluded by the presence of the latter,
An individual nearer in degree (proximity) to the deceased excludes the one who is remoter within the same class of heirs (son excludes all grandsons),
Full blood excludes half-blood through father (so a full brother will exclude a consanguine brother but not a uterine brother).

Note: The majority view is that the full and consanguine brother is not excluded by the paternal grandfather. However, the Hanafi fiqh allows the paternal grandfather to totally exclude the agnatic siblings

Prevention by Disqualification from Inheritance

Heirs may also be prevented from inheriting by disqualification.

Difference of religion and
Homicide of the deceased.

Isamic Inheritance table for Sharers and Residuary

The following Islamic inheritance table gives essential information for the learner regarding Islamic residuary shares and sharers. Spouse, Parents (or Grandparents, how high soever), and Children (or Grandchildren, how low soever) are the primary legal heirs under Muslim succession law. Two main types of Islamic legal heirs are fixed or prescribed sharers (or Al-Faraidh or Furud called in Arabic) and residuary (or Asabah, Asabat called in Arabic).

The sharers have the right to a specific portion of the deceased person‘s property, while Residuaries inherit the remaining portion of the estate once the sharers have received their designated share. If neither of the primary heirs survives, the Distant kindred will be eligible subject to differences of opinions of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence schools (Hanafi, Shafii, Maliki, and Hanbali). This representation is for an overview, but there are many details to go behind that you can learn through our video series and blogs.

We can deduce the below points from this Islamic inheritance table to help you learn Islamic inheritance law.

The first column shows the Islamic inheritors’ names, such as Husband, Wife, Son, Daughter, etc. Now you know the prospective inheritors eligible to inherit under Muslim succession law are Spouse, Parents (or Grandparents), Children (or Grandchildren), Siblings, Consanguine male relatives, and distant kindred relatives. There are 12 sharers including Husband, Wife, Daughter, Daughter of a son (or son’s son or son’s son and so on how low soever), Father, Paternal Grandfather (or Father of Father how low soever), Mother, Paternal Grandmother and Maternal Grandmother (i.e., Grandmother on the male line), Full sister, Paternal or Consanguine sister, Maternal or Uterine sister, and Uterine brother.
The second column shows the legend for each inheritor to help you memorize quickly. For example, H for Husband, W for Wife, etc.
The third column shows the possible inheritors fixed or prescribed shares. For example, Daughters of Sons can inherit 1/2, 2/3 or 1/6, depending upon the situation.
The fourth column shows the inheritors who can inherit as Muslim residuary sharers. For example, Sons can inherit as either Joint residuary (jR) or Independent residuary (iR). In another example, Daughters can inherit only as Joint residuary (jR).
The fourth column shows that inheritors can receive a share as only fixed or prescribed sharer but not as a residuary. For example, the Husband, Wife, Mother, Mother of Mother, Mother of Father, Maternal brothers, and Maternal sisters cannot inherit as a residuary.

CHAPTER-3: INHERITANCE UNDER SHIA LAW IN PAKISTAN

Sunni and Shia laws of inheritance are different in their foundational structure as well as detailed implications, though the both are inspired from the Quranic verses of inheritance. Shia law of inheritance, also known as the Jafari school of law, outlines specific rules for the distribution of a deceased person’s estate among their heirs. Key differences from Sunni law include the application of representation to determine the quantity of shares, the treatment of childless widows, and the classification of The paper aims to analyse the general principles of Shia law of inheritance. While explaining the principles of Shia law, it compares them with corresponding features of Sunni law. The paper illustrates how these features are instrumental in conferring different shares to legal heirs in Shia and Sunni schemes of inheritance. The paper also examines the distribution of property among the Shias. The paper also tries to analyse the different doctrines and rules related to the distribution of the property.

Introduction

The Islamic law of inheritance, like rest of the Islamic personal law is a combination of the pre-Islamic customs and the rules introduced by the Prophet. According to Fyzee “The law consists of two distinct elements: the customs of ancient Arabia and the rules lay down by the Quran and the founder of Islam”.[4]

The Quran gives specific shares to certain individuals on humane considerations while the pre- Islamic customary law deals with the residue left and distributes among the agnatic heir and failing them to the uterine heirs. The customary law alone can explain the reason why different classes of rights are given to the various relations, and why some who might be supposed to be equally entitled to similar rights are debarred from them.[5]

Key Principles of Shia Inheritance Law:

Representation:

The principle of representation allows the descendants of a deceased heir to inherit the share that their deceased parent would have received. For example, if a son predeceases his father, his children (the deceased’s grandchildren) inherit the son’s share.

Heirs and Shares:

Shia law distinguishes between “sharers” (those with fixed Quranic shares) and “residuaries” (those who inherit what remains after sharers are allocated).

Childless Widow’s Share:

A significant point of difference is the treatment of childless widows. While Sunni law generally grants a childless widow one-fourth of the deceased’s estate, Shia law traditionally does not grant a childless widow any share in the immovable property of her deceased husband, though this is a contested issue.

Obligatory Bequests:

Shia law mandates that a deceased person must leave a bequest (will) for their orphaned grandchildren (children of predeceased sons or daughters) equivalent to what their deceased parent would have inherited had they survived.

Division of Property:

After debts and other obligations are settled, the remaining estate is divided among the heirs according to their respective shares.

Important Considerations:

Court Interpretations:

The application of Shia law, particularly regarding childless widows, has been subject to varying interpretations in Pakistani courts, with some decisions upholding traditional views and others advocating for a more equitable distribution based on Quranic principles.

Complexity and Nuance:

Shia inheritance law is complex, with specific rules governing different types of heirs and situations.

Dynamic Nature:

Like all legal systems, Shia inheritance law is subject to interpretation and evolution, with ongoing discussions and debates about its application and fairness, particularly regarding the rights of women.

Comparison of Sunni and Shia interpretation of Quran

The greater part of Mohammedan Law of Inheritance is founded upon the Quran. It did not sweep away the existing laws of succession, but made a great number of amendments based on few common principles.[6] These amendments have been differently interpreted by the Sunnis and Shias.

The Sunni to some extent allows the principles of the pre-Islamic custom to stand and they add or alter those rules in the specific manner mentioned in the Quran and by the Prophet.

The Shias deduce certain principle which they consider to underlie the amendments mentioned in the Quran and fuse these principles with the principles of the pre-existing customary law, thus bringing up a completely altered set of rules.

Shia Law Classification of heirs

Shia law divides the heirs on two grounds:-

Heirs by consanguinity (Nasab), that is blood relationship

Heirs by consanguinity are divided into three classes and each class is sub-divided into two sections.

Class I
1. Parents
1. Children and other lineal descendants how low so ever.

Class IIGrandparents (true or false) how high so ever.Brothers and sisters and their descendants how low so ever.

Class III

Paternal and
- Maternal uncles and aunts of the deceased, and of his parents and grandparents how high so ever, and their descendants how low so ever.

Class I excludes Class II and Class II excludes Class III. But the heirs of different sections within a class inherit together and do not exclude each other. However, the nearer degree in each section excludes the more remote in that section.

Heir by special cause (Sabab), which is heir by marriage (husband and wife).

The heirs by special cause may be divided into two kinds:

Heir by marriage (Zoujiyat), that is husband and wife
Heir by special relationship (Wala).

The heirs by special (legal) relationship are not recognised in India. However originally they were such persons who acquired the right of inheritance by virtue of spiritual headship, or delicts committed by the deceased or emancipation.

Order of Succession

The heirs will inherit the heritable property of a person in the following order:-

Among the heirs by consanguinity the first group excludes the second and the second excludes the third. That is to say in the presence of an heir of the first group, the heirs of the second or third group will not be entitled to share an so on.
As we have noticed each of the groups is divided into two sections. Now among these two sections of the heirs of each group, the claimants succeed together, that is, if there are heirs of both the sections, they will succeed together.
In each section there can be various heirs, e.g. in section (ii) of Group I, there can be a son and son’s son. The question arises as two who will then inherit. The rule in this regard is that the nearer in degree in each section will exclude the more remote in that section.
The decision is per stripes i.e. in each of these three groups of heirs by consanguinity, the descendants get per stripes or according to the branch.
The husband or wife is never excluded from the inheritance, but inherit together with the nearest heir by consanguinity.

Allotment of shares

After determining the people who are entitled to succeed to the property of the deceased in accordance with the rules the next problem that comes up for a solution is allotment of shares,

i.e. which heir will get what amount of shares.

For the purpose of determining the shares, the heirs are divided into two classes, viz. Sharers and Residuaries. There is no class of distant kindred under Shia Law.

Residuaries

The heirs who are not Sharers are, Residuaries, they are not entitled to any fixed share in the property. They get the residue (what is left). The descendants how low so ever of Residuaries are also Residuaries.[7]

There are total of nine sharers under Shia Law. Of these sharers, four inherit sometimes as Sharers and sometimes as residuaries. These are:

Father
Daughter
Full Sister
Consanguine Sister

The descendants of a person, who, if living, would have taken as a Sharer, succeed as Sharers. The descendants of a person, who, if living, would have taken as Residuary, succeed as Residuaries..

How the distribution of property is affected

If a Muslim at the time of his death left only heir the whole property would go to that heir except a wife. The rationale behind this exception is that a wife is not entitled to the surplus by return, even if there be no other heir. If she is the sole heir, she takes ¼ and the surplus passes to the Imam, now the Government of India. As there is no machinery to take charge of the Imam’s share, the surplus should pass to the wife.[8]

If there are two or more heirs, left by the deceased, the first step is to give the share to the husband or wife. The second step is to see which of the surviving relations are entitled to succeed. The property, after giving the share of the husband or wife, is divided among the other claimants, according to the rules of distribution applicable to three classes of heirs by consanguinity. It should be noted here that husband or wife is always entitled to succeed with the other claimants. The shares of the husband or wife are ¼ and 1/8 when there is a lineal descendants, when there is no lineal descendants, their shares is ½ and ¼.

Rule of representation

This rule requires interpretation, because it has more than one meaning as follows:

Determination of heirs, what persons are entitled to inherit from the deceased (First meaning).
Determination of the quantum of share, what he is entitled to inherit.[9] (Second meaning).

So far as the determination of heirs is concerned, the Rule of Exclusion applies, that is, the nearer in degree excludes the more remote. Both Sunnis and Shias do not recognise the principle of representation as qualifying the rule of exclusion. For example if A, a Muslim dies leaving him surviving son D and grandson by a pre-deceased son B, the grandson are excluded from inheritance by their uncle C. The grandson does not take in their father’s place though he (B) would have been an heir, had he survived his father A.

If in the above example both sons B and C are pre-deceased the deceased A who died leaving three grandson D, E and F by B and two grandsons G and H by C, then all the grandsons are heirs. The principle of representation is to be applied for deciding to quantity of the share that is for ascertaining the share of each grandson.

According to the principle of representation, the sons of B will get ½ (1/3 each grandson) and the sons of C will get ½ (1/4 each grandson).

Under the Sunni Law, the rule of representation is not applied in calculating the grandson’s share. Under the Sunni Law, in the above example, each grandson would take the same share that is 1/5, because the division of shares among grandsons would be per capita and not per stripes.

The Shia Law accepts the principles of representation for the limited purpose of deciding the quantity of the share of each heir as different from the purpose of deciding the heirs. According to the rule of representation, the children of a deceased son, if they are heirs, take the portion which he (deceased son) if living would have taken and in that sense represent the daughter, if they are heirs, they take the portion which would have taken and in that sense represents the son. In the same way, the children of a deceased daughter represent the daughter, if they are heirs; they take the portion, which the daughter if living would have taken. This principle in the same limited sense is applicable to the children of a deceased brother, sister or aunt.

Similar is the principle applicable to great grandparents who take the portion which the grandparents, if living, would have taken.

Succession among the heirs of the same class

Succession among descendants in each of the three classes of heirs by consanguinity is per stripes and not per capita.

Example: – A Shia Muslim dies having two grandsons D and E by a predeceased son B and a grandson F by another predeceased son C. The succession in this example is per stripes among the descendants of two sons, B and C of A. Each son notionally takes ½ B’s share ½ will go to

other words, is according to the stocks, and not according to the claimants. Here in this example, under the Sunni law all grandsons D, E and F takes per capita that is each grandson takes 1/3, without reference to the shares which their respective father, if living, would have taken. But under the Shia Law B’s two sons represent B and stand in his place and C’s son represents C and stands in his place. There is no such representation under the Sunni Law.

The Rule of succession among descendants

The rule is that the descendants of a person, who if living, would have taken as Sharer, succeed as Sharers. In the same way, the descendants of a person, who if living, would have taken as a

Residuary succeed as Residuaries.

Example: – A Shia Muslim dies leaving a full brother’s daughter and uterine brother’s son. Uterine brother, had he survived, would have taken as a Sharer, his Quranic share 1/6. In the same way, the full brother, had he survived would have taken 5/66 as a residuary. Here the uterine brother’s sons, being the descendant of a sharer, will success as sharer and representing his father takes his father’s share 1/6. The full brother’s daughter, being the descendants of a Residuary, will succeed also as a Residuary and representing her father, takes her father’s share 5/6. Under the Sunni Law, both a full brother’s daughter and uterine brother’s son are distant kindred of the third class.

Distribution among heirs of the first class

The heirs of the first class are entitled to succeed to the property of a deceased Shia Muslim along with the husband or wife, if any. First the share is allotted to the spouse (husband or wife as the case may be) and then to the rest of the heirs.

Example:-

When no lineal descendant is present:-
1. Husband will inherit ½ as sharer when there is no lineal descendant
1. Mother will inherit 1/3 as sharer when there is no lineal descendant
1. Father will inherit 1/6 as residuary as when there is no lineal descendant

When lineal descendant is present:-

Father will inherit 1/6 as sharer when lineal descendant is present
1. Mother will inherit 1/6 as sharer when lineal descendant is present
1. Son will inherit 2/3 as residuary

Distribution among heirs of the second class

Heir in the line of paternal side get double share with maternal relations. If there is only one grandparent in the maternal line, he or she would get 2/3. Similarly, if there is only grandparent in the maternal line, he or she would get 1/3.

Father’s father would get 2/3 as sharer
Mother’s mother would get 1/3 as sharer

Distribution among heirs of the third class

First of all the surviving spouse is allotted his share and then the residue is divided among the following relations in order or property:

Paternal and maternal uncles and aunt of the deceased
1. Their descendants h.l.s., the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the parents on the descendants and,
1. Their descendants; h.l.s, the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the grand-parents
1. Their descendants how low so ever, the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Remoter uncles and aunts and their descendants in like order.

Of the above groups each in turn must be exhausted before any member of the next group can succeed.

Doctrine of Increase (Aul)

The Shia law does not recognise the Doctrine of Increase. Under Shia Law if the total share of sharers exceeds the heritable property i.e., exceeds unity, the share of all the sharers is not proportionally reduced but it is always deducted from the sharers of the following two heirs:-

Daughter
1. Full or consanguine sister

Example: A, a Shia Mohammedan wife dies leaving (i) Husband and (ii) Two full sisters. According to Shia Law

The husband will get ½ as sharer as there is no lineal descendant of the deceased.
Full sister will get 2/3 as sharer when there is no lineal descendant, father or full brother

Since there are two sisters they will get 2/3 each which will turn out to be as 4/6 share of two full sister and thus husband will receive 3/6 share.

Total share (without reduction) = 7/6 i.e. more than unity (1)

In the above case, in order to make total sharer equal to unity, the share of the sisters will be reduced to ½ and the share of the husband will not be touched. Thus each sister will take ¼

Doctrine of Return (Rudd)

Under Sunni Law if there is a residue and there are no residuaries then the residue returns to the sharers. But such is not the case in Shia Law of Return. Under Shia Law the total absence of the residuaries as a class is not required, only if the residuaries in the class to which the sharers belong is absent, it will sufficient for the application of the Doctrine of Return.

Exception

There are certain exceptions to the Doctrine of Return which are as follows:-

Husband: – The husband is not entitled to the ‘Return’ as long as there is any other heir of the deceased. If there is no other heir, the husband will take the whole estate by Return.
Wife:- Like the husband, the wife too is not entitled to a ‘Return’ of share as long as any other heir of the deceased exist. The old view was that if there was no other heir, the wife would not take the whole estate; she would take only her share ¼ and the surplus would escheat to the Government. But in Abdul Hamid Khan v. Peare Mirza [10], the Oudh Court followed the opinion of Ameer Ali,[11]and held that the rule now enforced is that the widow is entitles to take by return.
Mother:- The mother is not entitle to share the ‘Return’ if the deceased dies leaving a father and a daughter and also any of the following;
1. Two or more full or consanguine brothers
1. One full consanguine brother, and two full consanguine sisters
1. Four full or consanguine sister

The brother and sisters are heirs of the second class. Though they are excluded from inheritance, prevent the mother from taking by Return, and the surplus reverts to the father and the daughter in proportion of their respective share. This is the only case in which the mother is excluded from the Return.

Uterine brothers and sisters– Uterine brothers and sisters are not entitled to the ‘Return’ if they co-exist with full sisters and sisters divide the return in proportion of their sharers. The ‘Return’ in such cases goes to the full sister. This rule does not apply to consanguine sisters.

Conclusion

The research has explained the basic features of Shia law of inheritance and compared them with the corresponding principles of Sunni law. But it is to be noticed that there is a difference between Sunni Law of Inheritance and Shia Law of Inheritance. For instance Shia law adopts the principle of consanguinity whereas Sunni law prefers agnates to cognates. Illegitimate child is not entitled to inherit property under Shia law whereas under Sunni Law illegitimate child is entitled to inherit property from mother. There is another noteworthy distinction that Shia law does not recognize distant kindred as another category of legal heirs as they are identified in Sunni law. Most of those who are classed as distant kindred in Sunni law, they are absorbed in the three basic classes of Shia law.

CHAPTER 4 : How to split Inheritance in Islam

In the Islamic tradition, the rules around the distribution of wealth are carefully outlined in the Shariah and apply to every Muslim. These rules are strict and do not differ from person to person, which is the primary difference between an Islamic will and a conventional will.

While the fixed shares of one’s wealth are outlined in the Shariah, there are a number of conditions that must be met in each case. Bequeathing or ‘gifting’ is also allowed in an Islamic will, given that certain conditions are also met.

It can be tricky to know where to start when compiling an Islamic will, since the matter is rich in rules and guidelines. Seeking professional advice, services and support is crucial for ensuring that your will is valid.

Rules about inheritance in Islam

Heirs and their shares

In Islam, the heirs of a deceased Muslim’s wealth are determined in the Shariah and apply to every Muslim. What’s more, a Muslim is not permitted to distribute their wealth to only a select few of the heirs that are outlined, the heirs and their shares are fixed.

Primary or Fixed Heirs (Ashab-ul-Furud)

First six primary heirs

The Quran specifically outlines those who are in every instance eligible for inheritance. These heirs are:

Mother, Father, Wife, Husband, Daughter, and Son.

Parents (father and mother)

The amount that parents (father and mother) inherit from their deceased child is typically 1/6 each. However, this can vary in some instances (please see example below).

Husband or wife

In Islam, a wife is entitled to a quarter share of her husband’s estate upon his passing if she has no children. In the instance that she does have children, she is only entitled to one eighth. If the wife passes, the husband will receive half of the deceased wife’s estate if she has no children, and a quarter share if she does.

According to UK law, if the husband and wife have joint ownership of an estate, the entire ownership of the asset automatically passes to the surviving partner upon the death of the other.

Children (sons and daughters)

Under Islamic law, daughters typically inherit half of the share of the son. There are several reasons for this. Most importantly, the law represents her right to inheritance.

Grandparents

In the Islamic tradition, the paternal grandfather may inherit in the absence of a father of the deceased, but a maternal grandfather may not.

The paternal grandfather will receive 1/6 of a share in the presence of the following heirs:

Son(s)
Male descendant(s)
Combination of son(s) and daughter(s)
Male descendant(s) and daughter(s)
Male and female descendant(s)

In the presence of the following, the paternal grandfather will receive 1/6 + residue:

Daughter(s),
Female descendant(s)
Combination of the daughter(s) and female descendant(s)

Other primary heirs – Includes grandchildren, half-siblings

Other primary heirs include grandchildren and half-siblings, who inherit in the instance that the deceased does not have relatives in the first and second categories.

Secondary or Residual Heirs (Al-Asabat)

Secondary or residual heirs inherit in the instance that there are no primary six heirs. These include:

Aunts and Uncles
Nieces and nephews
Other distant relatives.

Other Heirs – Distant Relatives (Dhawul-Arham)

Dhawul-Arham or extended family may receive inheritance, only in the instance that there are no primary or secondary heirs. These include:

First class heirs

First Class heirs are otherwise referred to as Quranic heirs. These consist of:

Four males: Husband, maternal brother, father, and paternal grandfather
Nine females: Wife, daughter, son’s daughter, mother, paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, full sister, maternal sister, and paternal sister

Second class heirs

Residuary relatives in this category only inherit in the event that there are no first-class heirs. These residuary relatives are related to the deceased through the male line only.

All the residuary are related to the deceased through males only. The residuary relatives are further divided into the following sub-categories:

Son(s) or male lineal descendants
Father of grandfather of deceased
Offspring of father, including full brothers, consanguine brothers, and their male lineage
Offspring of grandfather

Third class heirs

Wealth distributed to third class heirs are a rare occurrence as none of the first or second class heirs will have survived in order for the third class to be eligible. These are considered distant relatives and consist of the following:

Descendants from daughters
Grandparents’ descendants through a female
Descendants through parents
Descendants through grandparents

Denying inheritance

The ability to deny inheritance occurs in only very specific circumstances, as there are strict and fixed rules around who is entitled to inheritance, which must be adhered to by every Muslim.

A person found guilty of homicide is an example of when inheritance may be denied to an heir, but for every individual case you must seek a scholar to assess your situation and provide a specific ruling.

Obligations and bequests

Whilst the rules regarding inheritance are already determined by the Shariah, it is possible to leave behind gifts (also referred to as bequests).

In the Shariah, there is the option to bequeath some of your assets to whomever at your discretion, including, for example, a charity or institution. However, you are only permitted to do so up to a maximum of 1/3 of your total estate, with the remaining 2/3of your assets divided according to the Shariah.

Pre-inheritance obligations

When compiling an Islamic will, it is imperative that one factors in the following expenses:

Making sure that the debts of a Muslim are paid
Ensuring that any Kaffarah is paid (any missed fasts/penalty payments – this varies between Islamic schools of thought or Madhhabs)
Making sure that funeral costs are accounted for

Doing so ensures the wellbeing of one’s afterlife, as well as the wellbeing and security of the loved ones remaining and the Muslim community at large. Taking care of one’s affairs is a duty upon every Muslim throughout their lifetime as it has a compounding effect on those who remain.

Nuzriah before death

The Nuzriah, or Nazar is a vow that a Muslim can make whilst alive to dedicate part or all of their wealth to another party before their death.

An example of this is that of a husband performing Nazar for his house to be gifted to his wife while he is alive, with the intention that it will not be sold and distributed among the legal beneficiaries.

Paying Zakat on inheritance

Once one is in receipt of their inheritance, it is potentially zakatable and the value needs to be looked at alongside any other zakatable wealth.

Example of Islamic inheritance distribution

Here’s a simple example of how assets may be divided according to the Shariah between a husband and wife:

Upon the passing of a husband:

Wife 1 12.50% 1/8

Son 1 36.11% 13/36

Daughter 1 18.06% 13/72

Mother 16.67% 1/6

Father 16.67% 1/6

Upon the passing of a wife:

Husband 25.00% 1/4

Son 1 20.83% 5/24

Son 2 20.83% 5/24

Mother 16.67% 1/6

Father 16.67% 1/6

Alive

The Qur’an contains only three verses [4:11, 4:12 and 4:176] that give specific details of inheritance and shares, in addition to few verses dealing with testamentary power. It has also been reported in Hadith that Muhammad allotted great importance to the laws of inheritance and ordered his followers to learn and teach them. Muslim jurists used these verses as a starting point to expound the laws of inheritance even further using Hadith, as well as methods of juristic reasoning, like Qiyas. In later periods, large volumes of work have been written on the subject.

This amalgamation of old agnatic customs and Islamic law led to a number of problems and controversies that Muslim jurists have solved in different ways. Through the use of deductive reasoning (Qiyas), Muslim jurists added three additional heirs: the paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, and agnatic granddaughter. These heirs, if entitled to inherit, are given their fixed shares and the remaining estate is inherited by the residuaries (ʿaṣaba). This led to some minor differences between jurisprudence schools of the Sunni maddhabs. Also, the laws of inheritance for Twelver Shia, despite being based on the same principles, differ in a number of features due to the rejection of certain accounts of Hadith and based on their understanding of certain events in early Islam. On the other hand, the system of inheritance of the Kharajite Ibadis and Zaidis closely resemble that of the Sunni system. In modern Muslim countries, usually a mixture of different schools of jurisprudence (including Shia) is in effect, in addition to a number of important reforms to the traditional system. The main achievements of such modern systems was the codification of inheritance laws.

Details of inheritance in Islamic law

Inheritance is considered as an integral part of Shariah Law. Muslims inherit from one another as stated in the Qur’an.[Qur’an 4:7] Hence, there is a legal share for relatives of the decedent in his estate and property. The major rules of inheritance are detailed in Qur’an, Hadith and Fiqh.

When a Muslim dies there are four duties that need to be performed. They are:

Pay funeral and burial expenses.

Paying debts of the deceased.

Determine the value / will of the deceased if any (which is capped to one third of the estate as the remainder is decided by shariah law).

Distribute the remainder of estate and property to the relatives of the deceased according to Shariah Law.

Therefore, it is necessary to determine the relatives of the deceased who are entitled to inherit, and their shares.

These laws take greater prominence in Islam because of the restrictions placed on the testator (a person who makes a will). Islamic law places the following types of restrictions on the testator.

Which persons they can bequeath their wealth to.

The amount that they can bequeath (which must not exceed one third of the deceased’s estate).

Different types of heirs

Heirs referred to as primary heirs are always entitled to a share of the inheritance; they are never totally excluded. These primary heirs consist of the spouse relict, both parents, the son(s) and the daughter(s). All remaining heirs can be totally excluded by the presence of other heirs. But under certain circumstances, other heirs can also inherit as residuaries, namely the father, paternal grandfather, daughter, agnatic granddaughter, full sister, consanguine sister, and mother. Those who inherit are usually categorized into three groups:

Quota-heirs (dhawu al-farāʾḍ), This group includes four males and eight females.[12] The male quota-heirs are the husband, father, paternal grandfather and maternal brother. The females quota-heirs are the wife, daughter, granddaughter, mother, grandmother, full sister, paternal sister and maternal sister. Never the less, there are scenarios that could move the daughter, granddaughter, father, grandfather, full siblings and paternal siblings to the second group (‘asaba).

Members of the ʿaṣaba (residuaries), usually a combination of male (and sometimes female) relatives that inherit as residuaries after the shares of the Quota-heirs is distributed.

Extended family members (dhawu al arham): This includes any blood relative who is not a quot-heir or ‘asaba (residuary). Examples include maternal grandfather, aunts, nieces and female cousins.

Inheritance is distributed in the following order:[13]

All quota-heirs are allocated their shares. If this exhausts the property, the process completes. Otherwise, go to next step.

Residuary heirs get the remainder of the property.

If there are no residuaries, but there is a balance from step (1), then the money is redistributed proportionally to the quota-heirs. This process is called (al rad).

If there are no quota-heirs and no residuary heirs, then the property is distributed to extended family members.

If there are no quota-heirs, no residuary heirs, and no extended heirs, then the property escheats to the state treasury, Bayt al-mal.

The classical position of the Maliki and Shafi’i[14] schools is that if there are no quota or residuary heirs, the property directly goes to the state treasury, i.e. steps (3) and (4) are skipped. Both schools later joined the Hanafi and Hanbali[15] schools in adopting the above five steps due to the absence or disorganization of Bayt al-mal.

Rules of inclusion and exclusion

In Islamic law, only relatives with a legitimate blood relationship to the deceased are entitled to inherit. Thus, illegitimate children and adopted children have no shares in inheritance. In general, a full brother will exclude a half-brother who shares a common father (“consanguine” brother), but not a half-brother who shares a common mother. In cases where a deceased man leaves a pregnant woman, the unborn child’s share will be reserved. Also a woman during the time of waiting (ʿiddat) after divorce is considered a wife of the deceased for purposes of inheritance.

There are even further rules of exclusion and inclusion of different relatives. The only “practical situations” that may cause disqualification are differences of religion and homicide. But schools of Islamic jurisprudence differed whether a Muslim can inherit from a non-Muslim or not. All the jurists agree that intentional or unjustifiable killing would exclude a person from inheritance.

Women and inheritance

In Islam, women are entitled the right of inheritance,[16] though generally, Islam allots women half the share of inheritance available to men if they inherit from the same father. For example, where the decedent has both male and female children, a son’s share is double that of a daughter’s.[17] There are other circumstances where women might receive equal shares to men. For example, the share of the mother and father of a decedent who leaves children behind.[18] Also the share of a brother who shares the same mother is equal to the share of a sister who shares the same mother, as do the shares of their descendants.

There are some who say women are entitled to equal inheritance in Islam.[19] [20] [21]In seventeenth century Ottoman cities, such as Bursa, inheritance issues were commonly resolved in courts, with the defendants even being family members of women that were suing them.

Sometimes, women get double the share as that of men; for example, if there are only parents and a husband, the husband will receive half, the father gets 1/6 and the mother gets 2/6. This is according to Ibn Abbas’s interpretation of verses 11, 12 of Surah An-Nisa. [Quran 4:11,12]

Even the Qur’an does distinguish between men and women in cases of kalalah relation.[22] [23] Kalalah describes a person who leaves behind neither parents nor children; it also means all the relatives of a deceased except his parents and children, and it also denotes the relationships that are not through [the deceased’s] parents or children. Islamic scholars hold that the original reasons for these differences are the responsibilities that are allotted to spouses. A husband in Islam must use his inheritance to support his family while a wife has no support obligations. Additionally, Arab society traditionally practiced the custom of bride price or dower rather than dowry; i.e., the man paid a gift to his wife or her family upon marriage, rather than the opposite, placing a financial burden on men where none existed on women. This custom was continued but changed materially by Islam. The divine injunction stipulated that the dowry (mahr) is due to the wife only not her family. It can also be deferred thereby reducing the burden if the husband is unable to afford the requested dowry at the time of the marriage. The wife can defer it till a stipulated date or it can become a debt on the estate when the husband dies. And give their dowries willingly to women (as an obligation), but if they, of their own accord, remit a portion of the dowry, you may enjoy it with pleasure.[24]

The role of Islamic inheritance in the development of Islamic mathematics

The Islamic law of inheritance served as an impetus behind the development of algebra (derived from the Arabic al-jabr) by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī and other medieval Islamic mathematicians. Al-Khwārizmī’s Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala, the foundational text of algebra, devoted its third and longest chapter to solving problems related to Islamic inheritance using algebra. He formulated the rules of inheritance as linear equations, hence his knowledge of quadratic equations was not required.[25]

Al-Hassār, a mathematician from the Maghreb (North Africa) specializing in Islamic inheritance jurisprudence during the 12th century, developed the [26]modern symbolic mathematical notation for fractions, where the numerator and denominator are separated by a horizontal bar. The “dust ciphers he used are also nearly identical to the digits used in the current Western Arabic numerals. These same digits and fractional notation appear soon after in the work of Fibonacci in the 13th century.[27] [19][20][21][28] [29]

In the 15th century, Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī, a specialist in Islamic inheritance jurisprudence, used characters from the Arabic alphabet as a mathematical notation system in algebraic equations.[22]

Islamic inheritance law, known as Fara’id, is a divinely ordained system primarily derived from the Quran and Sunnah, ensuring just and fair distribution of a deceased person’s estate. It outlines specific shares for various heirs, including those mentioned in the Quran (Quranic heirs or sharers) and those determined by juristic methods like analogy ( residuaries or asaba). The system also includes principles of exclusion (Hajb) and prioritizes the fulfillment of debts and obligations before distribution.

Key Aspects of Islamic Inheritance Law:

Primary Sources:

The Quran and Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and practices) are the foundational sources of Islamic inheritance law.

Heirs:

Heirs are classified into Quranic heirs (those with fixed shares) and residuaries (who inherit what remains after the sharers’ portions).

Fixed Shares:

Quranic heirs, such as the mother, father, husband, widow, daughter, and certain siblings, are entitled to specific shares of the inheritance.

Residuaries:

Residuaries inherit the remaining portion of the estate after the sharers have received their fixed shares. Certain Quranic heirs can also inherit as residuaries in specific situations.

Exclusion (Hajb):

Certain heirs can be excluded or have their inheritance reduced by the presence of other, closer relatives.

Debts and Obligations:

Before distribution, all debts, funeral expenses, and valid bequests (within one-third of the estate) must be settled.

Importance of Fara’id:

The principles of Fara’id are crucial for ensuring a fair and just distribution of wealth, reflecting the divine will and promoting social harmony.

Different Schools of Thought:

While the fundamental principles are consistent, different schools of Islamic jurisprudence (like Hanafi and Shia) may have nuanced interpretations and applications of these principles.

Contemporary Issues:

Modern challenges include interpreting inheritance laws in the context of changing social structures and addressing issues like orphaned grandchildren.

In essence, Islamic inheritance law is a comprehensive system designed to ensure justice, fairness, and respect for the rights of all individuals involved in the distribution of an estate, guided by divine principles and scholarly interpretations.

CHAPTER 5 : WHO WILL IHERIT

MALE HEIRS

Male heirs of a deceased are fifteen (15):

Son.

This refers to a legitimate male child. A man can only have a legitimate child after contracting a legally (Shari’ah) acceptable marriage with a woman outside his prohibited degree; while a woman can have a legitimate child with or without a formal marriage contract. This will be discussed in details under Inheritance of Children in chapter three.

Grandson or his descendant.

Everyone has two categories of relatives: agnates and cognates. Agnates are relatives whose connection is traceable through the father or male line such as paternal grandparents, paternal uncle, paternal aunt, etc., while cognates are relatives whose connection is traceable through the mother or the female line like maternal grandparents, maternal uncle, maternal aunt and so on. Now, only agnates are eligible to inherit the estate of a deceased; meaning that all cognates are NOT bona-fide heirs except uterine brothers/sisters and maternal grandmother to whom the Qur’an assigns a share (more on this later).

Therefore, the grandson referred to here as a male heir is the one through a son. The grandson through a daughter is a non-heir. For example, ‘A’ (who may either be a male or female) has a son ‘B’, who also begets a son ‘C’. When ‘A’ dies, his/her son ‘B’ inherits from him/her as the case in

(1) above. ‘C’ is excluded. We shall discuss ‘exclusion’ in the next chapter. However, if ‘B’ is absent at the time ‘A’ dies; meaning that ‘B’ died before ‘A’, then ‘C’ the grandson will represent or stand in place of ‘B’ and inherit from ‘A’. I call this phenomenon “jumping.”

Assuming ‘C’ has a son ‘D’ who also has a son ‘E’, ‘E’ will inherit from ‘A’ if and only if ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ are absent. That is what is meant by “his descendants,” i.e. the descendants of grandson ‘C’. Put in another way, a grandson will inherit from his grandfather if his father is absent. Likewise, a great-grandson will inherit from his great-grandfather if his father and grandfather are absent. Now, very important. This rule applies to ONLY sons. That is, ‘A’ (may be of any gender) but ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’ … must all be males.

If ‘C’ were to be a female and she marries ‘X’ who has a father ‘Y’ and grandfather ‘Z’, and the marriage is blessed with a son ‘D’; when ‘A’ dies, ‘C’ will inherit from him/her if ‘B’ is absent. But ‘D’ CANNOT inherit from ‘A’ even if ‘B’ and ‘C’ are absent because ‘A’ and ‘B’ are his cognates. ‘D’ is only entitled to inherit from his parents ‘X’ and ‘C’, paternal

grandfather ‘Y’ (in the absence of ‘X’) and paternal great-grandfather ‘Z’ (in the absence of both ‘X’ and ‘Y’).

In summary, the grandson entitled to inheritance is son’s son, not daughter’s son. Also the descendants of son’s son (‘D’ and ‘E’ as in the first example above) will “jump” and inherit from ‘A’ provided ‘B’ and ‘C’ are absent. This trend will continue down the line as far as a female does not appear. If a female emerges, she will also “jump” but her children (male and female) will not, because to them the line is cognate.

Father.

This is straight forward. A father shall inherit from his son or daughter.

Paternal grandfather or his ascendant.

By now it’s clear that maternal grandfather is a non-heir. So, a paternal grandfather will inherit from his grandson or granddaughter in the absence of his son. Using the illustration above, given that ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ are all males and ‘E’ is either male or female; when ‘E’ passes on, ‘D’ (his or her father) will inherit from him or her as the case in (3) above. In the absence of ‘D’, ‘C’ (the paternal grandfather) will inherit from ‘E’. The same ruling applies to ascendants ‘B’ and ‘A’.

Full brother.

He has the same father and same mother with the deceased.

Consanguine brother.

He has the same father but different mother with the deceased.

Uterine brother.

He has the same mother but different father with the deceased.

Full brother’s son or his male descendant.

We said that in the absence of the son, the grandson replaces him. If the grandson is also absent, the great-grandson “jumps” and take the place of the son. If a female appears, she equally has the privilege of “jumping,” then the line terminates. The difference here is that the descendants all have to be males; such that when a full brother is absent, his son replaces him and the trend continues. Whenever a female emerges, she is not entitled to “jump,” and the line terminates. That is what is meant by “male descendants.”

Consanguine brother’s son or his male descendant.
Full paternal uncle.

Father’s elder or younger brother from the same father and mother.

Half paternal uncle.

Father’s elder or younger brother from the same father but different mother.

Full paternal uncle’s son or his male descendant.
Half paternal uncle’s son or his male descendant.
Husband.
A husband will inherit from his wife if she dies before him. Likewise, if a man divorces his wife with one or two pronouncements (i.e. revocable divorce) and she dies WHILE in her Iddah (i.e. waiting period), he will inherit from her because technically, she remains his wife. However, if the divorce is irrevocable (three pronouncements), he will NOT inherit from her whether the Iddah has expired or not.
Patron.

A man who sets a slave free will inherit from the slave if the later has no heir.

FEMALE HEIRS

Female heirs are nine (9):

Daughter.

A daughter will inherit from her father and mother. This provision does not extend to her children. That is to say, her children cannot replace or represent her to inherit from their (maternal) grandfather or (maternal) grandmother in her absence.

Son’s daughter.

If a son has a daughter, she will inherit from the son’s father or mother (her paternal grandparents) in the absence of the son. The rule also applies to son’s son’s daughter, son’s son’s son’s daughter, and so on. This has been explained earlier under “grandson or his descendants.”

Mother.

When a son or daughter passes on, his/her mother is entitled to a part of his/her estate. She cannot be excluded no-matter what happens.

Either grandmother.

In the absence of mother, both grandmothers i.e. maternal and paternal will inherit from a deceased. Here, the “ascendant rule” applies, such that if one or both grandmothers is/are absent, the great-grandmothers will take their place(s) and inherit from the deceased.

Full sister.
Consanguine sister.
Uterine sister.
Wife.

A wife will inherit from her late husband. She cannot be excluded. She will also inherit from him if he dies after divorcing her with one or two pronouncements (revocable divorce) provided her Iddah has NOT elapsed. But if the divorce is irrevocable (three pronouncements), she will not inherit from him whether her Iddah has elapsed or not. However, if the husband were to be “insensitive” and divorces his wife irrevocably DURING his final illness in which he dies, the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence have divergent opinions:

As-Shafi’i – She will NOT inherit from him whether or not the Iddah has expired.Abu-Hanifa – If the Iddah has not expired, she will inherit from him, otherwise, she will become a non-heir.Ahmad ibn Hanbal – She has the right to inherit from him whether the Iddah has expired or not provided she has not married another person.Malik – She will inherit from him even if the Iddah has expired or she has married another person.

Patroness.

A woman who sets a slave free will inherit from him/her so long as he/she has no heir.

NON-HEIRS

Non-heirs are those relatives not entitled to any part of the deceased’s estate. They include:

Daughter’s sons and daughters and their descendants.

They will inherit through their father’s (daughter’s husband’s) line only. Their mother’s line is cognate.

Sister’s sons and daughters and their descendants.

This refers to all the three types of sisters: full, consanguine and uterine. Their children will inherit through their father’s line only as the case with daughter’s children.

Daughters of full brother.
- Daughters of consanguine brother.
- Daughters of full brother’s son.
- Daughters of consanguine brother’s son
- Sons and daughters of uterine brother.
- Sons and daughters of uterine sister.
- Daughters of full paternal uncle.
- Daughters of half paternal uncle.
- Daughters of full paternal uncle’s son.
- Daughters of half paternal uncle’s son.
- Paternal aunt, her children and their descendants.
- Maternal uncle, his children and their descendants.
- Maternal aunt, her children and their descendants.
- Maternal grandfather’s mother.

Given that maternal grandmother (the wife of maternal grandfather) is an heir in the absence of mother, if the maternal grandmother is also absent, who takes her place? Her mother. Not her husband’s mother. Therefore, maternal grandfather’s mother is a non-heir.

Paternal grandmother’s father.

As in (11) above, paternal grandmother is also an heir in the absence of mother; but in her absence, her mother replaces her, not her father.

CHAPTER 6: IMPEDIMENTS TO INHERITANCE

Impediment means barring an heir from getting his/her share of the deceased’s estate due to certain circumstances. These include:

Murder

An heir who deliberately murders the deceased will neither inherit from the latter’s estate nor from the diyya (i.e. blood money). If the murder is accidental, he/she will inherit from the deceased’s estate but not from the diyya.

Difference of religion

A Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim relative no-matter how close they are, and vice-versa. For instance, a Muslim father who has a non-Muslim son will not inherit from him and the other way round.

Simultaneous death

When two or more people who are rightful heirs of one another like father and son, husband and wife, etc die at the same time maybe under a collapsed building or in similar circumstance, and it is uncertain who died first, they will not inherit from each other. But if it’s clear that the husband died before the wife for instance, she will be listed among the surviving heirs of the husband and given her share of his estate. Thereafter, her heirs will inherit her estate PLUS her share of the husband’s estate.

Li’an (Cursing for adultery)

This happens when a man denies the paternity of his wife’s pregnancy and they end up swearing and cursing themselves as prescribed by Allah in the Qur’an (24: 6–9). “And for those who accuse their wives, but have no witnesses except themselves, let the testimony of one of them be four testimonies (i.e. testifies four times) by Allah that he is one of those who speak the truth. And the fifth (testimony) (should be) the invoking of the Curse of Allah on him if he be of those who tell a lie (against her). But it shall avert the punishment (of stoning to death) from her, if she bears witness four times by Allah, that he (her husband) is telling a lie. And the fifth (testimony) should be that the Wrath of Allah be upon her if he (her husband) speaks the truth.” The child that results will inherit from his mother only.

Slavery

A slave and everything he owns belongs to his master. As far as he remains a slave, he will not inherit from his relatives and they will not inherit from him. The logic is that if he inherits, whatever he gets belongs to his master and if his relatives are to inherit from him, they will actually be inheriting part of the master’s estate.

“Emergency marriage”

This refers to a marriage that takes place when either the bride or groom is in a state of ill health with a 50:50 percentage of survival and death or the percentage of death is higher. The healthy partner will not inherit from the sick one if he/she dies as a result of that illness. Conversely, the sick partner will not inherit from the healthy one supposing the latter incidentally dies before the former. But if the sick partner fully recovers, then either of them dies, this rule will not apply.

CHAPTER 7 : EXCLUSION

Exclusion means preventing a rightful heir from having any share of the deceased’s estate due to the PRESENCE of another heir. The principle behind who excludes who is the degree of closeness to the deceased. The closer relatives will exclude those who are not so close. For example, son will exclude grandson. A grandson can only inherit in the absence of a son since the latter is closer to the deceased than the former. Note that there is a difference between exclusion and impediments to inheritance. In exclusion, a “stronger” heir eliminates a “weaker” heir while impediment has to do with preventing an heir from inheriting due to circumstances like murder, difference of religion, slavery, etc.

There are two types of exclusion: total and partial. The definition above refers to total exclusion. Partial exclusion means reducing the share of the estate an heir should have gotten due to the existence of another heir. For instance, a husband inherits half (½) of his wife’s estate if she has no child, but supposing she has a child even if from a previous husband, he gets one- quarter (¼) of her estate. This reduction from ½ to ¼ is called partial exclusion. Details in chapter five. Meanwhile, we intend to concentrate on total exclusion. So, unless otherwise specified, whenever we say “exclusion,” we mean “total exclusion.”

Now, among the heirs (male and female), there are those I call “basic heirs,” because they cannot be excluded irrespective of who is present. They are: son, daughter, father, mother, husband and wife. The worst that can happen to them is to be partially excluded. Exclusion is quite a complex concept. Thus, we will try to simplify it using analogies. Do not mind any repetitions. They are for easier and clearer understanding.

Let’s say that an individual ‘X’ (who may either be a male or female) has two sons ‘A’ and ‘B’. ‘A’ has 2 sons and a daughter while ‘B’ has a son and 3 daughters. This means that ‘X’ has 7 grandchildren (3 sons, 4 daughters).

If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are absent (i.e. have died), when ‘X’ eventually passes on, the 7 grandchildren will replace or represent their fathers and inherit from his estate.
1. Supposing ‘A’ and ‘B’ are both present at the time ‘X’ dies, they will exclude their children from having any share of ‘X’s’ inheritance.
1. If at the time ‘X’ passes on, only ‘A’ is present, (i.e. ‘B’ has died before ‘X’), the 4 children of ‘B’ cannot take the place of their father this rule applies exclusively when ‘A’ is a SON and not a daughter. Therefore,

Rule 1: A son excludes ALL grandchildren.

Modifying the analogy a bit, if ‘A’ were to be a daughter and ‘B’ a son, what happens?

Assuming ‘A’ and ‘B’ are both absent when ‘X’ dies, only the 4 children of ‘B’ will inherit from him. The children of daughter ‘A’ are non-heirs.
If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are present at the time ‘X’ passes on, they will exclude the children of ‘B’.
On the other hand, if ‘B’ died before ‘X’, and ‘A’ is the only surviving child, she will NOT exclude the children of ‘B’. However, this does not mean that ‘B’s’ children will take the place of their father or will be entitled to their father’s share of the estate. A new sharing formula is to be created for them [We shall see the details of this sharing formula with numeric examples in subsequent chapters Insha Allah. Here we are just interested in discussing who excludes who and in what circumstance(s)]. This brings us to the next rule of exclusion.

Rule 2: A daughter does not exclude grandchildren [i.e. children of her late brother(s)].

Supposing an individual ‘Z’ (either male or female) has a son ‘P’ and two daughters ‘Q’ and ‘R’. ‘P’ is married and is blessed with daughters only. Whether ‘Q’ and ‘R’ are married with or without children is immaterial because it makes no difference. Their children are non-heirs.

‘P’ dies before ‘Z’. When ‘Z’ passes on, ‘Q’ and ‘R’ will exclude the grandchildren.
If ‘P’ has at least a son; in the same circumstance, ‘Q’ and ‘R’ will NOT exclude the grandchildren. However, they (the grandchildren) will not be entitled to the share of the estate their father (‘P’) should have gotten. A new sharing formula is created for them. Hence,

Rule 3: Two or more daughters exclude strictly granddaughters.

Rule 4: Two or more daughters do not exclude grandchildren comprising of at least a grandson.

This pair of rules has a wide range of application.

Inheritance of second and third generation heirs. The children of the deceased are the first generation heirs; his/her grandchildren are the second generation heirs, while his/her great- grandchildren are the third generation heirs. Let’s say a deceased ‘W’ (male or female) has a son ‘K’ who in turn begets a son ‘L’ and two daughters ‘M’ and ‘N’. ‘L’ grew up, got married and is blessed with five (5) daughters. In this case,

‘K’ = first generation heir of ‘W’.

‘L’, ‘M’ and ‘N’ = second generation heirs of ‘W’. Five daughters = third generation heirs of ‘W’.

If son ‘K’ and grandson ‘L’ pass on before ‘W’, ‘M’ and ‘N’ the surviving second generation heirs will exclude all the 5 daughters because they are all female. Supposing there is at least a son among the third generation heirs, ‘M’ and ‘N’ cannot exclude them, rather a new sharing formula is created for them.

This is quite straight-forward. We can complicate it a bit. ‘W’ has three children. A son ‘A’ and two daughters ‘B’ and ‘C’. ‘A’ begets 2 sons ‘S’, ‘T’ and two daughters ‘U’, ‘V’. ‘B’ has two sons ‘X’ and ‘Y’. ‘C’ is blessed with a daughter ‘Z’. ‘S’ has 4 daughters, ‘T’ has 2 daughters, ‘U’ has a son and 2 daughters, ‘V’ has 2 sons, ‘X’ has a son and a daughter, ‘Y’ has 3 sons and ‘Z’ has a daughter. Confusing? Not really. Taking some moment to sketch the family tree will help.

When ‘W’ dies and the status-quo remains (i.e. no one died before him/her), ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ (the first generation heirs) will inherit from him/her. The second and third generation heirs will all be excluded due to the presence of son ‘A’.
1. If ‘A’ died before ‘W’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ will NOT exclude ‘S’, ‘T’, ‘U’ and ‘V’ because ‘S’ and ‘T’ are sons. Note that ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ are non-heirs (grandchildren through daughters).
1. In a situation whereby all the first generation heirs (‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’) as well as ‘S’ and ‘T’ are absent, ‘U’ and ‘V’ will exclude the daughters of ‘S’ and ‘T’ from inheriting from ‘W’ because only the six (6) of them are rightful heirs. Others are non-heirs.
1. Supposing ‘T’ has a son in addition to his 2 daughters, in the absence of ‘S’ and ‘T’ and the first generation heirs, ‘U’ and ‘V’ cannot exclude the seven rightful heirs of the third generation (i.e. 4 daughters of ‘S’ and a son and 2 daughters of ‘T’). The seven (7) of them will inherit from ‘W’. The presence of ‘T’s’ son will entitle not only his daughters but also all the daughters of ‘S’ to a share of ‘W’s’ estate.

Another application of this pair of rules (though in a modified form) is when full sisters are inheriting along with consanguine sisters. We recall that sisters’ children are non-heirs. So the possibilities are as follows:

Rule 5: One full sister does not exclude consanguine sister(s).;

Rule 6: Two or more full sisters exclude strictly consanguine sisters.

Rule 7: Two or more full sisters do not exclude consanguine sisters if a consanguine brother is also present.

The slight modification is that both sisters (full and consanguine) are in the same generational level, unlike the previous situations whereby two or more females in one generation will exclude strictly female(s) in a generation lower than theirs.

Next, let’s consider a set of heirs in a particular order. I call the set “alpha” and it’s made up of:

Full brother
Consanguine brother
Full brother’s son or his descendant
Consanguine brother’s son or his descendant
Full paternal uncle
Half paternal uncle
Full paternal uncle’s son or his descendant
Half paternal uncle’s son or his descendant

The order of arrangement is VERY important when it comes to exclusion because a member excludes all those below him. For instance, if a full brother is present, every other member is excluded; likewise when a full brother is absent, a consanguine brother if available excludes other members, and so on. Therefore,

Rule 8: Full brother excludes consanguine brother and those below him.

Rule 9: Consanguine brother excludes full brother’s son (or his descendant) and those below him.

Rule 10: Full brother’s son (or his descendant) excludes consanguine brother’s son (or his descendant) and those below him.

Rule 11: Consanguine brother’s son (or his descendant) excludes full paternal uncle and those below him.

Rule 12: Full paternal uncle excludes half paternal uncle and those below him.

Rule 13: Half paternal uncle excludes full paternal uncle’s son (or his descendant), his own son or his son’s descendant.

Rule 14: Full paternal uncle’s son (or his descendant) excludes half paternal uncle’s son (or his descendant).

Note that any heir (outside alpha) that can exclude a full brother automatically excludes all other members of the set. Thus,

Rule 15: Son excludes full brother.

Rule 16: Grandson through son excludes full brother.

This is applicable in the absence of a son. Recall that grandson through daughter is a non-heir. Also the rule trickles down to descendants provided they are ALL sons; such that great-grandson excludes full brother in the absence of son and grandson.

Rule 17: Father excludes full brother.

Observe the connection between rules 15 and 16. The son of a deceased will exclude the deceased’s full brother. In the absence of the son, the grandson will exercise the same power and exclude the full brother. Conversely, father excludes full brother as well (rule 17). Now, if the father is not present, who takes his place? Of course his father i.e. the deceased’s paternal grandfather. But does the grandfather in addition to having a share of the estate also have the authority to exclude full brother? Even the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) differed on this because the ruling is neither clearly stated in the Quran nor did such a circumstance arose during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) to necessitate a verdict.

The first opinion is that grandfather excludes full brother because he inherits all the privileges of the father; just like the grandson inherits all rights and privileges of a son. The second view is that grandfather does not have the ability to exclude full brother even though he can “jump” and replace the father to inherit from the deceased. One of the arguments of the proponents of this view (which has been adopted by majority of Jurists like Imams Malik, As-Shafi’i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others) is that father excludes his mother i.e. paternal grandmother (see below) but grandfather cannot exclude her because he (grandfather) does not have the same status as the father. As a result, grandfather cannot exclude full brother as a father does.

IMPORTANT: Full and consanguine brothers are the only ones not excluded by grandfather. It is generally agreed that grandfather excludes other members of alpha.

Rule 18: Son, grandson (or his descendant) and father EACH excludes full and consanguine sisters. Again, grandfather does not exclude full and consanguine sisters.

Rule 19: Son, grandson (or his descendant), daughter, granddaughter through a son, father and paternal grandfather (or his ascendant) EACH excludes uterine brothers and sisters.

Rule 20: Mother excludes both grandmothers.

Rule 21: Father excludes paternal grandmother (i.e. his own mother) only.

NOTE ON DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

When the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) intended to send Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he asked: “How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises?” He replied: “I shall judge in accordance with Allah’s Book.” He asked: “(What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah’s Book?” He replied: “(I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him).” He asked: “(What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and in Allah’s Book?” He replied: “I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort.” The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) then patted him on the breast and said: “Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of Allah.” Abu Dawud Collection.

The following can be deduced from the Hadith:

The primary sources of Shari’ah (Quran and Sunnah/Hadith) do not provide EXPLICIT answers to each and every problem or situation. We will like to emphasize the word: EXPLICIT. This is because general answers to all human problems past, present and future can be found in either or both of them.
Qualified Muslims are allowed to analytically find solutions to issues not categorically solved by the Quran and/or Hadith. This is called Ijtihad; defined by Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Shawkani as quoted by Abu Ismael al-Beirawi as “the total expenditure of effort made by a Jurist in order to infer, with a degree of probability, the rules of Shari’ah from their detailed evidence in the sources (i.e. Quran and Hadith) in a manner the Mujtahid (Jurist who does Ijtihad) feels unable to exert any more effort.”

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen listed four conditions that must be fulfilled for an Ijtihad to be valid.

The person performing Ijtihad is qualified to do so (i.e. a pious, just and trustworthy Muslim who is knowledgeable in the understanding and interpretation of the Quran and Hadith).
The issue is open to Ijtihad. Scholars have identified certain matters to which Ijtihad should not be exercised. They are: existence of Allah, truthfulness of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and authenticity of the Quran.
The person exerts his utmost in trying to arrive at the correct ruling.
The person has some form of evidence which he uses to justify his position.

Thus, the first reason why differences of opinion may exist is lack of explicit ruling in neither the Quran nor Hadith. Opinions may also differ due to variation in the interpretation of a Quranic verse or statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, Ibn Umar narrated: On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “None of you (Muslims) should offer the ‘Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza’s place.” The ‘Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, “We will not offer it till we reach it i.e. the place of Banu Quraiza,” while some others said, “No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us.” Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups. Bukhari Collection.

The companions understood the Prophet’s instruction differently. The first group comprehended it literally so they delayed their prayer until they arrived at Bani Quraiza at sunset. The second group understood it metaphorically such that the Prophet’s intention was for them to make haste in setting off so that by the time ‘Asr prayer becomes due, they would have reached Bani Quraiza. So when the time of

Asr prayer set in and they were still on the way, they prayed without delaying it.

Now, why did the Prophet (peace be upon him) not reprimand any of the groups? Because each had some form of evidence which it uses to justify its position. Then, will both of them be correct? Certainly not. The following Hadith clarifies this:

Narrated ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr bin Al-‘As: Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) said, “If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct (i.e. agrees with Allah and His Apostle’s verdict) he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, (i.e. against that of Allah and His Apostle) even then he will get a reward.” Bukhari Collection. Therefore, the clause “and his verdict is wrong” means that only one opinion (out of two, three or more) is correct; yet the “incorrect” one cannot be said to be erroneous since its proponent tried his utmost to arrive at the correct ruling and he has some form of evidence to justify his position.

Consider this Hadith:

Narrated ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Abza: A man came to ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab and said, “I became Junub but no water was available.” ‘Ammar bin Yasir said to ‘Umar, “Do you remember that you and I (became Junub while both of us) were together on a journey and you didn’t pray but I rolled myself on the ground and prayed? I informed the Prophet about it and he said, ‘It would have been sufficient for you to do like this.’

The Prophet then stroked lightly the earth with his hands and then blew off the dust and passed his hands over his face and hands.” Bukhari Collection.

For the Prophet (peace be upon him) to have taught ‘Ammar the proper way of performing Tayammum means that his view was more likely to be correct. But at the same time, ‘Umar was not told that he was wrong as he tried his best to arrive at the correct ruling and he had some form of evidence to justify his position; which is (and Allah knows best) that prayer cannot be performed in a state of impurity and since he has no access to water, then prayer is not binding on him.

In conclusion, when Jurists differ on an issue, a Muslim has the right to pick any of the views. However, when one opinion is more popular than the other, he is advised to choose the former.

CHAPTER 8: INHERITANCE OF CHILDREN

In Islam, there are three categories of children: legal, biological and those that are both legal and biological. By legal, we mean children that result from a marriage approved by the Shari’ah. Thus for a man, only his children that are both legal and biological are considered his children and by extension, his heirs; while for a woman, the simple act of giving birth to a child (biological) makes them (mother and child) rightful heirs of one another. A few illustrations will elucidate this.

The Muslim children of a Muslim couple who married legally will inherit from their parents and vice-versa. Supposing any of the children happens to be a non-Muslim, he will neither inherit from them nor will they inherit from him due to difference of religion which is an impediment to inheritance.

At this point let’s spell out what difference of religion really mean. Some scholars are of the view that each religion should be taken on its face- value while others argue that there are two religions only: Islam and others. Therefore, if we take a hypothetical family consisting of a Muslim father, Christian mother and Jewish child for example, based on the first opinion, none of them will inherit from one another, while the second view gives the mother and the child the right to inherit from each other. How they do that is left to them.

A Muslim man is permitted to marry a pious, reserved and religious Christian or Jewish woman. The children that result from such a marriage will inherit from the man and vice-versa if they are Muslims. Assuming the children decide to follow the religion of their mother, they will inherit from her only and vice-versa.
- The children of a Muslim man who marries a woman that is neither a Christian nor a Jew such as a Buddhist, a Zoroastrian or an atheist will not inherit from him since they are not his legal children even though they may be his biological children. Why? Such marriage is not recognised by Shari’ah, hence it’s void. The children will inherit from their mother only and vice-versa. And if they are Muslims, they will also not inherit from her due to difference of religion.
- A Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim man even if he is a pious, reserved and religious Christian or Jew. If the marriage takes place its void. But the children will inherit from her (and she will inherit from them) because she is their biological mother IF THEY ARE MUSLIMS, otherwise the difference of religion condition will set in and bar them from inheriting from one another.
- If a man and woman fornicates, (Allah forbids), and a child is born as a result, whether or not they get married afterwards, the man is the biological father but NOT the legal father of the child but the woman is both the biological and legal mother. Hence such a child will inherit from his mother ONLY and vice-versa.

This is evident from a Hadith narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al- ‘As who said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) decided regarding one who was treated as a member of a family after the death of his father, to whom he was attributed when the heirs said he was one of them, that if he was the child of a slave-woman whom the father owned when he had intercourse with her, he was included among those who sought his inclusion, but received none of the inheritance which was previously divided; he, however, received his portion of the inheritance which had not already been divided; but if the father to whom he was attributed had disowned him, he was not joined to the heirs. If he was a child of a slave-woman whom the father did not possess or of a free woman with whom he had illicit intercourse, he was not joined to the heirs and did not inherit even if the one to whom he was attributed is the one who claimed paternity, since he was a child of fornication whether his mother was free or a slave.” Abu Dawud Collection. The rulings in (c), (d) and (e) above do not imply that Islam condones any of these acts. The perpetrators are to be duly punished according to Shari’ah. We are interested in the inheritance of innocent

children that are products of these unfortunate incidences.

A child will in addition inherit from his mother only after li’an (cursing for adultery) which happens when a man denies the paternity of his wife’s pregnancy and they end up swearing and cursing themselves. The Hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As above confirms this: “…but if the father to whom he was attributed had disowned him, he was not joined to the heirs…”
- An adopted child will not inherit from his adoptive parents and vice- versa due to lack of biological relationship between them. But they can make a will in his/her favour which must not exceed 1/3 of their estates.
- In-vitro fertilisation: This is the process of fertilising an egg with sperm in an artificial environment such as test-tube. A child produced using this method is popularly called “test tube baby.”

The procedure involves stimulation of the woman with injected medications to develop multiple follicles (egg-containing structures) in the ovaries. Thereafter, a trans-vaginal ultrasound-guided procedure is performed

to remove the eggs from the follicles which are fertilized in the laboratory with her partner’s sperm. The embryos are finally placed in the woman’s uterus where they will hopefully implant and develop to result in a live birth.

According to Sheikh ‘Abd-Allaah al-Jibreen as cited by Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajjid, in-vitro fertilization is permissible in Islam if certain conditions are fulfilled. They are:

That there is a real need for that. A delay of one or two years in having children is not an excuse for the couple to pursue this or similar methods. Rather they should be patient, for Allah may grant them a way out soon without them doing anything that is haram.
The woman should not uncover her ‘awrah before men when there are female staffs available.
It is not permissible for the husband to masturbate; rather he may be intimate with his wife without penetration, and produce semen in this manner.
The woman’s eggs and man’s sperm should not be kept in a freezer for later use, or another appointment, and there should not be any delay in placing them in the woman’s uterus. Rather that should be done immediately without any delay, lest they be mixed with others or be used for other people.
The sperm must come from the husband and the egg from the wife, and be implanted in the wife’s uterus. Anything else is not permissible at all.
There should be complete trust in the doctors who are doing this procedure.

As far as inheritance is concerned, the most important condition. This does not imply that others are not important as well. When (v) is fulfilled, the child will inherit from both the father and mother and vice- versa. However, if there happens to be a mix-up such that another man’s sperm was used to fertilise the wife’s egg, the child will inherit from the mother only. Conversely, if the husband’s sperm was used to fertilise another woman’s egg, the child will inherit from the father only. In a situation whereby the sperm and egg of others were used, there will be no inheritance between the child and his “so-called” parents because they are no-more-than adoptive parents. Note that even if the child develops in the wife’s womb, so long as it’s not her egg, the biological connection that will necessitate inheritance between them is missing.

Son

If he is the only heir, he inherits the whole estate of his deceased father or mother.
When other heirs are inheriting along with him, he becomes a residuary i.e. takes whatever remains after other heirs have gotten their shares.
Two or more sons share equally the whole estate if they are the only heirs.
Two or more sons share equally the residue of the estate when other heirs are present.

Daughter

If a deceased has only one surviving daughter, she inherits half (½) of the estate irrespective of whether she is the only heir or not.
Two or more daughters share equally two-third (2/3) of the estate whether or not they are the only heirs.

One may be tempted to ask: what happens to the remaining ½ of the estate when a daughter is the only heir or the remaining 1/3 of the estate when two or more daughters are the only heirs? In other words, what is the ruling when available heirs do not exhaust the estate? Jurists differed on this. The various opinions are:

The residue goes to the bait-ul-mal (public treasury) because no heir should receive more than what Allah has prescribed for him/her.
1. The public treasury has been misused; therefore the heirs should redistribute the residue among themselves based on the initial sharing formula. This is technically called Radd.
1. The residue should be given to the cognates (relations whose connection to the deceased is traceable through the mother or female line) who are traditionally non-heirs.

Radd (reduction of base number) and inheritance of cognates.

Son(s) and daughter(s)

In a situation whereby the deceased leaves behind a combination of sons and daughters in whatever form (i.e. son and daughter, son and daughters, sons and daughter or sons and daughters), they share the whole estate if they are the only heirs in a ratio of 2 to 1. Meaning that, a son is given twice the share of a daughter. But if other heirs (that are not excluded by them) are present, they [son(s) and daughter(s)] become residuaries in the sense that they will share the left-over or residue after other heirs have received their shares in the same ratio of 2 to 1. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Allah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…” Quran 4:11

Non-Muslims and Muslims who do not understand their religion argue that Islam is unjust to women in terms of inheritance. If not, why should it grant the male twice the share of the female even though they are children of the same parents? Answering this question, Hojjat al-Islam Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani says, “… Islam’s position on inheritance is in reality to the benefit of the woman. In the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyya), the daughters and wives of the deceased were deprived of inheritance and all the wealth of the deceased went to his sons. Islam, however, came and annulled the laws of the ignorant times and made women amongst the inheritors of the deceased. From its inception, Islam gave women independence in ownership and monetary matters, this being a matter that has only but recently entered the laws of European nations. Even though apparently the inheritance of a man is double that of a woman, when we probe into the matter more thoroughly, we find that the inheritance of a woman is two times that of a man. The responsibilities that have been placed on the shoulders of men necessitates that they spend half of their income on women. Any given man is obligated to spend money on his spouse’s home, clothes, food, and other expenses, while the cost of living of himself and his children are on his shoulders. This responsibility of upkeep is to such an extent that even if a woman’s social position necessitates her having a servant and she herself does not have the means to pay for such a person, the salary of the aforementioned servant is upon her husband. These responsibilities are on the shoulders of men, whereas we see that women are exempted from paying any living expenses, including their own – whether clothes or food. Therefore and in all practicality, it is (the) woman who has more of a portion of wealth than (the) man…”

“… Consider, for example, that the sum total of all the wealth of the world is 30 billion pounds. Say that this wealth was distributed by means of inheritance between men and women. From this amount of money, 20 billion pounds went to men and 10 billion went to women. Since women do not have to spend on themselves, they can save that 10 billion and become partners with the men in the remaining 20 billion (since the portion of men is spent on women and children). So, half of the portion of men, which is 10 billion pounds goes to women. When we add this amount to the portion that the women saved from before, their sum total becomes 20 billion pounds…”

“…In the end, it is possible for us to say that if it is true that the expenses of the woman are upon the shoulders of the man, then what use does woman have in hoarding a large amount of wealth? We can answer by saying that the dowry and inheritance of the woman is like a savings that is for her future, in case she separates from her spouse or her spouse dies. It is so she can lead a comfortable and respected life in case such events happen.

But the reason that the expenses of the woman is upon the man is so that she can, without any sort of mental anxiety, raise good and pious children. In this way the family, which is the cornerstone of society, will be filled with warmth and love…”

Grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)

In the absence of a deceased’s son(s) and daughter(s), his/her grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) through son(s) will “jump” and inherit all the rights and privileges of the substantive son(s) and daughter(s) respectively. Therefore,

A grandson inherits the whole estate if he is the only heir or becomes a residuary in the presence of other heirs.
Two or more grandsons share equally the whole estate if they are the only heirs or share equally the residue if other heirs are present.
A granddaughter takes ½ of the estate, while two or more granddaughters share equally 2/3 of the estate in the presence or absence of other heirs.
A combination of grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) in whatever form share the whole estate if they are the only heirs or share the residue when other heirs exist in the ratio of 2 to 1, i.e. each grandson takes twice the share of each granddaughter.

Daughter(s) and granddaughter(s)

Note that even though a granddaughter through a son acts like a daughter in the absence of her father, this right is limited in the presence of an actual daughter, because the maximum share of daughters, granddaughters or a combination of daughters and granddaughters is 2/3 of the estate. Thus, whenever daughter(s) and granddaughter(s) are inheriting together, the former get their full shares while the latter distribute the residue of 2/3 equally if any. As a result,

One daughter, one granddaughter: Daughter gets ½; granddaughter gets 1/6, making 2/3.
One daughter, two or more granddaughters: Daughter gets ½; granddaughters share 1/6 equally.
More than one daughter, any number of granddaughters: Daughters share 2/3 equally; granddaughters get nothing.

This is the application of rules 2 and 3 of exclusion i.e. a daughter does not exclude grandchildren [children of her late brother(s)] and two or more daughters exclude strictly granddaughters respectively.

Daughter(s) and grandson(s)

We know that sons and daughters share the whole estate or its residue in a ratio of 2 to 1. In the absence of a son, the grandson through son will “jump” and replace him but he does not have the same “power” as the son if he is inheriting together with substantive daughter(s). He takes the residue after the daughter(s) and other heirs if present have received their shares. Thus,

One daughter, one grandson: Daughter receives ½; grandson receives the residue. Residue here means ½ in the absence of other heirs or whatever is left when other heirs are present and have gotten their shares.
One daughter, more than one grandson: Daughter gets ½; grandsons share residue equally.
More than one daughter, one grandson: Daughters share 2/3 equally; grandson is given the residue.
Two or more daughters, two or more grandsons: Daughters receive and share 2/3 proportionately; grandsons share the residue equally.

Daughter(s), grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)

As mentioned earlier, grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) divide the whole estate or its residue in a ratio of 2 to 1. But when inheriting along with substantive daughter(s), they will share the residue of the estate after the daughter(s) and other heirs (if present) have received their shares. Hence,

A daughter, grandson(s), and granddaughter(s): Daughter receives ½; grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 1.
Two or more daughters, grandson(s) and granddaughter(s): Daughters gets 2/3 which they will share equally; grandson(s) and granddaughter(s) share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 1.

This is the application of rule 4 of exclusion which says that two or more daughters do not exclude grandchildren comprising of at least a grandson.

Son(s) and grandchildren

A son, sons or combination of son(s) and daughter(s) will inherit the whole estate or the whole residue; therefore there will be no any leftover for grandchildren to inherit from. This means that grandchildren get nothing. Recall rule 1 of exclusion: a son excludes all grandchildren.

CHAPTER 10: INHERITANCE OF SPOUSES

Inheritance of spouses depends on the presence or absence of:

Son(s)
- Daughter(s)
- Male descendants
- Female descendants

Let’s call this group of heirs “beta.” Male descendants refer to grandson through son, great-grandson through grandson through son, etc., while female descendants are granddaughter through son, great- granddaughter through grandson through son, and so on. Remember that granddaughter through daughter is a non-heir; great-granddaughter through grandson through daughter is a non-heir; likewise great-granddaughter through granddaughter through son is also a non-heir.

Husband

He receives half (½) of his late wife’s estate if she has no surviving member of beta with him, from a previous marriage or any circumstance that legalises a child to inherit from his mother.
The husband is entitled to one-quarter (¼) of his late wife’s estate if she leaves behind at least one member of beta with him, from a previous marriage or any circumstance that legalises a child to inherit from his mother.

Supposing a woman has a child outside wedlock, gets married and eventually passes on without a legitimate child, the husband will inherit ¼ of her estate because the child is recognised by Shari’ah; though other factors have to be considered like difference of religion and so on. We will like to re-emphasise that sexual relations between unmarried individuals is forbidden in Islam. As a result, both parties are to be punished as appropriate. Nevertheless, the child that results is as clean and innocent as any legitimate child.

Wife

The share of a wife from her late husband’s estate if he has no surviving member of beta with her or from a previous marriage is ¼. Two, three or four wives are to share the ¼ equally.
If the husband has at least one surviving member of beta with the wife or from a previous marriage, she receives one-eighth (1/8). Two, three or four wives share the 1/8 equally.

CHAPTER 11: INHERITANCE OF PARENTS

Father

He inherits the whole estate of his son or daughter if he is the only heir.
He gets one-sixth (1/6) of the estate if the deceased leaves behind
1. Son(s)
1. Male descendant(s); or any of these combination of heirs:
1. Son(s) and daughter(s).
1. Daughter(s) and male descendant(s).
1. Male and female descendants.
The father inherits 1/6 of the estate PLUS the residue in the presence of daughter(s), female descendants(s) or a combination of daughter(s) and female descendant(s).

The rationale behind giving him the residue is that females do not exhaust the estate, hence there is likely to be left-over after all heirs have gotten their shares. But exclusive males or combination of males and females as in (2) above inherit the whole residue, thus, the father receives just 1/6.

Mother

The mother’s share depends on the presence or absence of a set of

heirs we shall refer to as “gamma.” It comprises of:

Son(s)
- Daughter(s)
- Male descendant(s)
- Female descendant(s)
- Two or more full brothers or sisters
- Two or more consanguine brothers or sisters
- Two or more uterine brothers or sisters
- A full brother and a full sister
- A consanguine brother and a consanguine sister
- A uterine brother and a uterine sister
The mother receives one-third (1/3) of her son’s/daughter’s estate if he/she does not leave behind any member of gamma.
She gets 1/6 of the estate in the presence of any member of gamma.

By “any member” we mean at least one out of the ten classes listed above. Note that one son, one daughter, one male descendant and one female descendant each makes a class, but a single brother or a single sister of whatever kind (full, consanguine or uterine) does not make a class.

Secondly, the mere presence of two or more brothers or sisters relegates mother from 1/3 to 1/6 EVEN IF THEY ARE EXCLUDED. For instance, a man passes on and leaves behind a wife, mother, father and two full sisters. How will his estate be distributed? The wife receives ¼. Mother should have gotten 1/3 but full sisters will partially exclude her to 1/6. Incidentally, father excludes full sisters (rule 18), meaning that the remaining heirs are mother and father. Now, since the sisters are not inheriting, will mother be entitled to 1/3? No, she still gets 1/6 because the rule says “in the presence of any member of gamma,” not “when any member of gamma is inheriting along with her.” The residue then goes to the father.

Let’s assume the deceased leaves behind a brother and a sister, two brothers or two sisters that are not of the same kind such as full and consanguine, uterine and full or similar combination. Will his/her mother still be excluded from 1/3 to 1/6? Definitely, even if one excludes the other. Supposing a woman is survived by her husband, mother, full brother and consanguine sister; ½ of the estate goes to the husband and mother receives 1/6 due to the presence of two siblings even though full brother excludes consanguine sister. The residue is given to the full brother (to be discussed in a moment).

In extraordinary cases called ‘Umariyyataini, mother inherits 1/3 of the residue. This shall be discussed in chapter eight (special cases).

CHAPTER 12: INHERITANCE OF GRANDPARENTS

Grandfather

Call to mind that paternal grandfather is the one that inherits. Maternal grandfather is a non-heir. In the absence of a deceased’s father, his/her grandfather replaces the father. If the grandfather is also absent great- grandfather takes the place of the father. In his absence also, the great-great- grandfather if alive (but I wonder if he will) “jumps down” and inherits from the deceased. Though according to Imam Malik, only two levels of grandparents are entitled to inherit i.e. grandfather and great-grandfather, so great-great-grandfather and his ascendants are non-heirs. But the difference of opinion here is insignificant since the probability that great-great- grandfather will inherit is very minimal because first, he has to be alive; and secondly, father, grandfather and great-grandfather all have to be absent. Consequently being considered as an heir or non-heir practically makes no difference. Hence, like father, the grandfather

Inherits the whole estate if he is the only heir.
Receives 1/6 in the presence of son(s), male descendant(s) or a combination of son(s) and daughter(s), male descendant(s) and daughter(s) or male and female descendant(s).
Gets 1/6 + residue in the presence of daughter(s), female descendant(s) or a combination of the two.

Recall that father totally excludes full and consanguine brothers/sisters (rules 17 & 18) but grandfather do not have the ability to do that according to the more popular view held by Jurists. Therefore in this context, there are two possibilities:

Grandfather inheriting along with full or consanguine brothers/sisters only, i.e. they are the only heirs, no other heir is present. Here, grandfather has two choices:
1. 1/3 of the estate.
1. Muqasama (sharing).

This means that he shares the estate together with full or consanguine brothers/sisters as if he were one of them. Thus, he will be considered as a full brother in the presence of full brothers, full sisters or a combination of full brothers and sisters. Likewise, he will be counted as a consanguine brother if consanguine brothers, consanguine sisters or a combination of consanguine brothers and consanguine sisters are inheriting. In a situation whereby a combination of full(s) and consanguine(s) are inheriting which is only possible when the deceased leaves behind one full sister and one or more consanguine sisters (to be discussed shortly), grandfather acts as a full brother.

Grandfather has the free will to choose between these two options. And naturally, he is expected to pick the one that gives him a larger share of the estate depending on the circumstance. Details in chapter seven.

Inheritance of grandfather along with full or consanguine brothers/sisters in the presence of other heirs.

These “other heirs” must not include father, son(s) or male descendant(s) because father excludes both grandfather on one hand as well as full and consanguine brothers/sisters on the other while son(s) and male descendant(s) exclude full and consanguine brothers/sisters. In this scenario, grandfather has three options:

1/6 of the whole estate.
1. 1/3 of the residue (after other heirs have received their shares).
1. Muqasama (sharing).

He picks whichever is the most favourable to him. Notice that uterine brothers and sisters do not inherit together with grandfather because he excludes them (rule 19).

Grandmother

In the absence of mother, either grandmother i.e. paternal, maternal or both takes her place and inherit from the deceased. As a result,

Paternal grandmother gets 1/6 of the estate in the presence or absence of other heirs.
Maternal grandmother receives 1/6 of the estate in the presence or absence of other heirs.
Both paternal and maternal grandmothers share 1/6 equally in the presence or absence of other heirs.

Let’s shed more light on 1 and 2 above. When paternal grandmother is the only surviving heir, she gets 1/6 of the estate. She receives the same share (1/6) in the presence of other heirs which must not include maternal grandmother, otherwise they are to share the 1/6 equally (3 above). Likewise if maternal grandmother is the only heir, she is given 1/6 of the estate. When she is inheriting along with other heirs not including paternal grandmother, she receives the same 1/6. Consider the table below:

	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3
	Mother	Father
Level 1	Mat GM (a)	Pat GM (d)	Pat GF
Level 2	Mat GGM (b)	Pat GGM (e)	Pat GGM (g)
Level 3	Mat GGGM (c)	Pat GGGM (f)	Pat GGGM (h)

Where Mat = Maternal

Pat = Paternal

GM = Grandmother GF = Grandfather

GGM = Great-grandmother GGGM = Great-great-grandmother

Using the table to expand rules 1, 2 and 3 above, when BOTH level 1 grandmothers are absent, a single surviving level 2 grandmother is given 1/6 of the estate. Two level 2 grandmothers share 1/6 equally and supposing the 3 of them are present, they still share 1/6 equally. Similarly, in the absence of all levels 1 and 2 grandmothers, one surviving level 3 grandmother inherits 1/6. Two of them share 1/6 equally and if all 3 are alive, they are given 1/6 to share in equal proportions.

As stated earlier, Imam Malik believes that only two levels of grandparents are rightful heirs, thus according to him, level 3 grandmothers will not inherit, but this is contrary to the opinion of most Jurists who did not specify a limit to the level of ascendants. Secondly, Malik considers paternal great-grandmother through paternal grandfather (i.e. g) as a non-heir. This also conflicts with the view of eminent companions like Zaid ibn Thabit, ‘Abdullahi ibn ‘Abbas and Jurists of later times including Abu Hanifa.

Nevertheless, examining the two opinions, we may conclude that practically the divergence is negligible given that it is quite rare to see level 2 grandmothers inherit from a deceased not to talk of level 3 grandmothers. To illustrate this, how many of us grew up to see our great-grandmothers alive? And what is the probability that she will still be alive to witness our death considering that our mothers and grandmothers have earlier passed on which will enable her to take the place of our mothers and inherit from us? Maybe zero point zero zero zero something (0.000…), an insignificant figure. Therefore it is quite irrelevant whether paternal great-grandmother(s) and level 3 grandmothers are listed among rightful heirs or not.

The general principle of exclusion is that heirs closer to the deceased exclude those that are farther. That is why a son excludes grandson and mother excludes grandmother for example. Now, among the grandmothers the same principle applies. This brings us to…

Rule 22a: A nearer grandmother excludes a farther grandmother ON EITHER SIDE.

Supposing in level 1 paternal grandmother passes on before the deceased, the surviving maternal grandmother in level 1 will exclude all grandmothers (both paternal and maternal) in level 2. That is what is meant by “either side.” Hence she receives 1/6 of the estate. Similarly, in the absence of maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother will do the same. This is the opinion of Imams Abu Hanifa and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Rule 22b: A nearer maternal grandmother excludes farther grandmothers on either side but a paternal grandmother DOES NOT exclude a farther maternal grandmother.

grandmother (c) if she is alive. Thus, the three of them (e, g and c) will share 1/6 equally.

CHAPTER 13 :INHERITANCE OF SIBLINGS

Uterine brother

He receives 1/6 of the estate when alone or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude him.

Son, grandson (or his descendant), daughter, granddaughter through a son, father and paternal grandfather (or his ascendant) EACH excludes uterine brother (rule 19).

Two or more uterine brothers share 1/3 of the estate equally.

Uterine sister

She is given 1/6 of the estate if she is the only heir or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude her. Note that rule 19 also applies to her.
Two or more uterine sisters share 1/3 of the estate equally.

Uterine brother(s) and sister(s)

A combination of uterine brother(s) and sister(s) share 1/3 of the estate EQUALLY. The general rule of a male having double the share of a female does not apply to them.

The uterine sibling we recall has the same mother but different father with the deceased. Similarly, any individual that will inherit from his mother only is considered a uterine. For instance, a woman ‘W’ has a son ‘A’ outside wedlock. (Islam does not encourage this. This is just a hypothetical example IN CASE it happens; nevertheless, appropriate punishment applies). She then marries ‘X’ and gave birth to a daughter ‘B’. Unfortunately, ‘X’ denies her paternity through li’an. The marriage did not work out, so they divorced. Later, she marries ‘Y’ who already has a wife ‘Z’ with a son, ‘P’. As the second wife, ‘W’ is blessed with two daughters, ‘C’ and ‘D’. So, what happens if:

‘Y’ dies?

His two wives, ‘Z’ and ‘W’ will share 1/8 equally while the children, ‘P’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ are to distribute the residue in a ration of 2 to 1 to 1 (2:1:1).

‘W’ passes on when the status quo remains (i.e. ‘Y’ is absent)?

Her four children, ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ will share her estate in a ratio of 2 to 1 to 1 to 1 (2:1:1:1).

‘C’ dies (given that ‘Y’ and ‘W’ are absent)?

Her uterine brother and sister, ‘A’ and ‘B’ gets 1/3 of the estate which they will share equally; her full sister ‘D’ is given ½ and the residue goes to ‘P’, the consanguine brother (Inheritance of full sister and consanguine brother shall be discussed shortly).

‘P’ is absent?

His mother ‘Z’ inherits 1/3 and his surviving consanguine sister ‘D’ is given ½.

‘A’ passes on?

‘B’ and ‘D’, his uterine sisters share 1/3 equally.

Full brother

He inherits the whole estate if he is the only heir
In the presence of other heirs who do not exclude him, he receives the residue.
Two or more full brothers share the whole estate equally if they are the only heirs or distribute the residue equally in the presence of other heirs.

Son, grandson or his descendant and father each excludes full brother (rules 15, 16, 17).

Full sister

Like a daughter, she is entitled to:

½ of the estate when alone or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude her.
Two or more full sisters share 2/3 of the estate equally if they are the only heirs or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude them. The same heirs that exclude full brother are the ones that exclude full

Sister

When a full sister is inheriting along with daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s) or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s) through son(s), she receives residue of the estate. In this situation, she acts as a full brother and excludes whomsoever he excludes.
Two or more full sisters inheriting along with daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s) or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s) through son(s), share the residue in equal proportions.

Note that granddaughter(s) can only inherit along with a single daughter in view of the fact that they cannot exhaust the 2/3 maximum share of daughters. Hence, in the presence of two or more daughters who receive 2/3, granddaughter(s) will be excluded. That is why the combinations in 3 and 4 above are both that of (a single) daughter and granddaughter(s).

Full brother(s) and full sister(s)

A combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) share the whole estate in a ratio of 2 to 1 if they are the only heirs.
In the presence of other heirs who do not exclude them, they share the residue in the same proportion (i.e. 2:1).

Consanguine brother

He inherits the whole estate if he is the only heir.
In the presence of other heirs who do not exclude him, he receives the residue.
Two or more consanguine brothers share the whole estate equally if they are alone or distribute the residue equally when other heirs who do not exclude them are present.

Remember that any heir that excludes full brother automatically excludes all other members of alpha which consanguine brother is a member. Thus, son, grandson or his descendant and father each excludes consanguine brother. In addition, full brother excludes consanguine brother (rule 8).

Consanguine sister

When she is the only heir or in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude her, a single consanguine sister gets ½ of the estate while two or more consanguine sisters inherit 2/3.

A consanguine sister is excluded by those who exclude consanguine brother. She is also excluded by two or more full sisters (rule 6). One full sister does not exclude her (rule 5).

When inheriting along with daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s) or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s), a consanguine sister is given the residue of the estate. Two or more consanguine sisters share the residue equally.

Consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

A combination of consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s) distribute the whole estate in a proportion of 2 to 1 when they are the only heirs.
In the presence of other heirs who do not exclude them, they receive the residue and share in a ratio of 2 to 1.

Full sister(s), consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

In the presence or absence of other heirs, whenever they are not excluded, the following apply:

One full sister, one consanguine brother: Full sister = ½; consanguine brother = residue. Residue means ½ in the absence of other heirs or the leftover after other heirs have received their shares.
One full sister, more than one consanguine brother: Full sister = ½; consanguine brothers share the residue equally.
One full sister, one consanguine sister: Full sister = ½; consanguine sister = 1/6.
One full sister, more than one consanguine sister: Full sister = ½; consanguine sisters share 1/6 equally.
More than one full sister, one consanguine brother: Full sisters = 2/3; consanguine brother = residue.
More than one full sister, more than one consanguine brother: Full sisters = 2/3; consanguine brothers share the residue equally.
More than one full sister, any number of consanguine sisters: Full sisters = 2/3; consanguine sisters get nothing.
One full sister, any number of consanguine brothers, any number of consanguine sisters: Full sister = ½; consanguine brothers and sisters share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 1.
More than one full sister, any number of consanguine brothers, any number of consanguine sisters: Full sister = 2/3; consanguine brothers and sisters share the residue in a 2 to 1 ratio.

Full brother, consanguine brother(s), consanguine sister(s)

Full brother excludes consanguine brother (rule 8) and by extension, consanguine sister. So, in the presence of at least a full brother, whether he is inheriting alone or along with full sister, consanguine brother(s) and sister(s) receive nothing.

CHAPTER 14 : RESIDUARIES (‘ASABAH)

These are heirs who:

Inherit the whole estate when they are the only heirs but in the presence of other heirs who do not exclude them, they receive the residue.
When they are the only heirs, they are given ½ or 2/3 of the estate, but in the presence of some “specific” heirs, they
1. Share the residue with those “specific” heirs, or
1. Receive the residue after some “specific” heirs [different from those in (a)] have gotten their shares of the estate.

In other words, there are 3 categories of residuaries:

Residuaries by themselves (i.e. those that satisfy 1 above).
1. Residuaries by another (i.e. those that satisfy 2a above).
1. Residuaries with another (i.e. those that satisfy 2b above).

Residuaries by themselves (‘Asabah bin-Nafs)

These are:

Son
1. Grandson or his descendant
  1. Father
  1. Grandfather or his ascendant
  1. Full brother
  1. Consanguine brother
  1. Full brother’s son or his descendant
  1. Consanguine brother’s son or his descendant
  1. Full paternal uncle
  1. Half paternal uncle
  1. Full paternal uncle’s son or his descendant
  1. Half paternal uncle’s son or his descendant

We have looked at inheritance of (a)–(f). The same ruling applies to other members of the set i.e. they inherit the whole estate or the residue when other heirs who do not exclude them are present. Of course, son and father cannot be excluded by any heir. Likewise, grandson (or his descendant) and grandfather (or his ascendant) in the absence of son and father respectively cannot be excluded. position in the hierarchy takes the residue, while the second one is given his due share of the estate.

For example, a man leaves behind a wife, two sons and father. How will his estate be distributed? The wife is given 1/8. This is clear. But the two sons on one hand and the father on the other hand are both residuaries by themselves. However, since the sons are above the father (i.e. they occupy the 1^st position while the father comes 3^rd), he (the father) is given 1/6 of the estate while the two sons share the residue equally.

Supposing the surviving heirs were to be grandson, grandfather and consanguine brother; what happens? We know that grandfather can inherit along with a consanguine brother but grandson excludes the latter. As a result, grandfather receives 1/6 while grandson gets the residue given that he is above grandfather in hierarchy.

Residuaries by another (‘Asabah bil-ghair)

This category has 4 heirs. They are:

Daughter
Granddaughter through son
Full sister
Consanguine sister

Each is entitled to ½ of the estate if alone while two or more share 2/3 of the estate equally if they are not excluded. Note that daughter cannot be excluded. Now, if any of these listed heirs is inheriting along with her male counterpart (i.e. son, grandson, full brother and consanguine brother respectively), she is no longer given ½ or 2/3 as the case may be. She becomes a residuary with the male. This has already been discussed in the last chapter under the subheadings: son(s) and daughter(s), grandson(s) and granddaughter(s), full brother(s) and full sister(s) as well as consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s).

Residuaries with another (‘Asabah ma’al ghair)

These are full sister and consanguine sister. In the presence of daughter(s), granddaughter(s) through son(s) or a combination of daughter and granddaughter(s), full sister or consanguine sister (if not excluded) will abandon her ½ (if only one) or 2/3 (if more than one) to become a residuary.

For instance, the heirs of a deceased are three daughters, two granddaughters through son, one full sister and a grandmother. How will the estate be allotted to them? The three daughters will share 2/3 equally, grandmother gets 1/6 while full sister is given the residue. The two granddaughters are excluded (rule 3).

Assuming a grandson is added to the heirs, daughters will still get their 2/3, grandmother retains her 1/6, but now the granddaughters will be the residuaries due to the presence of grandson. So, the three of them (i.e. grandson and two granddaughters) will share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 1 to

1. This implies that full sister is excluded (rule 18).

Note that if the estate gets exhausted such that there is no left-over, residuaries receive nothing. Exceptions to this rule are son and father who are “basic heirs.” NO circumstance will arise in which the duo will become “spectators.” In their absence, grandson (or his descendant) and grandfather (or his ascendant) respectively replaces them to become basic heirs.

CHAPTER 15 : PARTIAL EXCLUSION

There are two types of exclusion: total and partial. As defined earlier, total exclusion means preventing a rightful heir from getting any share of a deceased’s estate due to the presence of another heir. We looked at 22 rules of (total) exclusion. Now, partial exclusion is the reduction of an heir’s share of the estate due to the presence of another heir. Such reduction can be

From a higher share to a lower share.
From the whole estate to a share.
From a share to residue.
From whole estate to residue.

Thus, from our discussion so far, the following can be deduced:

Partial exclusion (P.E) rule 1: Son, daughter, male descendant and female descendant each excludes husband from ½ to ¼.

P.E rule 2: Son, daughter, male descendant and female descendant each excludes wife/wives from ¼ to 1/8.

P.E rule 3: Son, daughter, male descendant and female descendant each excludes mother from 1/3 to 1/6.

P.E rule 4: Two or more brothers and/or sisters of the same kind or a “combination of kinds” excludes mother from 1/3 to 1/6.

P.E rule 5: Son, male descendant or a combination of son and daughter, daughter and male descendant as well as male and female descendants each excludes father, grandfather or his ascendant from inheriting the whole estate to 1/6.

P.E rule 6: Daughter, female descendant or a combination of daughter and female descendant each excludes father, grandfather or his ascendant from having the whole estate to 1/6 plus the residue (if any).

P.E rule 7: A (single) daughter excludes granddaughter from ½ to 1/6.

P.E rule 8: A daughter excludes two or more granddaughters from 2/3 to 1/6. Remember that two or more daughters totally exclude strictly granddaughters.

P.E rule 9: A daughter or female descendant excludes full or consanguine sister from ½ to residue.

P.E rule 10: A daughter or female descendant excludes two or more full or consanguine sisters from 2/3 to residue.

P.E rule 11: A full sister excludes consanguine sister from ½ to 1/6.

P.E rule 12: A full sister excludes two or more consanguine sisters from 2/3 to 1/6.

P.E rule 13: Father, mother, husband and wife each excludes son, male descendant or a combination of male and female descendants from inheriting the whole estate to residue.

P.E rule 14: Father, mother, husband and wife each do not exclude daughter or female descendant from ½; likewise two or more daughters or female descendants are not excluded from 2/3 by them unless the daughter(s) or female descendant(s) is/are inheriting along son or male descendant respectively in which case, they will become residuaries.

CHAPTER 16: ISLAMIC SUCCESSION LAW (7 FUNDAMENTALS)

These Seven fundamentals apply dynamically and simultaneously for calculating Islamic inheritance shares. You cannot leave one or more of these fundamentals to complete calculations per Sunni Islamic inheritance law.

FIRST – Eligibility & Reasons

The Eligibility of Islamic Inheritance distribution depends on many factors. For example, the certainty of death, heirs must be alive, Assets must be left by the deceased and free from all debts, expenses, and legal claims, and must have passed through Probate and/or settlement process. Reasons include a marital tie, blood relations, association of wala, kinsman, etc. And provided no impediments to inheritance.

SECOND – Prescribed sharer

There are twelve fixed or prescribed sharers that include Husband or Wife, Daughters (or Granddaughters), Father (or Grandfather), Mother (or Grandmothers), Full and Paternal Sisters, Maternal Brothers, and Maternal Sisters. The Shares for Granddaughters (i.e., Daughters of Sons how low soever), Grandfather (i.e., Father of Father), Grandmothers (i.e., Mother of Father, Mother of Mother how high soever) derived from Qiyas called analogical deductions. The Prescribed or fixed sharers fall into one of the fixed sharers 1/8, 1/6, 1/3, 1/2, 1/4, and 2/3. However, these shares cannot stay fixed in Radd and Awal scenarios. In the Radd situation, the total share is less than 1 (or 100%), so all shares are increased except Spouse shares to make the total share 1 (or 100%) provided Residuary does not survive. On the other hand, the Total share is more than 1 (or 100%) in the Awal situation, so all shares are reduced to make the total share 1.

THIRD – Residuary sharer

Calculate Residuary share = 1 – Fixed or Prescribed sharers. The residue is less than 1 (or 100%) in the case of Radd. The residue is more than 1 (or 100%) in the case of Awal. The residue is Zero in the case of Kamil, where the Residuary does not receive any share. Residuary are the Sons (or Sons of Sons how low soever), Daughters (or Daughters of Sons how low soever), Father (or Father of Father how high soever), Full and Paternal Siblings, and the Consanguine male relative of deceased.

FOURTH – Conditions

Every share has conditions attached to it. For example, the Daughter share is one-half (i.e., 1/2) if Single and two-thirds (i.e., 2/3) if Multiple with no Son(s) alive in both situations.

FIFTH – Blocking Rules

Every share has to go through full and partial blocking or exclusion (called “Hajb” in Arabic) rules except the Spouse share in some conditions as per Islamic law. For example, Father blocks Father of Father, Sons blocks Sons of Sons, and so on.

SIXTH – Apply to Assets

Calculate the final share after deducting funeral expenses, personal debts, taxes, zakat, kaffarat, and bequest. Muslim jurists have different opinions regarding paying the Zakat from the deceased person’s property. According to the majority of fuqaha, it is obligatory to pay Zakat first, and then the residue will be distributed among the heirs. In comparison, the Hanafi school is of the opinion that it is not obligatory. Hanafi school opines that the Zakah will not be deducted because the deceased person is no more aptitude to execute any contract or fulfill a religious duty (Ref. Durr Al-Mukhtar and Hashiyat Ibn Abidin, Redd Al-Mukhtar, 6/760).

SEVENTH – Islamic estate planning

Islamic inheritance law forms the foundation of Islamic estate plans, Islamic Will, and Trusts.

Even though it is relatively simple to learn, you cannot get full confidence until you practice the problems and different scenario examples. Wassiyyah’s Islamic Inheritance course allows practicing your learning through examples using the Mathematics Algebraic expression and LCM (Least common multiple) methods. The Dhawoo ar-Rahim (i.e., distant kindred) eligibility and computations of shares (al-Fard) are outside the scope of this blog.

Other possible situations may exist that cannot fit in these scenarios, for example, Al-Himariyyah, Al-Kdariyyah, Al-Mushtarika, etc., However, these scenarios are unique, and their calculation has a fixed methodology based on Sunni Islamic ruling. These special scenarios do not fall under normal calculations and have been vastly discussed by Islamic scholars, attorneys, and lawyers.

Before we learn about Calculations

It would be best you refer to “7 FUNDAMENTALS OF ISLAMIC INHERITANCE LAW” for dynamic and simultaneous application for calculating Islamic inheritance shares. The dynamicity of application is more applicable to this article than any other. You should be well versed and have a good understanding of all the following items, and that’s why Islamic inheritance law is deemed a complex subject to learn.

Prescribed, Residuary and Distant kindred shares
Conditions and Eligibility
Exclusion or Hajb rules
Madhab’s differences of opinions
Kamil, Radd and Awal principles

Islamic Inheritance Calculations

We will demonstrate rules and the principles of calculating Islamic Inheritance as per Sunni Islamic jurisprudence. Your journey of Islamic Inheritance shares calculations will be more straightforward once you have a good understanding of these four examples.

Calculation of Islamic Inheritance shares

After getting familiarity with Islamic Inheritance rules, you are almost ready to learn about calculation methodology. We will take three cases, Kamil, Radd, and Awal, where most of the inheritor’s situations would match. It may not cover some special situations, but we assure you that you will get a reasonably good idea after learning this methodology after learning. For Steps 1 and 2, watch the Video “Islamic Inheritance shares – Learn in 10 min” under the Youtube channel “Wassiyyah” to learn quickly about Islamic Inheritance shares.

Case 1: Kamil (i.e., Perfect)

When the total share is equal to “ONE” then there is no further calculation required and distribute the inheritance as per the calculation. For example, if Husband and Wife both left with Father, Maternal Grandmother (i.e. Mother of Mother), Single Daughter and Single Daughter of Son. Calculate Total share as per steps below.

Total share = 1/6 (for Father) + 1/6 (for Maternal Grandmother) + 1/2 (for Single Daughter) + 1/6 (for Single Daughter of Son) = 1
Total share is ONE and all shares distributed perfectly without requiring any further calculation (i.e. Kamil or Perfect case).
Apply all shares to assets after deducting debts, taxes, expenses, Zakat, Kaffarat and Bequest (as per Islamic Will or Trust).

Case 2: Awal or Awwal or Aul shares (i.e., Share increased proportionally)

When the total share is greater than “ONE” and irrespective of residuary alive or not, every share needs reduce proportionally to make it “ONE.”

For example, Husband left with Wife, Paternal Grandfather (i.e. Father of Father), Paternal Grandmother (i.e. Mother of Father), Maternal Grandmother (i.e. Mother of Mother) and Multiple daughters. Calculate Total share as per steps below.

Total share = 1/8 (for Wife) + 1/6 (for Paternal Grandfather) + 1/12 (for Paternal Grandfather) + 1/12 (for Paternal Grandmother) + 2/3 (for Multiple daughters) = 9/8
Total share is 9/8 i.e. More than ONE. So all shares needs to be reduced to make the Total share to be ONE.
Use Awal share formulae (in above table) and calculation will give Total share = 1/9 + 4/27 + 2/27 + 2/27 + 16/27 = 1 i.e. ONE that is desired.
Apply all shares to assets after deducting debts, taxes, expenses, Zakat, Kaffarat and Bequest (as per Islamic Will or Trust).

Case 3: Radd share (i.e., Share decreased proportionally)

When a Total share is less than 1 (i.e., ONE) and no residuary is alive, every share needs to increase proportionally to make the Total share equal to”ONE.” You should know the following three things before you apply Radd.

Radd applies to all prescribed sharers except Spouse as per all Fiqh or Madhab (i.e., Islamic jurisprudence school). However, some world countries such as Egypt and India, where legal laws have chosen to include the Spouse’s share, need to increase by applying Radd irrespective of Madhab’s opinions.
Radd is allowed as per Hanafi and Hanbali but is not allowed as per Shafii and Maliki Fiqh (i.e., Madhab).
Radd is not applicable if any Residuaries are alive.

For example (Hanafi and Hanbali), Husband left with Wife, Mother and Single daughter. Calculate Total share as per steps below.

Total share = 1/8 (for Wife) + 1/6 (for Mother) + 1/2 (for Single daughter) = 19/24

Total share is 19/24 i.e. Less than ONE. So all shares (except Wife’s share, However, as we mentioned above some of world countries do allow Radd for Spouse) needs to be increased to make the Total share to be ONE.
Use Radd share formulae (in above table) and calculation will give Total share = 1/8 + 7/32 + 21/32 = 1 i.e. ONE that is desired.
Apply all shares to assets after deducting debts, taxes, expenses, Zakat, Kaffarat and Bequest (as per Islamic Will or Trust).

For example (Shafii and Maliki), Husband left with Wife, Mother and Single daughter. Calculate Total share as per steps below.

Total share = 1/8 (for Wife) + 1/6 (for Mother) + 1/2 (for Single daughter) = 19/24
Total share is 19/24 i.e. Less than ONE. The Residue = 1 – 19/24 = 5/24. The Residue “5/24” will go to Bat-Ul-Mal. In non-Muslim majority countries, the Residue will go to Muslim government registered organization.
Calculation will give Total share = 1/8 + 1/6 + 1/2 + 5/24 = 1 i.e. ONE that is desired.
Apply all shares (except Residue) to assets after deducting debts, taxes, expenses, Zakat, Kaffarat and Bequest (as per Islamic Will or Trust).

Case 4: Residuary share

When a Total share is less than 1 (i.e., ONE) and if residuary is alive, the Residue = 1

Total share will be distributed to Residuary.

For example, Wife left with Husband, Father, Mother, Son and Daughter. Calculate Total share as per steps below.

Total share = 1/4 (for Husband) + 1/6 (for Father) + 1/6 (for Mother) = 7/12.
Total share is 7/12 i.e. Less than ONE. Calculate Residue = 1-7/12 = 5/12.

In this case, Residuary (Son and Daughter as in this case presence of Son convert Daughter to be Residuary) are available. So the Residue “5/12” will be distributed among Son and Daughter in 2: 1 (Male gets the double the share of Females).

Use Residuary male share and Residuary female share formulae (in above table) and calculation will give Total share = 1/4 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 5/36 + 5/18 = 1 i.e. ONE that is desired.
Apply all shares to assets after deducting debts, taxes, expenses, Zakat, Kaffarat and Bequest (as per Islamic Will or Trust).

Radd vs. Residuary case

You should make a note for two things between Radd and Residuary case.

Radd case is only possible if Total Share is less than ONE and Residuary is not alive. If Residuary is alive then, Residue = 1 – Total share will be distributed to Residuary.
If any inheritors are eligible to receive Residue, it must not consider as a Prescribed share. For example, Daughters have prescribed shares, but if Sons are alive, Daughters will not be regarded as Prescribed sharers in the calculations for Residue. The formula for Residue = 1- Total share where Total share equals the sum of “Eligible prescribed shares

CHAPTER 17: INHERITANCE ARITHMETIC (“INHERITHMETIC”)

The interesting aspect of inheritance is the arithmetic component. We say arithmetic NOT mathematics because the operations involved are addition, subtraction, multiplication and division only. So even those who dislike mathematics I believe do not find these four basic operations tasking.

In any inheritance problem, the aim is to determine the MINIMUM BASE NUMBER that will enable the estate to be distributed among the heirs such that each will get his/her PORTION, WITHOUT a remainder or decimal. To start with, let’s define some terms (as used in this text):

Share: – the fraction of the estate an heir is entitled to inherit such as

½, 1/8, 2/3 and so on.

Portion: – the number of segments of an estate an heir will receive. This MUST NECESSARILY be a whole number, not a fraction or number with decimal.
Base number (aslul mas-ala): – as stated above, it’s a WHOLE NUMBER that facilitates the distribution of the estate in accordance with the shares of ALL the heirs and also generates the portion of each.

A numeric example will clarify the concepts. Assuming a father gives his 3 children, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ £120 to share in proportions of 1/3, 1/6 and ½ respectively, how much will each child receive? Literally, the question is saying that £120 should be divided into 3, then ‘A’ gets 1 part out of the 3. Then £120 should be divided by 6, from which ‘B’ receives 1 part out of 6. Similarly, ‘C’ is entitled to 1 out of 2 parts of £120. Therefore,

‘A’ receives £120 ÷ 3 = £40 ‘B’ gets £120 ÷ 6 = £20

‘C’ is given £120 ÷ 2 = £60

To check whether we are correct, we add up what each child receives: £40 + £20 + £60 = £120. This is how a deceased’s estate is distributed. But practically, the estate is made up of houses, cars, clothes, books, etc., and in most cases the total worth is not available. Therefore for convenience, we determine a number which can be divided by each of the DENOMINATORS of the shares under consideration. Note that every ‘fraction’ has a NUMERATOR (number on top of the slash) and a denominator (number at the bottom of the slash). In this case, 1, 1 and 1 are the numerators of 1/3, 1/6 and ½; while 3, 6 and 2 are the denominators. Now, what number can be divided by 3, 6 and 2 WITHOUT a remainder or decimal?

Let’s assume 3. So,

3 ÷ 3 = 1 3 ÷ 6 = 0.5 3 ÷ 2 = 1.5

Its clear 3 is not the number we are looking for because when divided by 6 and 2, the solutions have decimals. What if we consider 6 and 12?

6 ÷ 3 = 2 6 ÷ 6 = 1 6 ÷ 2 = 3

12 ÷ 3 = 4 12 ÷ 6 = 2 12 ÷ 2 = 6

Both 6 and 12 give us good solutions (i.e. with no decimals), so which one do we choose? The minimum. Consequently, our base number in this problem is 6. What this means is that the estate should be divided into 6 portions. ‘A’ takes 2 (1/3 of 6), ‘B’ gets 1 (1/6 of 6) and ‘C’ receives 3 (½ of 6). So, differentiating between SHARE and PORTION, the shares of ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ are 1/3, 1/6 and ½ respectively; while their portions are 2, 1 and 3 respectively. Hopefully the definition of portion as the “number of segments of an estate an heir will receive” now makes more sense.

Number of heads: – this is the number of heirs IF they are of the same gender. Hence, the number of heads of 2 sons is 2; the number of heads of 9 granddaughters is 9. As simple as that. But if the heirs are of mixed gender, a male has “2 heads” while a female has 1. This is because a male gets double the share of a female. So, the number of heads of 3 full brothers and 4 full sisters is 10; likewise the number of heads of 12 sons and 5 daughters is 29.
Category: – a single heir makes a category if he/she inherits a share of the estate alone while 2 or more heirs make a category if they are to distribute a share of the estate among themselves. For instance, if the surviving heirs of a deceased are wife and son, we have 2 categories of heirs since the wife has a share (1/8) and the son also has a share (residue). Wife, father and 2 daughters; this is 3 categories given that the 2 daughters will share ½ of the estate equally. Husband, 2 consanguine brothers, 4 consanguine sisters; this is 2 categories. Consanguine brothers and sisters will share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 1. Grandfather, 3 daughters, grandson and 5 granddaughters; how many categories? 3.

Procedure of solving inheritance problems

Determine the “actual” heirs.

Not all the 15 male and 9 female heirs we listed will inherit from a deceased. Definitely, some will be excluded by others. As a result, the first task is to know who excludes who. Supposing a woman is survived by her husband, 2 daughters, 4 granddaughters, a full sister, 3 consanguine brothers,

2 full uncles, 5 full uncle’s sons and a full uncle’s daughter; only her husband, 2 daughters and full sister are her “actual” heirs. Why? First, the full uncle’s daughter is a non-heir. Husband and daughters are basic heirs. They cannot be excluded. But since the daughters are two, they will exclude granddaughters, then full sister will inherit as a “residuary by another,” in which case, she acquires the rights and privileges of a full brother and as we said earlier, “she excludes whomsoever he excludes,” i.e. consanguine brothers, full uncles and their sons who are equally members of alpha (but below him in hierarchy).

Spell out the share of each heir.

Here, the rules of partial exclusion come to play. The husband is relegated from ½ to ¼ by the daughters, likewise they make full sister to get residue (if any) as opposed to ½ of the estate if they were absent, yet their share of 2/3 remains intact. We can see how influential children are.

Determine the base number.

Now, consider the shares at hand. In this example, ¼, 2/3 and residue. We ask a simple question: what whole number is there whose one- quarter and two-third are both whole numbers? Of course, there are so many of them. So our job is to find out the least or minimum of them all. If we randomly choose 20,

¼ × 20 = 5 2/3 × 20 = 13.33

Because 2/3 of 20 is not a whole number, 20 is not a solution. Let’s take 24.

¼ × 24 = 6 2/3 × 24 = 16

It seems 24 is what we are looking for. But is it the minimum? No, actually the minimum base number for this problem is 12. Thus,

¼ × 12 = 3 2/3 × 12 = 8

How did we know that it’s 12? In other words, how do we determine the most appropriate base number without trial and error? There are standard rules for that which we shall be looking at shortly.

Generate the portion of EACH heir.

This is done by simply multiplying the base number by the share of each heir. We have already started it in step 3 above. Therefore,

Husband receives 12 × ¼ = 3 portions 2 daughters get 12 × 2/3 = 8 portions

Full sister is given the residue which is 1 portion. That is, deduct 3 and 8 from 12, the reminder is 1 [12 – 3 – 8 = 1 or 12 – (3 + 8) = 1].

What we have done is to ascertain the number of portions each CATEGORY of heir is entitled to; whereas the step requires us to find out the number of portions EACH heir will receive. This is quite easy. When a category consists of only one heir, he/she is given all the portions assigned to that category. Hence, husband being the only one in his category takes all the 3 portions allocated to his category. Similarly, full sister inherits the one portion assigned to her category.

But when a category has more than one heir, we divide the number of portions that category is entitled to by the number of heads of heirs in it so as to know how many portions each person gets. This means that since both daughters make a category, we have to determine how many portions go to daughter ‘A’ and how many daughter ‘B’ will receive. Their number of heads is 2. Consequently,

8 portions ÷ 2 heads = 4 portions/head

Accordingly, each daughter is given 4 portions. So the deceased’s estate is divided into 12 portions. Husband gets 3, each daughter inherits 4 and full sister receives the remaining 1. As simple as that!

Now, what happens if a category is made up of male and female heirs who are to distribute a share among themselves such as sons and daughters? Let’s answer the question using this quick example. A man dies leaving behind a wife, 3 sons and a daughter, how will his estate be shared among them?

Henceforth, we shall not bother ourselves mentioning ALL the relatives or heirs a deceased leaves behind. Only the “actual” heirs will be stated. Our assumption is that any heir not mentioned is either absent or have been excluded by at least one of those under consideration. In this instance, the man may actually have uncles, brothers, sisters, aunts, grandchildren and so on. But his children especially the sons have excluded all of them. Observe that son cannot exclude father and mother. Since they were not listed among the heirs, we suppose that they died before him, i.e. they are absent.

Step 2: The wife should have received ¼ of the estate but the children will partially exclude her to 1/8. Again we assume that by now, the reader is conversant with the rules of partial exclusion. So we shall not be stating how we arrive at the shares of each heir. Anyway, the 3 sons and daughter will share the residue in a ratio of 2 to 2 to 2 to 1 respectively.

Step 3: The base number is 8. How we got this? Details shortly. Step 4: Mother receives 8 × 1/8 = 1 portion

Children are given the remaining 7 portions (8 – 1 = 7). Number of heads of 3 boys and 1 daughter = 7 Therefore, 7 portions ÷ 7 heads = 1 portion/head

Recall that males have “2 heads” while females have 1. Hence, Son ‘A’: 2 heads × 1 portion/head = 2 portions

Son ‘B’: 2 heads × 1 portion/head = 2 portions Son ‘C’: 2 heads × 1 portion/head = 2 portions Daughter: 1 head × 1 portion/head = 1 portion

The same principle applies when we have combination of grandson(s) and granddaughter(s), full brother(s) and full sister(s), consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s), etc.

Sometimes, the heirs that make up a category CANNOT share their portion of the estate because:

It is NOT ENOUGH to go round, or
After all heirs have received their portions, there is an EXTRA which will not be sufficient to go round.

For example, if 2 sons and 3 daughters are to share 6 portions of an estate, Each son is to get 2 portions = 4 portions

Each daughter is entitled to 1 portion = 3 portions

Total number of portions required = 7, which is the same as their number of heads.

It is clear that the children cannot share 6 portions because if we go ahead, we will run into fractions or numbers with decimals which is not acceptable in inheritance. And as long as we want to stick with whole numbers, someone will be short-changed; either one of the daughters gets nothing or one of the sons is given 1 portion instead of 2. This is also not allowed EVEN IF the heirs by consensus accepts it or one of the heirs agrees to receive less or nothing. Remember that inheritance distribution is an act of worship and has to be done according to the dictates of Shari’ah.

Similarly, if the 2 sons and 3 daughters were to share 10 portions of the estate, all the children will get their complete portions but there will be extra 3 which will not go round. Had it been the extra were 7, they will redistribute it again among themselves so that each son will receive 4 portions (original 2 plus extra 2 redistributed), while each daughter gets 2.

In both instances (i.e. when number of portions is not enough or when there is an extra), the four steps enumerated above are insufficient. Additional steps are required to obtain a new base number. This brings us to the LEVELS OF INHERITANCE PROBLEMS.

Level 1: All categories of heirs are able to share their portions of the estate.

Level 2: One or two categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate.

Level 3: More than two categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate.

All inheritance problems will necessary fall within these three levels. The beauty of it is that each level has distinct rules regarding how to obtain the base number. So, if one is able to determine what level a problem belongs to, the next thing is simply to apply the appropriate rule(s) and the portion of each heir will emerge.

LEVEL ONE

Level 1(a): One category of heir with no fixed share Rule A: The number of heads of heirs is the base number Example 1

Heirs	5 Consanguine brothers, 2 Consanguine sisters
Share	Whole estate
Base number	12
Portions	Each brother = 2; each sister = 1

The estate is divided into 12 portions (i.e. the base number). Each male is given 2 portions because he has “2 heads,” whereas each female receives 1 portion since she has “1 head.” Observe that step 4 in which the base number is multiplied by the share of the heir to generate his/her portion is not applicable here in view of the fact that the heirs have no specific shares. That necessitated the use of their number of heads.

Example 2

Heirs	3 sons
Share	Whole estate
Base number	6
Portions	Each son = 2

This is quite straight-forward. Just one thing. The principle that males have “2 heads” while females have 1 may not be relevant if the heirs are all male; in which case they can be considered as having “1 head” each so as to reduce the base number and by extension the number of portions the estate is divided into. Recall the definition of number of heads as, “the number of heirs if they are of the same gender.” As a result, the same problem can be solved like this;

Heirs	3 sons
Share	Whole estate
Base number	3
Portions	Each son = 1

Level 1(b): One category of heir with a fixed share Rule B: Base number is the denominator of the share Example 3

Heirs	2 daughters
Share	2/3
Base number	3
Portions	Each daughter = 1

Estate is divided into 3 portions. Each daughter is given 1; equivalent to her number of head. There will be 1 extra portion.

Example 4

Heirs	1 full sister
Share	½
Base number	2
Portions	1

Similar to example 3, estate is divided into 2 portions. Full sister takes 1 corresponding to her number of head. There is 1 extra portion.

Question: What happens to the extra? This has being answered earlier. There are 3 opinions of Jurists regarding this.

The extra goes to the bait-ul-mal (public treasury).
The heirs should redistribute the extra.
It should be given to the cognates (relations whose connection to the deceased is traceable through the mother or female line) who are traditionally non-heirs.

Level 1(c): Two categories of heirs with one having a fixed share

Rule C: Base number is the denominator of share of the category with a fixed share

Example 5

Heirs	Wife	1 Son; 1 Daughter
Shares	¼	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	Son = 2; Daughter = 1

Considering step 4 for both categories of heirs, Wife: 4 × ¼ = 1 portion

Son and daughter: Residue i.e. 4 – 1 = 3 portions

Son has “2 heads” hence inherits 2 portions while daughter has “1 head” therefore is given 1 portion.

Example 6

Heirs	Mother	2 Full brothers; 1 Full sister
Shares	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	Each full brother = 2; full sister = 1

Mother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

2 Full brothers and 1 full sister: Residue i.e. 6 – 1 = 5 portions

The 5 portions are distributed among the full brothers and full sister in a ratio of 2 to 2 to 1 respectively.

LOWEST COMMON MULTIPLE (LCM)

This section is meant to review the same LCM we were taught in elementary Mathematics. You may wish to skip it if you think that you do not need it. For those of us that want to refresh our memories, the three concepts: lowest, common and multiple will be easier understood if explained in reverse order, i.e. multiple, common, lowest.

Multiple

Remember the times table?

2 × 1 = 2	3 × 1 = 3	4 × 1 = 4
2 × 2 = 4	3 × 2 = 6	4 × 2 = 8
2 × 3 = 6	3 × 3 = 9	4 × 3 = 12
2 × 4 = 8	3 × 4 = 12	4 × 4 = 16
2 × 5 = 10	3 × 5 = 15	4 × 5 = 20

Now, the solutions under a particular number are its multiples. So, Multiples of 2 = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, …

Multiples of 3 = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, …

Multiples of 4 = 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, …

Comments

When considering the multiples of two numbers, the ones that appear for both are the “common multiples.” For instance,

Common multiples of 2 and 3 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, …

Common multiples of 2 and 4 = 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, … This also applies for more than two numbers. Hence, Common multiples of 2, 3 and 4 = 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, … Lowest

Of all the common multiples, which one is the smallest, minimum, least? Therefore,

Lowest common multiple of 2 and 3 = 6

LCM of 2 and 4 = 4

LCM of 2, 3 and 4 = 12

But, does that mean that to determine the LCM of 2, 3 or 4 numbers, all their multiples have to be listed, then the common ones are identified before picking the lowest? Certainly not. There are standard ways of finding the LCM. However, the method or technique to use depends on the RELATIONSHIP between the numbers under consideration. Generally, numbers are related as follows:

Same e.g. 2 and 2, 3 and 3, 4 and 4.
One being a multiple of the other e.g. 2 and 4, 3 and 6, 4 and 8.
Neither (i) nor (ii) above e.g. 2 and 3, 4 and 5, 7 and 10.

When numbers are the same, their LCM is simply the number itself.

For example, what is the LCM of 5 and 5?

Multiples of 5 = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, …

Multiples of second 5 = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, …

Common multiples of both = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, …

As a result, the LCM of 5 and 5 = 5.

In the field of inheritance, this is called TAMATHUL i.e. the same.

If two numbers are related such that one is a multiple of the other, their LCM is the higher number. For instance, what is the LCM of 3 and 6?

Multiples of 3 = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, …

Multiples of 6 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, …

Common multiples of 3 and 6 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, …

Thus, the LCM of 3 and 6 = 6.

Notice that 6 is a multiple of 3, which is why the common multiples of 3 and 6 are actually the multiples of 6! Hence, their LCM is simply the LCM of 6 since it is the higher number. Similarly, the LCM of 3 and 21 is 21 and the LCM of 6 and 42 is 42. This phenomenon is referred to as TADAKHUL, meaning multiple.

In a situation whereby the numbers under consideration are “neither,” i.e. are not the same and one is not a multiple of the other, the easiest way to determine their LCM is to MULTIPLY them. Example, what is the LCM of 2 and 3?

Multiples of 2 = 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, …

Multiples of 3 = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, …

Common multiples of 2 and 3 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, …

So, LCM of 2 and 3 = 6.

Likewise, LCM of 4 and 5 is 20 and LCM of 7 and 12 is 84. This is called TABAYIN in inheritance literature. I translate it as “parallel.” The fourth relationship between numbers shall be unveiled in due course. Meanwhile, knowledge of these relationships is the SECRET of determining the base number and by implication the whole of inheritance arithmetic! That is why a lot of space is being devoted to explain these basics.

Let’s complicate the problem. How do we find the LCM of 3 or more numbers? First, pick any 2 numbers and find their LCM. Call this LCM ‘X’. Next, pick a 3^rd number. Determine the LCM of this 3^rd number and ‘X’. Call this new LCM ‘Y’. Then find the LCM between ‘Y’ and the 4^th number. And the process continues. The final LCM is the LCM of all the numbers. Example, what is the LCM of 2, 5 and 10? Considering the first two numbers 2 and 5, they are parallel, so multiply them to get the LCM. It’s 10. But this solution, 10 and the 3^rd number, 10 are the same. And the LCM of similar numbers is that number. Thus, the LCM of 2, 5 and 10 is 10. is also a multiple of the 3^rd number, 5. As a result the higher number, 10 is picked and that is the LCM of the 3 numbers. The LCM of the 3 numbers will equally be 10 if 5 and 10 are taken first. That is the beauty of Mathematics. It does not lie!

These methods of finding LCM are also applicable to fractions. But in their case, only the DENOMINATORS are considered. For instance,

LCM of 2/3 and 1/3 = 3 Both denominators are the same.

LCM of ½ and 1/6 = 6 6 is a multiple of 2, so pick the higher one. LCM of ¼ and 1/7 = 28 4 and 7 are parallel, so multiply them.

Level 1(d): Two or more categories of heirs with at least two having fixed shares

Rule D: If the denominators of the shares are the same, that is the base number.

Example 7

Heirs	Husband	Sister
Shares	½	½
Base number	2
Portions	1	1

Estate is divided into 2 portions. Each heir inherits 1. Example 8

Heirs	Grandmother	Uterine sister	Consanguine brother
Shares	1/6	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	1	4

Base number = 6; that is clear. Grandmother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion Uterine sister: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

Consanguine brother: 6 – 1 – 1 = 4 portions

Rule E: When the denominator of one share is a multiple of the denominator of the other share, the higher one is the base number

Example 9

Heirs	Wife	Daughter	Half uncle
Shares	1/8	½	Residue
Base number	8
Portions	1	4	3

Wife: 8 × 1/8 = 1 portion Daughter: 8 × ½ = 4 portions

Half uncle: 8 – 1 – 4 = 3 portions or 8 – (1 + 4) = 3 portions

Example 10

Heirs	2 full sisters	Uterine brother	Grandmother
Shares	2/3	1/6	1/6
Base number	6
Portions	Each sister = 2	1	1

Base number is the LCM of 3, 6 and 6 = 6.

2 full sisters: 6 × 2/3 = 4 portions. Each full sister gets 2 portions. Uterine brother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

Grandmother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

Rule F: In a situation whereby the denominator of the shares are parallel, multiply them and the solution is the base number.

Example 11

Heirs	2 daughters	Wife	Full uncle’s son
Shares	2/3	1/8	Residue
Base number	24
Portions	Each daughter = 8	3	5

2 daughters: 24 × 2/3 = 16 portions. Each daughter receives 8 portions. Wife: 24 × 1/8 = 3 portions

Full uncle’s son: 24 – 16 – 3 = 5 portions or 24 – (16 + 3) = 5 portions

Example 12

Heirs	Wife	1 uterine brother; 1 uterine sister	1 consanguine brother; 3 consanguine sisters
Shares	¼	1/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	4	5

Wife: 12 × ¼ = 3 portions

1 uterine brother and 1 uterine sister: 12 × 1/3 = 4 portions. Each is given 2 portions because two or more uterines share 1/3 of the estate equally irrespective of whether they are males or females.

1 consanguine brother and 3 consanguine sisters: 12 – (3 + 4) = 5 portions. Consanguine brother gets 2 portions while each consanguine sister inherits 1 portion.

Exercise 1

The heirs of a deceased are two daughters, mother, father, brother and sister. How will the estate be allotted to them?

HIGHEST COMMON FACTOR (HCF)

Given any number, its factors are numbers which can divide it and the solution is a whole number. For example: What are the factors of 10? To answer this, 10 is divided by all numbers between 1 and 10.

10 ÷ 1 = 10 10 ÷ 6 = 1.67

10 ÷ 2 = 5 10 ÷ 7 = 1.43

10 ÷ 3 = 3.33 10 ÷ 8 = 1.25

10 ÷ 4 = 2.5 10 ÷ 9 = 1.11

10 ÷ 5 = 2 10 ÷ 10 = 1

Therefore, the factors of 10 = 1, 2, 5 and 10

Using this approach, the factors of 6 will be 1, 2, 3 and 6; because if 6 is divided by 4 and 5, the answers will not be whole numbers. That is to say the common factors of 10 and 6 are 1 and 2. And the Highest Common Factor (HCF) of 10 and 6 is 2. But the following should be noted:

1 is a factor of any number
All numbers are factors of themselves
The factor of a number CANNOT be greater than the number itself. Another example. What is the HCF of 12 and 15?

Factors of 12 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12

Factors of 15 = 1, 3, 5 and 15

Common factors of 12 and 15 = 1 and 3

HCF of 12 and 15 = 3

Prime Numbers

These are numbers whose factors are ONLY 1 and themselves. If they are divided by any other number, the answer will not be a whole number. An example is 11.

11 ÷ 1 = 11	11 ÷ 5 = 2.2	11 ÷ 9 = 1.22
11 ÷ 2 = 5.5	11 ÷ 6 = 1.83	11 ÷ 10 = 1.1
11 ÷ 3 = 3.67	11 ÷ 7 = 1.57	11 ÷ 11 = 1
11 ÷ 4 = 2.75	11 ÷ 8 = 1.38

Since only 1 and 11 are the factors of 11, it is said to be a prime number. Others are 3, 5, 7, 13, 17, 19, 23, …

Now, the HCF of two numbers one of which is a prime number is 1.

For instance, what is the HCF of 5 and 6? Factors of 5 = 1 and 5

Factors of 6 = 1, 2, 3 and 6

Common factor of 5 and 6 = 1

HCF of 5 and 6 = 1

The rule also applies if both numbers are prime numbers. Example, what is the HCF of 13 and 17?

Factors of 13 = 1 and 13

Factors of 17 = 1 and 17

Common factor of 13 and 17 = 1

HCF of 13 and 17 = 1

Observe that whenever the common factor of a set of numbers is 1, the HCF of the numbers is also 1. This is normal Mathematics. But the rules of Inheritance Arithmetic which I call “inherithmetic” sometimes violate well known Mathematical principles. The most important of these violations is that inherithmetic DOES NOT recognise 1 as a common factor. So, revisiting our earlier solutions,

Common factor of 10 and 6 = 2

Common factor of 12 and 15 = 3

Common factor of 5 and 6 = No common factor! Common factor of 13 and 17 = No common factor!

In order to differentiate between common factor of Mathematics which incorporates 1 and the common factor of inherithmetic that does not recognise 1, the latter will be renamed “Common Divisor” and henceforth, that is what will be used. As the name implies, common divisor is a number OTHER THAN 1, that can divide the numbers under consideration and the answers will be whole numbers. In case there exist 2 or more common divisors, the “Highest Common Divisor (HCD)” is used.

Recall that two or more numbers are parallel when they are not the same and one is not a multiple of the other. Also, the LCM of parallel numbers is gotten by simply multiplying them. At this point, this method of finding the LCM of parallel numbers will be modified. The modification does not affect what has being discussed earlier. The new rule is: if two parallel numbers ‘A’ and ‘B’ HAVE A COMMON DIVISOR, their LCM is determined by DIVIDING ‘A’ with the common divisor, then use the solution to MULTIPLY ‘B’. Alternatively, divide ‘B’ by the common divisor and multiply the solution with ‘A’. Both approaches will give the same answer. But when the parallel numbers HAVE NO COMMON DIVISOR, the previous rule of multiplying them gives the LCM.

Question: What is the LCM of 3 and 7? Common divisor of 3 and 7 = None LCM of 3 and 7 = 3 × 7 = 21

Question: What is the LCM of 6 and 8? Common divisor of 6 and 8 = 2

LCM of 6 and 8 = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 × 8 = 24 or 8 ÷ 2 = 4 × 6 = 24

Notice that if the previous rule were applied, the LCM should have been 6 × 8 = 48; which is not quite correct. Let’s prove it.

Multiples of 6 = 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, …

Multiples of 8 = 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, …

Common multiples of 6 and 8 = 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, …

LCM of 6 and 8 = 24

Therefore, it can be established that not all parallel numbers are actually parallel. Some tend to “converge” at a point. This phenomenon is called TAWAFUQ, which I translate as Converge. In summary, the 4 relationships between numbers are:

Same (Tamathul)
One being a multiple of the other (Tadakhul)
Parallel – neither (i) nor (ii) and have no common divisor (Tabayin)
Converge – neither (i) nor (ii) but have a common divisor (Tawafuq) The reader is encouraged to take some time and arbitrarily white down any two numbers then consider the relationship between them. It MUST NECESSARILY be one of these four!

Rule G: When there is a common divisor between the denominators of the shares, divide one by the common divisor and multiply the solution with the other. The result is the base number.

Example 12

Heirs	Husband	Grandmother	Son
Shares	¼	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	7

Common divisor of 4 and 6 = 2

LCM of 4 and 6 = 4 ÷ 2 = 2 × 6 = 12 or 6 ÷ 2 = 3 × 4 = 12

Husband: 12 × ¼ = 3 portions Grandmother: 12 × 1/6 = 2 portions

Son: 12 – 3 – 2 = 7 portions or 12 – (3 + 2) = 7 portions

INCREMENT OF BASE NUMBER (‘AWL)

Earlier, we made mention of a father who gave his three children, ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ £120 to share in proportions of 1/3, 1/6 and ½ respectively. Of course the LCM of 3, 6 and 2 is 6 which is also the base number; so £120 is divided into 6 portions.

‘A’: 6 × 1/3 = 2 portions ‘B’: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion ‘C’: 6 × ½ = 3 portions

Sum of the portions = 2 + 1 + 3 = 6 portions; equivalent to the base number. This is an example of a perfect distribution of an estate. However, supposing

and 2/3. The base number is still 6. But ‘C’ shall be entitled to 4 portions! How?

‘C’: 6 × 2/3 = 4 portions

New sum of portions = 2 + 1 + 4 = 7 portions; which is greater than the base number. What is the implication of this? Let’s examine it critically.

1 portion of £120 = £120 ÷ 6 = £20 ‘A’ has 2 portions = £20 × 2 = £40 ‘B’ has 1 portion = £20 × 1 = £20 ‘C’ has 4 portions = £20 × 4 = £80

Summation = £40 + £20 + £80 = £140

Something must be wrong somewhere. The possibilities are:

The share of at least one of the children (i.e. 1/3, 1/6 or 2/3) is wrong.
The father erroneously gave them £120 instead of £140.

But in inheritance, none of these assumptions hold water. That is to say, the shares of the children which denote the shares of heirs are correct. Also, the amount the father gave; a figurative expression meaning the total asset of a deceased is equally correct. Actually, this is a practical example whereby a deceased leaves behind 2 uterine brothers, mother and 2 full sisters with a total estate worth £120. To solve this problem, the base number is increased from 6 to 7. This procedure is called Increment of Base Number. Therefore, 1 portion of £120 = £120 ÷ 7 = £17.14

‘A’ (2 Uterine brothers): £17.14 × 2 portions = £34.28 ‘B’ (Mother): £17.14 × 1 portion = £17.14

‘C’ (2 Full sisters): £17.14 × 4 portions = £68.56

Summation = £34.28 + £17.14 + £68.56 = £119.98; approximately £120 Note that the amount each category of heir finally gets reduces in proportion to its share. For instance, full sisters with the largest share have the highest reduction. Thus,

Heirs	Original value of portion	New value of portion	Reduction
Uterine brothers	£40	£34.28	£5.72
Mother	£20	£17.14	£2.86
Full sisters	£80	£68.56	£11.44

Rule H: If the result of summation of portions is greater than the base number, such result becomes the base number. Yet, each heir retains his/her number of portions originally allotted to him/her. Though, their shares will reduce proportionately.

Example 13

Heirs	Mother	Husband	Full sister
Shares	1/3	½	½
Base number	6
Portions	2	3	3
Increased base number	8

Mother: 6 × 1/3 = 2 portions Husband: 6 × ½ = 3 portions Full sister: 6 × ½ = 3 portions

Summation = 2 + 3 + 3 = 8 portions; which is greater than the base number. Hence, the base number is increased to 8.

Example 14

Heirs	Wife	2 consanguine sisters	2 uterine sisters
Shares	¼	2/3	1/3
Base number	12
Portions	3	4 apiece	2 apiece
Increased base number	15

Wife: 12 × ¼ = 3 portions

2 consanguine sisters: 12 × 2/3 = 8 portions; each one gets 4 portions 2 uterine sisters: 12 × 1/3 = 4 portions; each one gets 2 portions

Total = 3 + 8 + 4 = 15 portions; which is greater than the base number. Accordingly, the base number is increased to 15.

Example 15

Heirs	Wife	Father	Mother	2 daughters
Shares	1/8	1/6	1/6	2/3
Base number	24
Portions	3	4	4	16
Increased base number	27

Observe that the father’s share suppose to be “1/6 + residue,” but the base number, 24, is not even enough to share among the heirs, so there will be no question of any residue.

This is a celebrated case of inheritance called MIMBARIYYA for the reason that Caliph ‘Ali solved it while delivering a sermon on the mimbar (i.e. pulpit) in a Mosque at Kufa, in present day Iraq. He was asked what a wife’s share will be if the surviving heirs of a deceased are wife, both parents and 2 daughters. There and then, he answered, “The wife’s 1/8 becomes 1/9.” Let’s examine this.

Using the original base number, wife has 24 × 1/8 = 3 portions

With increment of base number and considering ‘Ali’s response, wife gets 27

× 1/9 = 3 portions

This further buttresses the point that whenever the base number is increased, an heir’s share reduces (in this case from 1/8 to 1/9) but his/her number of portions remains intact.

IMPORTANT: Increment of base number only applies when ALL categories of heirs have fixed shares. If residuaries are present, increment will not be necessary because they are given whatever remains. Residuaries cannot force those with fixed heirs to reduce their shares to enable them have something. However, in exceptional cases whereby increment has to be done and a residuary is among the heirs, he/she most likely receives nothing. For example,

Heirs	Husband	Mother	2 daughters	Full uncle
Shares	¼	1/6	2/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	8	0
New base number	13

Notice that even though full uncle is an heir, despite the increment, he still gets nothing.

LEVEL 2

Level 2(a): One category of heirs cannot share its portion of the estate Rule I: Let the number of heads of the category of heirs that cannot share its portion be ‘X’, and the number of portions allotted to the category be ‘Y’. If ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are parallel, multiply the number of heads of the heirs by the base number to generate a new base number.

Example 16

Heirs	Mother	2 Sons; 2 Daughters
Shares	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	5

Rule C was used to arrive at 6, the base number.

Henceforth, this will not be stated. It is assumed that the reader is conversant with all the rules of Level 1. Levels 2 and 3 are advanced stages of Level 1. So, given any inheritance problem, one has to use the appropriate Level 1 rule to get the base number and the number of portions each category of heir is entitled to. If ALL categories are able to share their portions of the estate, that is a Level 1 problem and the task is completed. However, when 1 or 2 categories of heirs are NOT able to share their portions of the estate, we have a Level 2 problem at hand. A new base number is generated using the suitable Level 2 rule. Finally, new portions are calculated for each category of heir. Thus, Mother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

2 sons and 2 daughters: Residue i.e. 6 – 1 = 5 portions Number of heads of 2 sons and 2 daughters = 6

This problem has two categories of heirs: mother on one hand and 2 sons and 2 daughters on the other. Mother inherits 1 portion of the estate. She has no problem. But 2 sons and 2 daughters cannot share 5 portions because their number of heads is 6 (2 sons = 4 heads; 2 daughters = 2 heads). So, they require 6 portions, NOT 5 portions as allocated to them. For this reason, we conclude that they CANNOT SHARE THEIR PORTION of the estate. Note that ‘awl (increment of base number) is not applicable here because residuaries are present and they are entitled to some portion of the estate. To solve this, consider the number of heads of the category that cannot share its portion (i.e. 6) and its number of portions (i.e. 5). 6 and 5 are parallel since they have no common divisor. In other words, no existing number can divide 6 and equally divide 5 without a remainder. At this point it will be nice to show WHY one (1) is not regarded as a common divisor, given that it is the only number that can divide 6 and 5 without remainder.

6 ÷ 1 = 6

5 ÷ 1 = 5

The results of both divisions are the same as the original problem. What have we done? Nothing. Any progress made towards solving our problem? No. So, it’s evident that inherithmetic was right not to consider 1 as a common divisor. Now, applying the rule,

‘X’ = Number of heads = 6 ‘Y’ = Base number = 6

‘X’ multiplied by ‘Y’ gives the new base number. Accordingly, New base number = 6 × 6 = 36

Step 4 will then be repeated (using the new base number) Mother: 36 × 1/6 = 6 portions

2 sons and 2 daughters: Residue i.e. 36 – 6 = 30 portions

This is shared among the children such that sons get twice the share of daughters. The easiest way to do this is to divide the 30 portions by their number of heads. Therefore,

30 portions ÷ 6 heads = 5 portions/head

Each son is given 5 portions/head × 2 heads = 10 portions Each daughter inherits 5 portions/head × 1 head = 5 portions The table now becomes

Heirs	Mother	2 Sons; 2 Daughters
Shares	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	5
Number of heads	1	6

New base number	36
New portions	6	Each son = 10 Each daughter = 5

Example 17

Heirs	5 daughters	Mother	Full sister
Shares	2/3	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	4	1	1
Number of heads	5	1	1
New base number	30
New portions	4 apiece	5	5

Full sister is acting as a residuary with another. She is given 1 portion. Likewise, mother receives 1 portion. But 5 daughters cannot share 4 portions. So,

Number of heads of 5 daughters = 5 Base number = 6

New base number = 5 × 6 = 30

New portion of 5 daughters: 30 × 2/3 = 20; which is shared among them equally. Each daughter gets 20 portions ÷ 5 = 4 portions

New portion of Mother: 30 × 1/6 = 5

New portion of full sister: Residue i.e. 30 – (20 + 5) = 5

Rule J: Given a category of heirs that cannot share its portion of the estate, if the number of heads of heirs in the category and their number of portions have a common divisor, divide the NUMBER OF HEADS by the common divisor, then use the answer to multiply the base number. The result is the new base number.

Example 18

Heirs	Father	Mother	6 daughters
Shares	1/6 + residue	1/6	2/3
Base number	6
Portions	1	1	4

Father’s share is “1/6 + residue” but there is no residue, as a result, he gets 1/6 only.

6 daughters cannot share 4 portions Number of heads of daughters = 6 Number of portions of daughters = 4

What is the relationship between 6 and 4? They converge because THEY HAVE a common divisor, 2. Therefore, DIVIDE the number of heads by the common divisor and MULTIPLY the answer with the base number. The result is the new base number. Thus,

New base number = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 × 6 = 18 New portion of Father: 18 × 1/6 = 3 New portion of Mother: 18 × 1/6 = 3

New portion of 6 daughters: 18 × 2/3 = 12

Each daughter inherits 12 portions ÷ 6 = 2 portions The complete table then is,

Heirs	Father	Mother	6 daughters
Shares	1/6	1/6	2/3
Base number	6
Portions	1	1	4
Number of heads	1	1	6
New base number	18
New portions	3	3	Each daughter = 2

Example 19

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Father	5 Sons; 5 Daughters
Shares	¼	1/6	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	2	5
Number of heads	1	1	1	15
New base number	36
New portions	9	6	6	Each son = 2 Each daughter = 1

sons and 5 daughters cannot share 5 portions Number of heads of 5 sons and 5 daughters = 15 Common divisor of 15 and 5 = 5

New base number = 15 ÷ 5 = 3 × 12 = 36 New portion of Husband: 36 × ¼ = 9 New portion of Mother: 36 × 1/6 = 6 New portion of Father: 36 × 1/6 = 6

New portion of 5 sons and 5 daughters: 36 – (9 + 6 + 6) = 15 Each son gets 2 portions while each daughter receives 1.

Level 2(b): Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate AND there is no common divisor between the number of heads and the corresponding number of portions of BOTH categories i.e. they are parallel

Rule K: If the number of heads in both categories are the same, pick one and multiply it by the base number to get a new base number

Example 20

Heirs	2 Wives	2 Full sisters	2 Consanguine brothers
Shares	¼	2/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	8	1
Number of heads	2	2	2
New base number	24
New portions	Each = 3	Each = 8	Each = 1

The two full sisters can share the 8 portions allotted to them such that each gets 4 portions. But 2 wives cannot share 3 portions of the estate. Likewise, 2 consanguine brothers cannot share 1 portion. Meaning that, we have 2 categories of heirs that cannot share their portions. That is the first criteria of applying the rules of Level 2(b). The second is that the number of heads and the corresponding number of portions of BOTH categories MUST be parallel. The example above also fulfils the second criteria in that the category “wives” has 2 heads and 3 portions. 2 and 3 are parallel since they have no common divisor. Similarly, 2 and 1, the number of heads and number of portions of category “consanguine brothers” respectively are parallel! But WHY is the number of heads of consanguine brothers said to be 2? If every male has “2 heads,” then the total number of heads of 2 consanguine brothers should be 4! Yes, very true. But recall the point noted in Example 2; that if all heirs are male, each should be considered as having “1 head” so as to reduce the base number. The principle also applies when ALL heirs in a category are male. Thus, the number of heads of 2 consanguine brothers HERE is 2 since only the two of them make a category. There is no female among them.

Now, applying Rule K, the number of heads of both categories that cannot share their portions are the same. So,

New base number = 2 × 12 = 24 New portion of wives: 24 × ¼ = 6

New portion of 2 full sisters: 24 × 2/3 = 16

New portion of 2 consanguine brothers: 24 – (6 + 16) = 2

Each wife, full sister and consanguine brother inherits 3, 8 and 1 portions respectively.

Rule L: If the number of heads in one category is a multiple of the number of heads in the other category, use the higher number to multiply the base number so as to generate a new base number

Example 21

Heirs	2 Wives	Daughter	4 Half uncles
Shares	1/8	½	Residue
Base number	8
Portions	1	4	3
Number of heads	2	1	4
New base number	32
New portions	Each wife = 2	16	Each uncle = 3

The categories that cannot share their portions are “wives” and “half uncles” because in the former, 2 wives cannot share 1 portion, while in the latter, 4 half uncles cannot share 3 portions. Also, 2 and 1 are parallel, just as 4 and 3 are parallel. Now, looking at the number of heads in both categories, 4 is a multiple of 2, so we pick the higher one, 4. Therefore,

New base number = 4 × 8 = 32

New portion of 2 wives: 32 × 1/8 = 4 New portion of daughter: 32 × ½ = 16

New portion of 4 half uncles: 32 – (4 + 16) = 12

Note that the number of heads of 4 half uncles suppose to be 8, but given that there is no female among them, each one is considered as having “1 head.” Assuming 8 was used instead of 4; the problem should have been solved like this.

Heirs	2 Wives	Daughter	4 Half uncles
Shares	1/8	½	Residue
Base number	8
Portions	1	4	3
Number of heads	2	1	8
New base number	64
New portions	Each wife = 4	32	Each uncle = 6

Number of heads of “half uncles” category, 8, is a multiple of 2, the number of heads of “wives” category. As a result, 8 is chosen. Thus,

New base number = 8 × 8 = 64; which is more than the 32 earlier gotten.

In line with this, let’s revisit Example 20 and use 4 as the number of heads of the 2 consanguine brothers instead of 2. By doing that, Rule L will be applied rather than

Rule K. So,

Heirs	2 wives	2 full sisters	2 consanguine brothers
Shares	¼	2/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	8	1
Number of heads	2	2	4
New base number	48

As in Example 21, the number of heads of “consanguine brothers” category, 4, is a multiple of 2, the number of heads of “wives” category, hence 4 is picked, being the higher number.

New base number = 4 × 12 = 48; which is also more than the 24 earlier gotten.

Therefore, it is evident that in both cases, the new base number is doubled when each male in an exclusive male category is considered to have “2 heads.” And as the principle of base number is that the MINIMUM is always chosen, the previous solutions are hereby retained. This further buttresses the fact that males are believed to have “1 head” when they are the only heirs OR when they are the only ones in a category!

Rule M: When the number of heads in both categories is parallel, multiply them; then multiply the answer by the base number. The result obtained is the new base number

Example 22

Heirs	2 Wives	3 Uterine sisters	Full brother’s son
Shares	¼	1/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	4	5
New base number	72
New portions	Each = 9	Each = 8	30

2 wives cannot share 3 portions and 3 uterine sisters cannot share 4 portions of the estate. In both categories, number of heads and number of portions are parallel. That is, 2 and 3 for wives and 3 and 4 for uterine sisters respectively. Also, the number of heads in both categories, 2 (wives) and 3 (uterine sisters) are equally parallel. Hence,

New base number = 2 × 3 = 6 × 12 = 72 New portion of 2 Wives: 72 × ¼ = 18

New portion of 3 uterine sisters: 72 × 1/3 = 24

New portion of Full brother’s son: 72 – (18 + 24) = 30

Each wife and uterine sister is given 9 and 8 portions respectively, while full brother’s son receives 30 portions.

Rule N: If the numbers of heads of the two categories that cannot share their portions have a common divisor, divide ANY of them by the common divisor, then multiply the result by the OTHER. Finally, multiply the solution obtained by the base number. The end result gives the new base number

Example 23

Heirs	9 Daughters	6 Uterine brothers
Shares	2/3	1/3
Base number	3
Portions	2	1
New base number	54
New portions	4 apiece	3 apiece

Both categories cannot share their portions. In addition, the number of heads and number of portions for both categories (i.e. 9 and 2; 6 and 1) are parallel. But considering the number of heads 9 and 6, they have a common divisor, 3. Consequently,

New base number = 9 ÷ 3 = 3 × 6 = 18 × 3 = 54; alternatively,

New base number = 6 ÷ 3 = 2 × 9 = 18 × 3 = 54 New portion of 9 daughters: 54 × 2/3 = 36

New portion of 6 uterine brothers: 54 – 36 = 18

Each daughter and uterine brother gets 4 and 3 portions respectively.

Level 2(c): Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate. However, the number of heads and number of portions of one category HAVE a common divisor, while the number of heads and the number of portions of the other category ARE PARALLEL.

Recall that whenever two or more numbers converge, it means that they have a common divisor. Now, if any on the numbers is divided by the common divisor, the result is called WAFQ of that number which I translate as ADJUST. For instance, 6, 15 and 21 converge because their common divisor is 3.

÷ 3 = 2 15 ÷ 3 = 5 21 ÷ 3 = 7

Thus, the wafq or adjust of 6 is 2, adjust of 15 is 5 and adjust of 21 is

7. Notice that it is the technical name used to identify the result of the division that is being introduced here; otherwise nothing is new.

Rule O: If the ADJUST of the category that has a common divisor is the same with the NUMBER OF HEADS of the category that has no common divisor, select any of them and multiply by the base number. The result is the new base number.

Example 24

Heirs	Mother	6 Daughters	3 Grandsons
Shares	1/6	2/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	4	1
Number of heads	1	6	3

New base number	18
New portions	3	Each = 2	Each = 1

Mother gets her 1 portion. She has no problem. 6 daughters cannot share 4 portions. Likewise, 3 grandsons cannot share 1 portion. But in the “daughters” category, the number of heads, 6, and the number of portions, 4, have a common divisor, 2. Consequently,

6 ÷ 2 = 3 4 ÷ 2 = 2

So, adjusts of the “daughters” category are 3 and 2. But a general rule is that only the adjust resulting from division of number of heads is considered. Therefore, 3 will be used in this case.

As for the “grandson” category, the number of heads, 3, and the number of portions, 1, have no common divisor. Applying the rule, the adjust of the “daughters” category which has a common divisor, 3, is the same with the number of heads of the “grandson” category that has no common divisor. So, one of them is selected. Thus,

New base number = 3 × 6 = 18

New portion of Mother: 18 × 1/6 = 3

New portion of 6 Daughters: 18 × 2/3 = 12 New portion of 3 Grandsons: 18 – (3 + 12) = 3

Each daughter and grandson inherits 2 and 1 portions respectively.

Rule P: Examine the ADJUST of the category whose number of heads and number of portions have a common divisor along with the NUMBER OF HEADS of the category with no common divisor. If one is a multiple of the other, multiply the higher one with the base number to arrive at the new base number

Example 25

Heirs	4 Wives	2 Full brothers; 2 Full sisters
Share	¼	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	3
Number of heads	4	6
New base number	16
New portions	Each wife = 1	Each brother = 4; each sister = 2

“Wives” category: 4 wives cannot share 1 portion; and there is no common divisor between 4 (number of heads) and 1 (number of portions).

“Full brothers and sisters” category: 2 full brothers and 2 full sisters cannot share 3 portions; but there is a common divisor between 6 (number of heads) and 3 (number of portions). It’s 3. Note that since the category has both male and female heirs, each male is taken to have “2 heads.” Therefore,

Adjust = 6 ÷ 3 = 2

But the number of heads of “wives” category, 4, is a multiple of 2, the adjust of the “full brothers and full sisters” category. So,

New base number = 4 × 4 = 16

New portion of 4 Wives: 16 ÷ ¼ = 4

New portion of 2 Full brothers and 2 full sisters: 16 – 4 = 12

Each wife, full brother and full sister is given 1, 4 and 2 portions respectively.

Rule Q: In a situation whereby there is a parallel relationship between the ADJUST of the category whose number of heads and number of portions have a common divisor and the NUMBER OF HEADS of the category that has no common divisor, multiply the adjust with the number of heads, then further multiply the answer with the base number to get the new base number.

Example 26

Heirs	4 Daughters	Grandson; granddaughter
Shares	2/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	2	1
Number of heads	4	3
New base number	18
New portions	Each daughter = 3	Grandson = 4; granddaughter = 2

“Daughters” category: 4 daughters cannot share 2 portions; but their number of heads, 4, and number of portions, 2, have a common divisor, 2. Thus,

Adjust = 4 ÷ 2 = 2

“Grandchildren” category: 1 grandson and 1 granddaughter cannot share 1 portion; and there is no common divisor of 3 (number of heads) and 1 (number of portions).

But, the adjust and number of heads, 2 and 3 respectively are parallel. New base number = 2 × 3 = 6 × 3 = 18

New portion of 4 daughters: 18 × 2/3 = 12

New portion of grandson and granddaughter: 18 – 12 = 6

Each daughter is given 3 portions. Grandson and granddaughter each receive 4 and 2 portions respectively.

Rule R: Whenever the ADJUST of the category whose number of heads and number of portions have a common divisor and the NUMBER OF HEADS of the category that has no common divisor converge, divide any of them by the common divisor and multiply by the other. Again, multiply the answer by the base number to generate a new base number

Example 27

Heirs	8 Daughters	6 consanguine brothers
Shares	2/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	2	1
Number of heads	8	6
New base number	36
New portions	Each daughter = 3	Each brother = 2

“Daughters” category: 8 daughters cannot share 2 portions; but there is a common divisor of 8 (number of heads) and 2 (number of portions). It’s 2. Thus,

Adjust = 8 ÷ 2 = 4

“Consanguine brothers” category: 6 brothers cannot share 1 portion; and there is no common divisor of 6 (number of heads) and 1 (number of portions).

Now, the adjust and the number of heads of brothers, 4 and 6 respectively incidentally converge. Therefore, what is the common divisor of 4 and 6? 2. New base number = 4 ÷ 2 = 2 × 6 = 12 × 3 = 36

Alternatively, 6 ÷ 2 = 3 × 4 = 12 × 3 = 36 New portion of 8 daughters: 36 × 2/3 = 24

New portion of 6 consanguine brothers: 36 – 24 = 12

Each daughter and brother receives 3 and 2 portions respectively.

Level 2(d): Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate but the number of heads and corresponding number of portions of BOTH categories CONVERGE i.e. have a common divisor

Rule S: Consider the ADJUSTS of both categories. If they are the same, choose one and multiply it by the base number to obtain the new base number

Example 28

Heirs	Mother	4 uterine brothers	6 consanguine brothers
Shares	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	2	3
Number of heads	1	4	6
New base number	12
New portions	2	Each brother = 1	Each brother = 1

4 uterine brothers cannot share 2 portions; but 4 (number of heads) and 2 (number of portions) converge. Their common divisor is 2.

6 consanguine brothers cannot share 3 portions; also their number of heads, 6, and number of portions, 3, converge. Common divisor of 6 and 3 is 3.

Adjust of uterine brothers = 4 ÷ 2 = 2 Adjust of consanguine brothers = 6 ÷ 3 = 2

The two adjusts are the same. The rule says, select any and multiply by the base number, so

New base number = 2 × 6 = 12

New portion of mother: 12 × 1/6 = 2

New portion of 4 uterine brothers: 12 × 1/3 = 4

New portion of 6 consanguine brothers: 12 – (2 + 4) = 6

Rule T: If one ADJUST is a multiple of the other, multiply the higher one by the base number. The result is the new base number

Example 29

Heirs	Grandmother	4 uterine brothers; 4 uterine sisters	6 full brothers
Shares	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	2	3
Number of heads	1	8	6
New base number	24
New portions	4	Each sibling = 1	Each brother = 2

Grandmother is given her 1 portion. She has no problem.

4 uterine brothers and 4 uterine sisters cannot share 2 portions. However, 8 (their number of heads) and 2 (their number of portions) converge. The common divisor of 8 and 2 is 2.

But wait a minute, the category “uterine brothers and uterine sisters” is made up of males and females. And as stated earlier, in this circumstance, males have “2 heads,” therefore, number of heads of 4 uterine brothers and 4 uterine sisters should be 12 not 8! Yes, that’s true. We forgot to mention that that principle applies only when the males in the category will receive twice the portion of the females. Recall Example 26 above. The category “grandson and granddaughter” is said to have 3 heads. Why? Because grandson is entitled to two times the number of portions of granddaughter. Thus, he has “2 heads” while granddaughter has “1 head” making 3 heads. That is why their new portions were 4 and 2 respectively. As for uterine siblings, they share their portion of the estate in equal proportions irrespective of gender, so all of them are regarded as having “1 head.” Consequently, number of heads of 4 uterine brothers and 4 uterine sisters is 8.

Adjust of 4 uterine brothers and 4 uterine sisters = 8 ÷ 2 = 4

Similarly, 6 full brothers cannot share 3 portions; nevertheless 6 and 3

converge. Common divisor of 6 and 3 is 3.

Adjust of 6 full brothers = 6 ÷ 3 = 2

Now, the two adjusts, 4 and 2, one is a multiple of the other. Applying the rule,

New base number = 4 × 6 = 24

New portion of grandmother: 24 × 1/6 = 4

New portion of 4 uterine brothers and 4 uterine sisters: 24 × 1/3 = 8 New portion of 6 full brothers: 24 – (4 + 8) = 12

Each uterine sibling gets 1 portion of the estate while each full bother inherits 2 portions.

Rule U: If the ADJUSTS of the two categories that cannot share their portions are PARALLEL, i.e. have no common divisor, multiply both adjusts, then multiply the answer by the base number. This gives the new base number

Example 30

Heirs	6 Full sisters	4 uterine brothers	Mother
Shares	2/3	1/3	1/6
Base number	6
Portions	4	2	1

Is there anything intriguing in this example? Probably not obvious. OK, take some time to add up the number of portions. 4 + 2 + 1 = 7. This is greater than the base number. So, what comes to mind? ‘Awl (increment of base number)! But as stated earlier, even if base number is increased, the number of portions of each category of heir is not affected. Hence, 6 full sisters cannot share 4 portions; similarly, 4 uterine brothers cannot share 2 portions. Mother has no problem.

Adjust of full sisters = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 (Common divisor of 6 and 4 is 2).

Adjust of uterine brothers = 4 ÷ 2 = 2 (Common divisor of 4 and 2 is 2). The adjusts, 3 and 2 are parallel.

New base number = 3 × 2 = 6 × 7 = 42 (Observe that the base number was increased from 6 to 7).

IMPORTANT: Whenever the base number is increased, original shares are not used to determine new portions. New shares are “created” for each category such that the NUMBER OF PORTIONS serves as the numerator while the denominator is the INCREASED BASE NUMBER. Therefore, New share of 6 full sisters = 4/7

New portion of 6 full sisters: 42 × 4/7 = 24

New portion of 4 uterine brothers: 42 × 2/7 = 12 New portion of mother: 42 × 1/7 = 6

Total number of portions: 24 + 12 + 6 = 42!

If the original shares (2/3, 1/3 and 1/6) were used, the total number of portions would have been 49. Confirm that please. As a result, the final table should look like this.

Heirs	6 Full sisters	4 Uterine brothers	Mother
Original shares	2/3	1/3	1/6
Base number	6
Portions	4	2	1
Increased base number	7
New shares	4/7	2/7	1/7
New base number	42
New portions	Each sister = 4	Each brother = 3	6

Rule V: When the ADJUSTS of both categories of heirs that cannot share their portions of the estate in turn CONVERGE, i.e. have a common divisor, divide any of the adjusts by their common divisor, multiply the solution by the other adjust. Finally multiply the answer by the by the base number. The result is the new base number

Example 31

Heirs	18 uncles’ sons	Mother	2 uterine brothers; 6 uterine sisters
Shares	Residue	1/6	1/3
Base number	6
Portions	3	1	2
Number of heads	18	1	8
New base number	72
New portions	Each son = 2	12	Each uterine = 3

Adjust of 18 full uncles’ sons = 18 ÷ 3 = 6

Adjust of 2 uterine brothers and 6 uterine sisters = 8 ÷ 2 = 4

(The background explanations have been skipped. It is assumed that by now, the reader is conversant with the procedure).

But the adjusts, 6 and 4 converge. Their common divisor is 2. Accordingly, New base number = 6 ÷ 2 = 3 × 4 = 12 × 6 = 72

Alternatively, 4 ÷ 2 = 2 × 6 = 12 × 6 = 72 New portion of Mother: 72 × 1/6 = 12

New portion of 2 uterine brothers and 6 uterine sisters: 72 × 1/3 = 24 New portion of 18 uncles’ sons: 72 – (12 + 24) = 36

Note that the portions of mother and the uterines have to be determined first before knowing what the residue will be.

LEVEL 3

Three or more categories of heirs cannot share their portions of the estate.

Generally, the maximum number of categories that cannot share their portions is three. But we have decided to say “three or more” because the rule of solving for three categories is applicable to four, five and so on (if such higher order problems exist). Remember how to determine the LCM of 3 or more numbers? Select any two, find their LCM. Call it ‘X’. Then find the LCM of ‘X’ and the third number. Name this ‘Y’, and proceed like that until all the numbers are exhausted. That is how to solve Level 3 problems. There is no clear-cut rule on which categories to start with. One has the liberty to select any two. But for simplification, the following may be very handy.

Rule W: Examine the categories that cannot share their portions. Select any two that are SIMILAR and resolve them using the appropriate rule. Let the solution be ‘X’. Next, consider ‘X’ along with the next category; resolve them using the appropriate rule. Continue like that until all the categories have been resolved. Thereafter, multiply the end result by the base number to obtain the new base number.

From the above, it will be deduced that Level 3 has no any new rule. Depending on the problem at hand, the appropriate rules from (K) to (V) are applied.

Example 32

Heirs	10 Daughters	2 Wives	Mother	6 Full sisters
Shares	2/3	1/8	1/6	Residue
Base number	24
Portions	16	3	4	1

Question 1: What categories are not able to share their portions? Answer: “Daughters,” “wives” and “full sisters” categories.

Question 2: What is the relationship between the number of heads and number of portions of these categories?

Answer: “Daughters” category: 10 and 16 converge. “Wives” category: 2 and 3 are parallel.

“Full sisters” category: 6 and 1 are parallel.

Question 3: Since two categories are parallel, consider them first. What is the relationship between their numbers of heads?

Answer: 2 (number of heads of wives) and 6 (number of heads of full sisters); one is a multiple of the other.

Question 4: What do we do? Answer: Select the higher one.

Question 5: Which is… Answer: 6

Question 6: What rule is that?

Answer: Rule L, “If the number of heads in one category is a multiple of the number of heads in the other category, use the higher number to multiply the base number.” But we do NOT multiply by the base number, until all the categories have been resolved.

Question 7: What is the adjust of “daughters” category that converges? Answer: Common divisor of 10 and 16 is 2. Therefore, adjust of “daughters” category is 10 ÷ 2 = 5.

Question 8: What is the relationship between 6 and 5; solutions of questions 5 and 7 respectively?

Answer: They are parallel. Question 9: What do we do?

Answer: Apply Rule P, “In a situation whereby there is a parallel relationship between the ADJUST of the category whose number of heads and number of portions have a common divisor and the NUMBER OF HEADS of the category that has no common divisor, multiply the adjust with the number of head.” That is 5 × 6 = 30.

Question 10: Anymore category to resolve? Answer: No.

Question 11: What next?

Answer: Apply Rule W, “…Thereafter, multiply the end result by the base number to obtain the new base number.”

Question 12: So, what is the new base number? Answer: 5 × 6 = 30 × 24 = 720

Question 13: Determine the new portion of each category of heir.

Answer: 10 daughters: 720 × 2/3 = 480 portions

2 wives: 720 × 1/8 = 90 portions Mother: 720 × 1/6 = 120 portions

full sisters: 720 – (480 + 90 + 120) = 30 portions

The complete table is

Heirs	10 Daughters	2 Wives	Mother	6 Full sisters
Shares	2/3	1/8	1/6	Residue
Base number	24
Portions	16	3	4	1
New base number	720
New portions	Each = 48	Each = 45	120	Each = 5

Example 33

Heirs	2 Wives	Mother	6 uterine sisters	2 consanguine brothers
Shares	¼	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	4	3

Using the procedure above but with less explanation and incorporating the original technical Arabic terms (for familiarisation), this problem can be solved as follows:

“Wives” category: Number of heads, 2, and number of portions, 3, are

tabayin (parallel).

Mother has no problem. Note that if a category consists of only ONE heir, he/she simply takes whatever is allocated to the category even if it’s 1 portion. That is why all along, mother do not use to have problem for the fact that one cannot have two mothers!

“Uterine sisters” category: Number of heads, 6, and number of portions, 4, are tawafuq (converge).

“Consanguine brothers” category: Number of heads, 2, and number of portions, 3, are tabayin (parallel).

Considering the two that are tabayin, number of heads of wives, 2 and the number of heads of consanguine brothers, 2 are tamathul (same). So, one is chosen (Rule K).

As for the “uterine sisters” category, the wafq (adjust) is 3. Now, 2 (selected number of heads) and 3 (wafq) are tabayin, so we multiply them (Rule Q). This gives 2 × 3 = 6. Finally,

New base number = 2 × 3 = 6 × 12 = 72. New portion of 2 wives: 72 × ¼ = 18 New portion of mother: 72 × 1/6 = 12

New portion of 6 uterine sisters: 72 × 1/3 = 24

New portion of 2 consanguine brothers: 72 – (18 + 12 + 24) = 18

The table will now look like this.

Heirs	2 Wives	Mother	6 uterine sisters	2 consanguine brothers
Shares	¼	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	4	3
New base number	72
New portions	Each = 9	12	Each = 4	Each = 9

Example 34

Heirs	2 Granddaughters; 4 grandsons	2 Grandmothers	12 Daughters	4 Wives
Shares	Residue	1/6	2/3	1/8
Base number	24
Portions	1	4	16	3
New base number	1440
New portions	Each granddaughter = 6; each grandson = 12	Each = 120	Each = 80	Each = 45

grandmothers can share their 4 portions. “Grandchildren” category: 10 and 1 are tabayin. “Daughters” category: 12 and 16 are tawafuq. “Wives” category: 4 and 3 are tabayin.

Number of heads of “grandchildren” and “wives” categories, 10 and 4 respectively are tawafuq. Apply Rule N.

Wafq of 10 and 4 = 10 ÷ 2 = 5 × 4 = 20; or 4 ÷ 2 = 2 × 10 = 20.

The wafq of “daughters” category is 3. How? Actually, common divisors of 12 and 16 are 2 and 4.

Using 2, wafq of 12 daughters = 12 ÷ 2 = 6

With 4, wafq of 12 daughters = 12 ÷ 4 = 3

Recall that only the Highest Common Divisor (HCD) is considered. That is why the wafq of division by 4 is chosen.

Now, what is the relationship between the two adjusts (wafqan) 20 and 3? They are tabayin. So, we multiply them (Rule U).

Finally, new base number = 20 × 3 = 60 × 24 = 1440 New portion of 2 grandmothers: 1440 × 1/6 = 240 New portion of 12 daughters: 1440 × 2/3 = 960

New portion of 4 wives: 1440 × 1/8 = 180

New portion of 2 granddaughters and 4 grandsons: 1440 – (240 + 960 + 180) = 60

Had it being 2 was chosen to be the common divisor of 12 and 16, the wafq of 12 daughters should have been 6 (as above). But then the new base number would be = 20 × 6 = 120 × 24 = 2880 which is double of 1440. Not that 2880 is wrong, however the principle of base number is that the minimum value is used.

Rule W says, “Select any two SIMILAR categories and resolve them using the appropriate rule.” What happens if intentionally or otherwise, DISSIMILAR categories are selected first and resolved, will the new base number still be the same? Yes! Let’s prove it.

“Grandchildren” category: 10 and 1 are tabayin. “Daughters” category: 12 and 16 are tawafuq.

“Wives” category: 4 and 3 are tabayin.

Instead of considering the two categories that are tabayin as before, let’s resolve the “grandchildren” and “daughters” categories first. Since the number of heads and number of portions of grandchildren is tabayin, the emphasis shifts to the number of heads, 10. The wafq of 12 daughters is 3 (as explained earlier). Now, what is the relationship between 10 and 3? Tabayin. So, we multiply them (Rule Q).

10 × 3 = 30

The number of heads and number of portions of 4 wives is also tabayin. Again, the number of heads, 4, is considered. What is the relationship between 30 and 4? Tawafuq. Common divisor of 30 and 4 is 2. Therefore,

New base number = 30 ÷ 2 = 15 × 4 = 60 × 24 = 1440

Alternatively, 4 ÷ 2 = 2 × 30 = 60 × 24 = 1440

As a result, selecting and resolving similar or dissimilar categories of heirs that cannot share their portions do not make any difference. But choosing and resolving similar categories first simplify the problem.

Exercise 2

A deceased leaves behind two wives, five daughters and three full brothers. How will the estate be shared among them?

INHERITANCE OF GRANDFATHER ALONG WITH SIBLINGS

It is advised that the reader takes sometime to skim through Inheritance of Grandfather to better appreciate this chapter.

To start with, siblings are full brothers, full sisters, consanguine brothers and consanguine sisters. Uterine brothers and sisters are equally siblings but they do not inherit along with grandfather because he excludes them. Inheritance of grandfather can be divided into four (4) parts.

Grandfather inherits along with full brother(s), full sister(s) or a combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) in the ABSENCE of other heirs. Any conclusion made regarding the “fulls” also applies to their consanguine counterparts.
1. Grandfather inherits along with combination of “fulls” and “consanguines” in the ABSENCE of other heirs.
1. Grandfather inherits along with full brother(s), full sister(s) or a combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) in the PRESENCE of other heirs. Any conclusion made also applies to their consanguine counterparts.
1. Grandfather inherits along with combination of “fulls” and “consanguines” in the PRESENCE of other heirs.

Inheritance of grandfather along with full brother(s), full sister(s) or a combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) in the ABSENCE of other heirs

He has two choices: 1/3 of the estate or muqasama (sharing).

Example 35: Grandfather and full brother

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	Full brother
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	Full brother
Share	Whole estate
Base number	Number of heads = 2
Portions	1	1

Which of these options is more favourable to the grandfather? That is, which option entitles him to a larger portion of the estate? The number of portions he receives in both is 1. So how do we know which one is more favourable to the number of portions and base number the numerator and denominator respectively in both cases. Hence,Value of portion if he inherits 1/3 of estate = 1/3 Value of estate if he agrees to muqasama = ½ Therefore, muqasama is more beneficial to him.

Sometimes, dealing with fractions is tasking especially when one is to decide which one is larger and which one is smaller. For simplicity, it’s recommended that fractions should be converted to decimal numbers. This can be done with the aid of a calculator. Using the example above, 1/3 = 0.33 and ½ = 0.5.

Deciding which decimal number is greater is quite easy. Remember how to arrange words in alphabetical order? If the first letters are the same, consider the second letters; if they are the same, look at the third letters; and so on. Same thing with numbers. Assuming we are asked to arrange 0.453, 0.345, 0.543 and 0.4512 in ascending order, the solution will be 0.345,

0.4513, 0.453 and 0.543.

Example 36: Grandfather and full sister

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	1/3	½
Base number	6
Portions	2	3
Values	2/6 = 0.33	3/6 = 0.5

There is 1 extra portion.

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	3
Portions	2	1
Values	2/3 = 0.67	1/3 = 0.33

Again, grandfather is advised to inherit by muqasama.

Note that grandfather is ACTING as a full brother that is why the base number (number of heads) is 3; he has “2 heads” and full sister has 1. So in essence, we have just one category of heirs. Had it being grandfather makes a category by himself, his number of heads should have been 1 as established in the previous chapter; that a male is considered to have “1 head” if a category consists of exclusive males.

Example 37: Grandfather, full brother and full sister

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	Full brother; full sister
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	3 × 3 = 9
New portions	3	Brother = 4; sister = 2
Values	3/9 = 0.33	Brother = 0.44; sister = 0.22

Full brother and sister cannot share their 2 portions. So, their number of heads, 3 multiplied by base number, 3 gives 9 (new base number).

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	Full brother; full sister
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	Total number of heads = 5
Portions	2	Brother = 2; sister = 1
Values	2/5 = 0.4	Brother = 0.4; sister = 0.2

Muqasama is better for grandfather.

Example 38: Grandfather and 2 full brothers

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	2 Full brothers
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	Each brother = 1
Values	1/3 = 0.33	Each brother = 0.33

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	2 Full brothers
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	3
Portions	1	Each brother = 1
Values	1/3 = 0.33	Each brother = 0.33

Since grandfather gets 1/3 (0.33) of the estate in both cases, it makes no difference whether he takes 1/3 out-rightly or chooses to share the estate with the 2 brothers.

Example 39: Grandfather and 4 full sisters

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	4 Full sisters
Shares	1/3	2/3
Base number	3
Portions	1	2

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	4 Full sisters
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	6
Portions	2	Each sister = 1
Values	2/6 = 0.33	Each sister = 0.17

Given that the value of grandfather’s portion is the same in both situations, he is at liberty to choose any. Observe that Examples 38 and 39 are virtually the same because the number of heads of those inheriting along with grandfather i.e. 2 full brothers and 4 full sisters respectively is 4! Similarly, the same scenario will play out if the surviving heirs are grandfather, 1 brother and 2 sisters of whatever combination. Confirm that please. Consequently,

Rule X: Whenever brother(s), sister(s) or a combination of brother(s) and sister(s) are inheriting along with grandfather, if their total number of heads is exactly 4, the value of grandfather’s portion will be the same for both 1/3 of the estate and muqasama. Hence, anyone he chooses makes no difference.

Example 40: Grandfather and 3 full brothers

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	3 Full brothers
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	9
New portions	3	Each brother = 2
Values	3/9 = 0.33	Each brother = 0.22

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	3 Full brothers
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	4
Portions	1	3
Values	¼ = 0.25	Each brother = 0.25

0.33 is greater than 0.25; so grandfather should take 1/3 of the estate.

Example 41: Grandfather and 5 full sisters

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	5 Full sisters
Shares	1/3	2/3
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	15
New portions	5	Each sister = 2
Values	5/15 = 0.33	Each sister = 0.13

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	5 Full sisters
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	7
Portions	2	Each sister = 1
Values	2/7 = 0.29	Each sister = 0.14

Again, 1/3 of the estate is more beneficial to the grandfather.

Example 42: Grandfather, 2 full brother and 3 full sisters

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	2 Full brothers, 3 full sisters
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	21
New portions	7	Each brother = 4; each sister = 2
Values	7/21 = 0.33	Each brother = 0.19; each sister = 0.095

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	2 Full brothers, 3 full sisters
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	9
Portions	2	Each brother = 2; each sister = 1
Values	2/9 = 0.22	Each brother = 0.22; each sister = 0.11

1/3 of the estate is better for the grandfather.

Rule Y: Muqasama is better for the grandfather whenever he inherits along with AT MOST

2 full brothers
2 consanguine brothers
4 full sisters
4 consanguine sisters
1 full brother and 2 full sisters
1 consanguine brother and 2 consanguine sisters; otherwise he should take 1/3 of the estate.

Inheritance of grandfather along with combination of “fulls” and “consanguines” in the ABSENCE of other heirs.

This is my favourite section. I particularly like the tricky nature of the rule.

Rule Z: When the surviving heirs of a deceased are grandfather and any combination of full brother(s) or sister(s) and consanguine brother(s) or sister(s), the “consanguines” ACT or BEHAVE as if they were “fulls.” When grandfather takes his portion of the estate, “consanguines” REVERT to their status and take THEIR ORIGINAL SHARES of the estate. The portion of each (i.e. “fulls” and “consanguines”) is determined USING THE BASE NUMBER.

Example 43: Grandfather, full brother and 3 consanguine sisters

Applying Rule Y, 1/3 of the estate will be more favourable to grandfather than muqasama, so we do not need to solve for muqasama. The first step is to modify the problem. It now becomes: grandfather, full brother and 3 “full” sisters (Rule Z).

Heirs	Grandfather	Full brother; 3 “full” sisters
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	15
New portions	5	Full brother = 4; each “full” sister = 2
Final portions	5	Full brother = 10; consanguine sisters = 0

Full brother and 3 “full” sisters cannot share 2 portions. Their number of heads (5) and number of portions (2) are tabayin (parallel). Therefore,

New base number = 5 × 3 = 15

New portion of grandfather = 15 × 1/3 = 5

New portion of full brother and 3 full sisters = 15 – 5 = 10 Full brother gets 4 while each “full” sister inherits 2 portions.

Consanguine sisters then revert to their status. But then, full brother is originally a residuary by himself. He excludes consanguine sisters and inherits the whole residue. The implication is that consanguine sisters will surrender their portions to the full brother. Thus, their FINAL PORTIONS are: full brother = 10; consanguine sisters = 0

Example 44: Grandfather, 2 full sisters and consanguine brother

Number of heads of siblings is 4, so whichever option grandfather chooses makes no difference. Bear in mind that the problem becomes: grandfather, 2 full sisters and “full” brother; but it will not be indicated in the table as such.

1/3 of the estate

Heirs	Grandfather	2 full sisters; consanguine brother
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	6
New portions	2	Each full sister = 1; consanguine brother = 2
Final portions	2	Each full sister = 2; consanguine brother = 0

Number of heads of 2 full sisters and consanguine brother, 4, converges with their number of portions, 2. So, new base number = 2 (adjust) × 3 = 6. When consanguine brother reverts to his status, he becomes a residuary while full sisters are entitled to 2/3 of the estate. Hence, their final portion is 2/3 × 6 = 4 and each is given 2 portions. Since the estate is exhausted, consanguine brother gets nothing.

Muqasama

Heirs	Grandfather	2 Full sisters; consanguine brother
Shares	Whole estate
Base number	6
Portions	2	Each full sister = 1; consanguine brother = 2
Final portions	2	Each full sister = 2; Consanguine brother = 0

Example 45: Grandfather, 3 full sisters and 2 consanguine sisters

1/3 of the estate is more favourable for grandfather because number of heads of sisters is greater than 4.

Heirs	Grandfather	3 Full sisters; 2 consanguine sisters
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2
New base number	15
New portions	5	Each full sister = 2; each consanguine sister = 2
Final portions	5	3 full sisters = 10; 2 consanguine sisters = 0

Newest base number	9
Newest portions	3	Each full sister = 2

New base number = 5 × 3 = 15

New portion of grandfather = 15 × 1/3 = 5

New portion of 3 full sisters and 2 consanguine sisters = 15 – 5 = 10 Original portion of 3 full sisters = 2/3 × 15 = 10

This means that 2 consanguine sisters will have nothing. But 3 full sisters cannot share their 10 portions, so another base number is determined once more. Number of heads of 3 full sisters (3) and their number of portions (10) is tabayin. Therefore, number of heads is multiplied by the base number. Another problem: there are two base numbers 3 and 15! What to do is to choose the one that will give a lower “newest” base number.

Newest base number = 3 × 3 = 9

Newest portion of grandfather = 9 × 1/3 = 3

Newest portion of 3 full sisters = 9 × 2/3 = 6; each sister is given 2 portions.

Inheritance of grandfather along with full brother(s), full sister(s) or a combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) in the PRESENCE of other heirs.

In the presence of other heir(s), grandfather has three (3) choices. He is to choose whichever is most favourable to him. They are: 1/6 of the estate, 1/3 of the residue or muqasama (sharing). Note that Rules X and Y are not applicable here.

Example 46: Wife, grandfather and 3 full brothers

1/6 of the estate

Heirs	Wife	Grandfather	3 Full brothers
Shares	¼	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	2	7
New base number	36
New portions	9	6	Each brother = 7
Values	63/252 = 0.25	0.17	Each brother = 0.19

full brothers cannot share 7 portions. 3 and 7 are tabayin, so new base number = 3 × 12 = 36.
1/3 of residue

Heirs	Wife	Grandfather	3 Full brothers
Shares	¼	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	3
New base number	48

New portions	12	12	Each brother = 8
Newest base number	12
Newest portions	3	3	Each brother = 2
Values	0.25	0.25	Each brother = 0.17

Number of heads of grandfather and 3 full brothers = 4, and they cannot share 3 portions. So, new base number = 4 × 4 = 16.

New portion of wife: 16 × ¼ = 4 Residue = 16 – 4 = 12

New portion of grandfather: 1/3 × 12 = 4

Actual residue for 3 full brothers = 16 – (4 + 4) = 8. But 3 brothers cannot share 8 portions. Once again, another base number is determined.

Newest base number = 3 (number of heads of 3 brothers) × 4 (least base number)

= 12

Newest portion of wife: 12 × ¼ = 3 Residue = 12 – 3 = 9

Newest portion of grandfather: 9 × 1/3 = 3

Newest portion of 3 full brothers (residue): 12 – (3 + 3) = 6; each brother

gets 2 portions.

Muqasama

Heirs	Wife	Grandfather	3 Full brothers
Share	¼	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	3
New base number	48
New portions	12	Each = 9
Values	0.25	Each = 0.19

New portion of grandfather and 3 full brothers = 48 – 12 = 36; each person gets 36 ÷ 4 = 9 portions.

Remember that the value of portions is the variable considered to determine the best choice not the number of portions. Thus, 1/3 of the residue is most favourable to grandfather since he will be entitled to 0.25 of the estate as against 0.17 or 0.19 if he has chosen 1/6 of the estate or muqasama respectively.

Example 47: Husband, daughter, grandfather and full sister

1/6 of the estate

Heirs	Husband	Daughter	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	¼	½	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	6	2	1
Values	3/12 = 0.25	0.5	0.17	0.08

Full sister becomes residuary with another.

1/3 of residue Grandfather acts as a full brother.

Heirs	Husband	Daughter	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	¼	½	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	2	1
New base number	12
New portions	3	6	1	2
Values	3/12 = 0.25	0.5	0.08	0.17

New base number = 3 × 4 = 12

Residue = 12 – (3 + 6) = 3 portions

Grandfather inherits 3 × 1/3 = 1 while full sister is given the remaining 2 portions.

Muqasama

Heirs	Husband	Daughter	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	¼	½	Residue
Base number	4
Portions	1	2	1
New base number	12
New portions	3	6	2	1
Values	3/12 = 0.25	0.5	0.17	0.08

Grandfather may choose either 1/6 of the estate or inherit by muqasama. Notice that he is inheriting along with only one full sister, yet his value of portion is the same for both options. That is why in the presence of other heirs, Rules X and Y are not applicable.

Inheritance of grandfather along with combination of “fulls” and “consanguines” in the PRESENCE of other heirs

Example 48: Mother, full sister, grandfather and 2 consanguine brothers

1/6 of the estate

Heirs	Mother	Full sister	Grandfather	2 Consanguine brothers
Shares	1/6	½	1/6	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	1	3	1	1
New base number	12
New portions	2	6	2	2
Values	0.17	0.5	0.17	Each = 0.085

1/3 of residue

Heirs	Mother	Full sister	Grandfather	2 Consanguine brothers
Shares	1/6	Residue		“Excluded”
Base number	6
Portions	1	5
New base number	18
New portions	3	10	5
Values	0.17	0.56	0.28

New base number = 3 × 6 = 18

Residue = 18 – 3 = 15

Number of portions of mother: 18 × 1/6 = 3 Grandfather is given 15 × 1/3 = 5 portions Full sister receives 15 – 5 = 10 portions

Muqasama

Grandfather acts as full brother. As a result, consanguine brothers are excluded.

Heirs	Mother	Full sister	Grandfather	2 Consanguine brothers
Shares	1/6	Residue		“Excluded”
Base number	6
Portions	1	5
New base number	18
New portions	3	5	10
Values	0.17	0.28	0.56

Muqasama is better for grandfather. And the interesting thing is that no heir has the right to oppose any choice he makes. In this example for instance, the two consanguine brothers are not allowed to persuade the grandfather to take 1/6 of the estate, since by muqasama or 1/3residue they will have nothing.

It is necessary to determine the number of portions and value of the estate grandfather is entitled to in all three cases before reaching a conclusion; otherwise, he will be wrongly excluded when he should actually be entitled to a share. The following exercise will prove that.

Exercise 3

A woman leaves behind her husband, two daughters, mother, grandfather and full brother. How will the estate be shared among them?

CHAPTER 18: SPECIAL CASES

‘Umariyyataini (the two ‘Umar cases)

Supposing a deceased is survived by his parents (mother and father) only, how will his estate be distributed among them?

Heirs	Mother	Father
Shares	1/3	Residue
Base number	3
Portions	1	2

This shows that father inherits twice the share of mother in the absence of children or any descendant through son. Now consider the following:

Case 1: A man dies leaving behind a wife, mother and father

Heirs	Wife	Mother	Father
Shares	¼	1/3	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	4	5

Case 2: A woman is survived by her husband, mother and father

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Father
Shares	½	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	3	2	1

Observe that in Case 1, the number of portions of mother is almost the same with that of the father; while in Case 2, her number of portions doubles his. Though the distributions are correct, they violate the principle that father gets twice the share or number of portions of mother in the absence of children or descendants through son. These pair of problems arose during the Caliphate of ‘Umar. That is why they are symbolically referred to as ‘Umariyyataini.

The resolution was that instead of giving mother 1/3 of the estate, she should be given 1/3 OF THE RESIDUE so as to maintain the ratio of 2 to 1 between father and mother. Therefore, Case 1 becomes

Heirs	Wife	Mother	Father
Shares	¼	Residue
Base number	4
Heirs Husband Mother Father Shares ½ Residue Base number 2 Portions 1 1 New base number 6 New portions 3 1 2 Portions	1	1	2

Residue = 4 – 1 = 3

Mother inherits 3 × 1/3 = 1 portion Father is given 4 – (1 + 1) = 2 portions

Similarly, Case 2 can be resolved as follows

Residue = 6 – 3 = 3

New portion of mother: 3 × 1/3 = 1 New portion of father: 6 – (3 + 1) = 2

Recall that in the absence of a son, the grandson takes his place and inherits all his rights and privileges. Likewise, in the absence of father, grandfather replaces him but does not inherit all his privileges according to the more popular view of scholars. As stated earlier, this is because father excludes full and consanguine siblings but grandfather cannot exclude them. ‘Umariyyataini is another. Unlike father, grandfather does not have the “power” to relegate mother from 1/3 of the estate to 1/3 of the residue. Therefore, if grandfather were to take the place of father in Cases 1 and 2, he will be given 5 and 1 portions respectively. Adjustments shall not be made.

Mushtarika (Partnership)

Problem: A lady leaves behind her husband, mother, two uterine brothers and a full brother. How will her estate be distributed?

Solution:

Heirs	Husband	Mother	2 uterine brothers	Full brother
Shares	½	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	3	1	2	0

This also arose during the time of ‘Umar. Despite that the distribution was correct; full brother protested on the ground that he was more related to the deceased than the uterine brothers since he has the same father and mother with her whereas uterine brothers have the same mother with her only. As a result, it is not fair for the uterines to be entitled to a portion of the estate while he is being left out. ‘Umar reasoned with him and instructed that he shares 1/3 along with uterine brothers in equal proportion. The final table then becomes

Heirs	Husband	Mother	2 uterine brothers	Full brother
Shares	½	1/6	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	3	1	2	0
New base number	3 × 6 = 18
New portions	9	3	Each brother = 2

Imams Malik and As-Shafi’i supported this verdict though Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Hanifa opposed it for the fact that full brother is a residuary who by definition inherits the whole estate when alone or takes the residue, and if nothing is left (as in this problem), he goes empty handed.

Whereas the two ‘Umar cases are “heir-specific” i.e. applicable when the heirs are wife, mother and father ONLY or husband, mother and father ONLY, partnership is also applicable when the following are present:

More than two uterine brothers, two or more uterine sisters or a combination of uterine brother(s) and sisters(s) because they all inherit 1/3 of the estate.
1. More than one full brother or a combination of full brother(s) and full sister(s) since they are equally entitled to residue.

Mushtarika does not apply if the heirs comprises of:

One uterine brother or sister given that he/she gets 1/6 of the estate and this will distort the problem.
One or more full sisters ONLY. The reason is that they have fixed shares.
One or more consanguine brother(s) or sister(s). Though they are also residuaries, but are related to the deceased through the father only.

Al-Akdariyya (Troublesome)

Problem: A woman is survived by her husband, mother, grandfather and full sister. (Consanguine sister may replace a full sister and the rule of Akdariyya will still be valid).

Solution: Since grandfather is involved, the three options have to be considered.

1/6 of the estate

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	½	1/3	1/6	½
Base number	6
Portions	3	2	1	3
Increased base number	9
Values	3/9 = 0.33	0.22	0.11	0.33

1/3 of residue

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	½	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	3	2	1
New base number	3 × 6 = 18
New portions	9	6	1	2
Value	0.5	0.33	0.06	0.11

Muqasama

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	½	1/3	Residue
Base number	6
Portions	3	2	1
New base number	18
New portions	9	6	2	1
Values	0.5	0.33	0.11	0.06

Grandfather acts as a full brother, so he takes twice the portion of full sister. Thus, he inherits 2 portions out of the 3 residues, while full sister is given 1. Conclusion: Grandfather may inherit either 1/6 of the estate or by muqasama.

A closer look at the two options will reveal that in muqasama, grandfather (acting as a full brother) gets twice the portion of full sister. That is alright. But if he decides to take 1/6 of the estate, full sister’s portion is not only double but three times his portion. That is one way of looking at it. The second is that if the shares of husband, mother and grandfather are added together, the estate gets exhausted and full sister receives nothing. That is,

½ (0.5) + 1/3 (0.33) + 1/6 (0.17) = 1.

This is also not acceptable according to most Jurists because full sister cannot be excluded by husband, mother or grandfather. For this reason, the problem is referred to as “troublesome.”

The resolution is that grandfather should agree to 1/6 of the estate but then, his portion and that of full sister will be added and redistributed among them in a ratio of 2 to 1. Thus,

Number of portion of grandfather and full sister = 1 + 3 = 4 Grandfather and full sister cannot share 4 portions.

Their number of heads, 3, and number of portions, 4, are tabayin. Therefore, New base number = 3 × 9 (increased base number) = 27

New share of husband = 3/9 New share of mother = 2/9

New share of grandfather = 1/9 New share of full sister = 3/9

New portion of husband: 27 × 3/9 = 9

New portion of mother: 27 × 2/9 = 6 New portion of grandfather: 27 × 1/9 = 3 New portion of full sister: 27 × 3/9 = 9

Now, add new portions of grandfather and full sister: 3 + 9 = 12. Grandfather gets twice the portion of full sister. 12 is divided by 3. He takes 2 parts while she is given remaining 1 part. Mathematically,

Newest portion of grandfather: 12 × 2/3 = 8

Newest portion of full sister: 12 × 1/3 = 4

Heirs	Husband	Mother	Grandfather	Full sister
Shares	½	1/3	1/6	½
Base number	6
Portions	3	2	1	3
Increased base number	9
New base number	27
New shares	3/9	2/9	1/9	3/9
New portions	9	6	3	9
Newest portions	9	6	8	4
Values	9/27 = 0.33	0.22	0.30	0.15

Observe that we deviated from the principle that number of heads should be multiplied by the lowest base number in order to generate a new base number. This is because there was an increase in the base number (‘awl), so number of heads is multiplied by the increment. Also, note that the value of grandfather’s portion is greater than what he should have received through muqasama. This was how the problem was solved by Zaid ibn Thabit, the most knowledgeable companion of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in the Science of Inheritance. May Allah be pleased with them all. Ameen.

SUMMARY

Level	Property	How to determine base number
1(a)	One category of heir; no fixed share	Rule A: Number of heads
1(b)	One category of heir with a fixed share	Rule B: Denominator of the share
1(c)	Two categories of heirs; one has a fixed share	Rule C: Denominator of the share
1(d)	Two or more categories of heirs; at least two have fixed shares	Consider the denominators of the two shares Rule D: If they are the same (tamathul), choose one Rule E: If one is a multiple of the other (tadakhul), select the higher one Rule F: If they are parallel (tabayin), multiply them Rule G: If they converge (tawafuq), multiply one with the adjust (wafq) of the other
‘Awl	Sum of portions greater than base number	Rule H: Sum of portions

2(a)	One category of heir cannot share its portion	Consider number of heads and number of portions of the category. Rule I: If parallel (tabayin), multiply number of heads by base number (BN) to get new base number (NBN) Rule J: If they converge (tawafuq), multiply adjust (of number of heads) by BN to arrive at a NBN NOTE: There can be no tamathul or tadakhul in this level.
2(b)	Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions ; while number of heads and corresponding number of portions of BOTH categories are tabayin	Consider number of heads of the two categories Rule K: If tamathul, select any and multiply by BN. Solution is NBN Rule L: If tadakhul, multiply the higher one by the BN to get NBN Rule M: If tabayin, multiply them, then multiply the answer by the BN. Outcome is NBN Rule N: If tawafuq, multiply wafq of one with the other, then multiply the result with the BN to arrive at a NBN
2(c)	Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions; however, number of heads and number of portions of one category are tawafuq while number of heads and number of portions of the other category are tabayin	*Consider the wafq* (of number of heads) of the tawafuq category along with the number of heads of tabayin category** Rule O: If tamathul, chooses any and multiply by BN to get NBN Rule P: If tadakhul, select the higher one and multiply it by the BN. Result is NBN Rule Q: If tabayin, multiply them, then further multiply the answer by the BN to arrive at a NBN Rule R: If tawafuq, multiply wafq of one by the other. Further multiply the result by BN to determine the NBN
2(d)	Two categories of heirs cannot share their portions; but, number of heads and corresponding number of portions of BOTH categories are tawafuq	*Consider the wafq* of both categories** Rule S: If tamathul, pick any and multiply by the BN to obtain a NBN Rule T: If tadakhul, multiply the base number by the higher one to generate a NBN Rule U: If tabayin, multiply the two wafqan, thereafter, multiply the answer by the BN to get a NBN Rule V: If tawafuq, multiply the wafq of

		one with the other. Subsequently, multiply the solution with the BN. Result is the NBN
3	Three or more	Consider number of heads of tabayin
	categories of heirs	category and the wafq of tawafuq
	cannot share their	category
	portions; number of	Rule W: No precise procedure to
	heads and	determine base number, but suggestion is;
	corresponding number	pick any two categories that are SIMILAR.
	of portions of each may	If they are tabayin, resolve them using the
	either be tabayin or	appropriate rule (K, L, M or N) to get a
	tawafuq	solution ‘X’. If they are tawafuq apply the
		suitable Level 2(d) rule: S, T, U or V, to
		obtain a solution ‘X’. Then consider ‘X’
		along with the number of heads or wafq of
		the third category depending on the
		relationship of its number of heads and
		number of portions. If tabayin, use its
		number of heads but if tawaquf, use its
		wafq. Apply the correct rule. This new
		answer is ‘Y’. If there are more categories
		that cannot share their portions, follow the
		same procedure to resolve all of them.
		Finally multiply the last result by the BN
		to determine a NBN

CHAPTER 19: FURTHER READING

Radd (Decrease of base number)

This is the opposite of ‘awl. Radd is applicable when the heirs cannot exhaust the estate, thus the base number is decreased so as to proportionately increase the share of each heir. Though there are particular heirs who are not entitled to or do not benefit from radd.

Inheritance of cognates (Zawul-Arham)

When rightful heirs do not exhaust the estate and radd is not applied, cognates are invited to inherit from the rest. The most popular opinion is that cognate children step into the shoes of their agnate parents. For instance, daughter’s son who is a non-heir is given the share of a daughter. Cognates are classified into 4 and they also exclude one another.

Munasakha (2-in-1 inheritance)

Say a man passes on leaving behind his wife and children. Before his estate is distributed, the wife also dies. Note that although the wife is absent, she will still inherit from the husband because she was alive at the time he died. So, the husband’s estate will be distributed among the wife and children. Thereafter, wife’s estate will be shared among the children. But instead of doing this one after the other, the two distributions can be at once. It’s a bit complex especially if the second deceased have heirs who are not entitled to inherit from the first deceased.

Takharuj (Removal)

An agreement between one of the heirs and the rest, that if he is given a specific item FROM or OUTSIDE the estate, he will relinquish his whole share of the estate.

Inheritance of foetus

A foetus may either be a significant or non-significant heir. Significant in the sense that if delivered alive, some heirs will be excluded. In that case, it is preferred that the estate is not shared until it is born. However, if the estate has to be distributed, some rules will apply.

Inheritance of a missing person

A missing person can either be the one to be inherited or the heir. If he is to be inherited his estate shall not be allotted to his heirs until he attains 70 years of age (or 90 according to some Jurists). But before then, if some rules are satisfied, the estate can be shared. On the other hand, when an important heir that can distort the sharing formulae such as a son is missing, unless he is officially pronounced dead by a court of law (after Shari’ah- accepted due process has being followed), no one will inherit from the estate of the deceased. However, if it has to apportioned, some rule will come to play.

Inheritance of a controversial heir

A person who claims to be an heir of a deceased such that the claim is accepted by some heirs and rejected by others is said to be a controversial heir. The estate will be distributed in such a way that those that reject the controversial heir will get their full shares, while the share of those that accept him will be deducted and given to him.

Inheritance of a hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodites may either be partial or total. A Partial hermaphrodite is considered to be a male or female depending on the organ that is functional or more functional. However, if both are functional in the same proportion, the individual is said to be a total hermaphrodite and is given half of both male and female portions of inheritance. Hence, its number of heads is 1½.

SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISES

Exercise 1

Heirs	2 daughters	Mother	Father
Shares	2/3	1/6	1/6 + residue
Base number	6
Portions	Each daughter = 2	1	1

Note that brother and sister are excluded by father.

2 daughters: 6 × 2/3 = 4 portions. Each daughter inherits 2. Mother: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

Father: 6 × 1/6 = 1 portion

Check for residue: 6 – 4 – 1 – 1 = 0 or 6 – (4 + 1 + 1) = 0

Since there is no residue, the father receives just 1 portion like the mother.

Exercise 2

Heirs	2 Wives	5 Daughters	3 Full brothers
Shares	1/8	2/3	Residue
Base number	8 × 3 = 24
Portions	3	16	5
New base number	2 × 5 × 3 × 24 = 720
New portions	Each = 45	Each = 96	Each = 50

None of the three categories of heirs can share their portions. So let’s consider the relationship between their number of heads and number of portions.

“Wives” category: 2 and 3 are tabayin (parallel) “Daughters” category: 5 and 16 are tabayin (parallel) “Full brothers” category: 3 and 5 are tabayin (parallel)

Since all of them are parallel, their number of heads is considered. Taking wives and daughters first, 2 and 5 are tabayin, so multiply them. 2 × 5 = 10. Now what is the relationship between 10 and 3 (heads of full brothers)? Tabayin. Again, multiply them. 10 × 3 = 30.

Hence, new base number = 30 × 24 = 720

New portion of 2 wives: 720 × 1/8 = 90; each has 45

New portion of 5 daughters: 720 × 2/3 = 480; each is given 96

New portion of 3 full brothers: 720 – (90 + 480) = 150; each inherits 50.

Exercise 3

1/6 of the estate

Heirs	Husband	2 Daughters	Mother	Grandfather	Full brother
Shares	¼	2/3	1/6	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	8	2	2	0
Increased base number	15

Values

0.2

0.53

0.13

1/3 of residue

Heirs	Husband	2 Daughters	Mother	Grandfather	Full brother
Shares	¼	2/3	1/6	Residue
Base number	12
Portions	3	8	2	0
Increased base number	13
Values	0.23	0.62	0.15	0	0

There is no residue, so 1/3 of residue does not exist. Hence, grandfather and full brother inherits nothing.

Muqasama

Here, grandfather is expected to share the residue with full brother. But from the table above, there will be no residue to share. Hence grandfather and full brother gets nothing. Therefore, 1/6 of the estate is the most favourable to grandfather. The two other options do not entitle him to any share of the estate.

REFERENCES

AbiBakr ibn Hassan Al-Kashnawi (n.d). Ashalul-Madarik. Beirut. Darul-Fikr
Abubakar Jabir Al-Jazairi (1997). Minhajul-Muslim. Beirut. Darul- Fikr
Abu Isma’il al-Beirawi (2004). Ijtihad & the applications of Islam in the 21^st century. Retrieved from: http://www.futureislam.com/20060111/insight/abu_ismael/Ijtihad_th e_Application_of_Islam_in_the_21st_Century.asp
Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani (1998 – 2012). Difference in inheritance of women and men in Islamic Jurisprudence. Retrieved from: http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=7340
Muhammad al-Munajjid (1997 – 2012). Ruling on in-vitro fertilisation. Retrieved from: http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/98604
Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (2007). Differences of opinion amongst Scholars: Their causes and our position towards them. United Kingdom. Al-Hidaaya
Salah-Uddin bin Haider Ali-Lakhvi (n.d). Al-Mirath: Justice of Islam in the rules of inheritance. Kano.
Sayyid Saabiq (1995). Fiqhus-Sunnah. Beirut. Darul-Fikr. www.dar-us-salam.com/TheNobleQuran/index.html;www.sahih-bukhari.com;www.searchtruth.com
Yahuza ibn Sa’ad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah (n.d). Fathul- Jawad fi Sharhil-Irshad. Kano.

CHAPTER 19: Inheritance Rights of Orphaned Grandchildren under Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961: A Doctrinal and Jurisprudential Analysis

This research explores the controversial issue of inheritance rights of orphaned grandchildren in Pakistan under Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 (MFLO). Traditionally, Islamic inheritance law excludes grandchildren from inheriting if their parent (the son or daughter of the deceased) predeceased the propositus. Section 4 introduces the principle of representational succession to remedy this, allowing grandchildren to inherit per stripes the share of their deceased parent. This article critically evaluates the jurisprudence, doctrinal controversies, and alternatives including obligatory bequest, voluntary transfers, and state responsibility. It concludes that Section 4 remains operational despite constitutional and theological challenges, yet a state-centric welfare approach offers a more Islamically and legally sound solution.

1. Introduction

Islamic law of inheritance (ilam al-Faraid) is a divinely ordained legal system with specific shares allocated to defined heirs. Classical jurists unanimously hold that the nearer in degree excludes the remoter relative, a principle codified in the doctrine of ḥajb. This rule often excludes orphaned grandchildren from inheritance if the deceased’s direct children are alive. To alleviate this hardship, Pakistan enacted Section 4 of the MFLO in 1961, introducing representational succession, which allows orphaned grandchildren to inherit their parent’s share per stripes.

2. Classical Islamic Position on Inheritance

Under classical Sunni and Shia jurisprudence, inheritance opens at death, and only living heirs are eligible. Grandchildren are either:

Sharers or residuaries if the son or daughter is not alive;
Excluded altogether if a nearer heir (e.g., a son) survives.

Notably:

Paternal grandchildren may inherit in absence of sons;
Maternal grandchildren are considered distant kindred and often excluded entirely.

3. Section 4 and the Doctrine of Representation

3.1 Legislative Text

“In the event of the death of any son or daughter of the propositus before the opening of succession, the children of such son or daughter… shall per stripes receive a share equivalent to the share which such son or daughter… would have received if alive.”¹

3.2 Objective

The provision seeks to address the economic vulnerability of orphaned grandchildren by simulating the presence of their deceased parent, thus allocating a share to them by representation.

4. Judicial and Jurisprudential Responses

4.1 Against Section 4

Federal Shariat Court in Allah Rakha v Federation of Pakistan declared Section 4 repugnant to Islamic injunctions, holding that it artificially creates rights for non-existent heirs².
Critics like Usmani argue it violates the Quranic principle of inheritance for the living and disrupts the fixed shares ordained by God³.

4.2 In Support

Faruki and Philwari argue that exclusion of grandchildren is a product of interpretative constructions, not divine text, and reform is consistent with maqāṣid al-sharīʿa⁴.
Imam Muhammad’s juristic approach on distant kindred supports analogous representation under specific conditions.

5. The Judicial Tug-of-War

Supreme Court Shariat Bench Pakistan v Mst. Farishta, PLD 1981 SC (Shariat Bench). Overturned on jurisdictional grounds.
Allah Rakha v Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2000 FSC 1) :The Federal Shariat Court held that Section 4 of the MFLO is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The court reasoned that Islamic inheritance law, based on the Qur’an and Sunnah, only permits inheritance by living heirs at the time of the deceased’s death. The court argued that granting a share to the children of a predeceased child violates the principle of nearness and exclusion (ḥajb), as no such mechanism of representation exists in Islamic jurisprudence. Status: Appeal remains pending before the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court, hence Section 4 is still in force.
Mst. Farishta v Federation of Pakistan (PLD 1980 Peshawar 47) :The Peshawar High Court held Section 4 as un-Islamic and outside the scope of ijtihad. The judgment was later overturned on jurisdictional grounds by the Supreme Court Shariat Bench in Federation of Pakistan v Mst. Farishta, PLD 1981 SC (Shariat Bench).
Abdul Majeed v Additional District Judge, Lahore (PLD 2012 Lahore 445): The Lahore High Court addressed the welfare of orphaned grandchildren and observed that where such children are not entitled under Islamic law or under statutory law (post-death), the state bears a responsibility to maintain them. The court linked this responsibility to constitutional articles (14, 35) and statutes like the Zakat & Ushr Ordinance and Bait-ul-Maal laws.
Mst. Noor Bibi v Addl. District Judge, Gujranwala (2014 CLC 1566 (Lahore):The court affirmed the right of orphaned grandchildren under Section 4, clarifying that the provision is still valid law unless struck down by the Supreme Court. The court emphasized the equitable intent behind Section 4, highlighting that legislative measures to support orphans and vulnerable individuals must be interpreted in light of prevailing socio-economic realities.
Ghulam Hussain v Mst. Zainab (2003 YLR 2833 (Lahore) : The Lahore High Court recognized representational inheritance under Section 4 and validated its use in practical succession cases. The court declined to question the theological basis, deferring to legislative wisdom and pending appellate review.

5.1 Observations

Despite FSC’s ruling in Allah Rakha, courts across Pakistan-particularly the Lahore High Court-continue to uphold Section 4, recognizing it as valid until a final Supreme Court decision is issued. Courts have not consistently questioned its constitutionality, especially in family and civil suits where the practical needs of orphaned grandchildren are recognized. State-centric welfare approaches, as seen in Abdul Majeed’s case, suggest that Islamic social justice can complement statutory remedies without doctrinal conflict.

6. Alternative Legal Mechanisms

6.1 Voluntary Transfers

Gift (Hibah): Entire estate or part may be gifted to grandchildren during lifetime⁵.
Waqf: Grandparents may dedicate assets for the benefit of orphaned descendants.

6.2 Testamentary Dispositions

Voluntary Bequest (Wasiyyah): Valid up to 1/3 of estate, as per Quran (2:180) and hadith of Saʿd bin Abi Waqqas⁶.
Obligatory Bequest (Wasiyyah Wājibah): Enforced in Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, compelling inheritance for grandchildren, though its legitimacy under Sharia is debated⁷.

7. Role of the State: A Sustainable Islamic Model

In Abdul Majeed v Additional District Judge (2012), the Lahore High Court directed the state to provide financial maintenance to orphaned grandchildren through the Bait-ul-Maal system, linking Islamic welfare principles with constitutional duties under Articles 14, 29, and 35⁸.

Judicial Innovations:

Integration of Zakat and Local Government Ordinances.
Linking family court decrees with social welfare schemes.

8. Comparative Jurisdictions

Country	Legislative Mechanism	Applicability
Egypt	Obligatory Bequest Law	Both paternal & maternal GCs
Morocco	Obligatory Bequest	Only paternal GCs
Syria	Similar to Morocco	Paternal GCs only
Pakistan	Section 4 MFLO	All orphaned grandchildren

9. Conclusion

The classical Islamic law excludes orphaned grandchildren due to the doctrine of ḥajb. Section 4 attempts to balance social equity and religious tradition, but has been challenged for disrupting divine allocations. The judiciary, legislature, and scholars remain divided. Until a conclusive decision is delivered by the Shariat Appellate Bench, Section 4 continues as a valid law.

The preferable Islamic approach is state welfare-based intervention, not statutory distortion of inheritance rules. Pakistan’s constitutional framework, in conjunction with zakat, Bait-ul-Maal, and family courts, offers a Sharia-compliant, equitable solution to protect orphaned grandchildren without contravening divine inheritance norms.

Footnotes

Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, s 4.
Allah Rakha v Federation of Pakistan PLD 2000 FSC 1.
Usmani MT, Hamaray Aaili Masail (Darul Ishaat 1963).
Faruki K, ‘Orphaned Grandchildren in Islamic Succession Law’ (1965) 4(3) Islamic Studies 253–274.
Powers DS, ‘The Islamic Inheritance System’ (1993) 8(1) Arab Law Quarterly 13–29.
Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 55, Hadith 6782.
Rahman MH, ‘Problems for Orphaned Grandchildren in Succession’ (1986) 25(2) Islamic Studies 211–226.
Pakistan v Mst. Farishta, PLD 1981 SC (Shariat Bench)
Allah Rakha v Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2000 FSC 1)
Mst. Farishta v Federation of Pakistan (PLD 1980 Peshawar 47)
Abdul Majeed v Additional District Judge, Lahore (PLD 2012 Lahore 445
Mst. Noor Bibi v Addl. District Judge, Gujranwala (2014 CLC 1566 (Lahore
Ghulam Hussain v Mst. Zainab (2003 YLR 2833 (Lahore)

CHAPTER 20: ISLAMIC INHERITANCE CALCULATION SYSTEM BASED ON ARABIC ONTOLOGY

Recently, a large number of automated applications are developed to improve the retrieval of different types of knowledge. However, there are few automated applications of semantic web technologies (ontology) for the retrieval of Islamic knowledge and in particular for Arabic language, despite the strong demand and need for this knowledge by Muslims and also by non-Muslims. In this paper, we present AraFamOnto, an Arabic ontology-based inheritance calculation system. The use of ontology is becoming increasingly important to store knowledge about the person’s family relationships in order to facilitate research, the processing of information about the person and family members, and the calculation of the inheritance of the deceased person’s heirs. We present a practical method to limit the time needed to process family data and reduce human effort in the search for family relationships to calculate the Islamic Inheritance correctly.

Introduction

The area of Semantic Web (SW) science contains many works that have been proposed to help users to find information about their fields of interest. The highest percentage of these works describes methods and tools for English language based documents. Nonetheless, there are some works proposed to develop applications that support Arabic language and that process documents written in Arabic (Iyad and Alaa Abu-Taha, 2015). This is due to the complex morphological and semantic structures of the Arabic language (Sheker et al., 2016; Atlam and El-Barbary, 2014; Jarrar, 2013).

Currently, it has become necessary to extend the success of Semantic Web technologies to Arabic language by using a set of tools and digital resources that support the use of Arabic in various fields. One of the most commonly used elements to represent semantic knowledge in a particular domain is ontology, which is by man and computer together. Ontologies have been used to solve many tasks in different domains, specifically in Arabic, such as information retrieval systems, automatic answering questions, query expansion and automatic summarization or annotation documents, etc. The aim of this paper is to develop an inheritance calculation tool based on Arabic family ontology using Arabic Natural Language Processing (ANLP) techniques. A family ontology represents a basic of concepts and relations among them, as well as examples of the concepts and other type of deductive knowledge, mainly be in the form of logical rules designed to infer new relations based on knowledge represented in the ontology (Jimoh et al., 2014).

In this work, we choose to build a family ontology (AraFamOnto) that covers family relationships to calculate the inheritance, called also Almyraṯ (ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺮﺍﺙ), according to the Islamic law. This domain is very important for Muslims because it defines who inherits and who is to be inherited, and what shares go to the heirs (Salako et al., 2013; Chebet and Luvand, 2014). When a person dies, the first issue of special importance is how to deal with all of the property called Altrkt (ﺍﻟﺘﺮﻛﺔ), left behind him, which is considered the rights of the heirs. The distributions of the estate among the heirs are defined according to the Islamic law, where it identifies the share of each individual who has right in Almyraṯ.

The big challenge is how to find information of legal heirs in an automatic way, and more convenient and clear form, which can be avoid many problems between the heirs and preserve their rights fairly and honestly. Nevertheless, the manual calculation is a com- plex task, very hard, time-consuming, error-prone, and can cost very much (Chebet and Luvand, 2014).

The purpose of this work is to facilitate the calculation of each heir’s inheritance by using AraFamOnto ontology, which can facilitate the distribution of the estate among the heirs in a legal and fairly manner. The proposed approach can automatically identify heirs’ information (number, sex and relationship to the deceased). This is the first Arabic application, to the best of our knowledge, to use ontologies and semantic data to represent the knowledge of family relationships in order to calculate inheritance according to Islamic law.

This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents related work in the area of Arabic ontologies. Section 3 provides details of the approach we adopt for semantic relation extraction which aims to extract relation family instances from Arabic natural language texts and the tools developed. Section 4 presents the experiment and the results obtained. Section 5 presents the evaluation of the results obtained. Section 6 presents our conclusions and further research.

Related work

Family ontology can be used in many important tasks in different fields. It makes it easier for all interested parties to share, transfer and reuse the terms of common family relationships. Encyclopedia defines a family as a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, par- ents, children, and siblings. Ontology is the best representation of concepts and properties to support the family relationships knowledge domain.

Now, there is much family ontology proposed by different groups of researchers for different objectives. The most exploited domains of family ontology are medical and social domain.

In the medical field, some researchers are interested in developing such ontology to study genetic factors that are linked to patients’ clinical family history. Their purpose is to facilitate the diagnostic, risk assessment and treatment of patients and family members (Morales et al., 2008). By having a consistent and precise family health history, preventive medicine is able to identify earlier the risk of a person developing certain diseases to take necessary decisions to avoid and minimize illnesses or symptoms (Frezzo et al., 2003; Luciano et al., 2011). In Santos et al. (2014), OntoFam, an ontology-based information system, has been created to facilitate the creation and management of clinical pedigrees and can be integrated with existing Health Information Systems. The FHHO (FMA, 2018), Family Health History Ontology, assists in representing the family health histories of persons related by biological and/or social family relationships (e.g. step, adoptive) who share genetic, behavioral, and/or environmental risk factors for dis- ease. This ontology represents how persons are related to each other and to their health states. However, this representation is very limited because it does not provide details on health conditions and others.

In the social field, the AgRelOn (Löhden, 2015), Agent Relation- ship Ontology, defines relations of persons to other persons and to others organisations, since agents (persons, organisations) and their interconnections are important in the cultural heritage domain. It provides 70 types of relationships and those specific sub-relations to define some kinds of other relations such as: group affiliation, correspondence, occupational contact, kinship, spiritual contact, and vital/lethal contact. Nevertheless, this work did not support the life events or activities like birth, death, etc. In Herradi et al. (2015), the authors propose an ontology called PersonLink for modeling, storing and reasoning on ‘‘family relation- ships” links. It facilitates the expression, in multiple cultures/ languages of each relationship and allows switching between languages.

In Vacura (2016), they provide an overview of FOAF (Brickley and Miller, 2014) and other approaches for describing human relationships on the web. The authors propose an explicit formal axiomatization of the FOAF vocabulary, and an ontological analysis concerning the properties used to describe human relation- ships. The work analyses the distribution of human relations based on their epistemological status, and defines an ontoepistemicmeta property as characteristic of some of these predicates.

However, the existing works that have been carried out in the domain of family relationships ontology are still limited to certain concepts, relationships and properties, i.e. not exhaustive. This can lead to the inability of ontology to provide the full capacity for the exchange of family relations information between all interested parties. Despite the growing importance of family ontology on the web, we note that no work has been done in Arabic to exploit family ontology in a specific domain.

Motivations and problem statement

In this section, we present the motivations behind the choice of family ontology as the basis for our proposals to calculate an inheritance under the Islamic law. Then, we present the problems and main gaps in the existing work that lead to the proposed solution. Currently, Most of the available programs were developed in a way that deals with information on family relationships using databases. However, these programs face several challenges when it comes to find new relationships or seeking deep interpersonal relationships (Herradi et al., 2015). Nowadays, the family ontology has become the best semantic representation to support many important functions in different fields. Therefore, family relation- ships are very useful for an individual to be able to access and share their family history and information. This information can help to make important decisions in a shorter time frame, especially when it involves medical or social problems. A family ontology does not only help in the conceptual and effective storage and communication of general knowledge about family history, but also supports other experts in the field in the exchange, processing, and sharing of ontological knowledge with other groups of researchers.

Moreover, the inheritance is one of the most important branches of the Islamic family law. It is also called the Science of Almyraṯ (ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺮﺍﺙ ﻋﻠﻢ) or the Science of Alfraḍ (ﺍﻟﻔﺮﺍﺋﺾ ﻋﻠﻢ). It gives us rules, which guide as to who inherit and who is to be inherited, and what shares go to the heirs; the Islam has formed a complete legal system for inheritance distribution (Mohammedi, 2012).

However, the main challenge that encounters the distribution of an inheritance, according to the Islamic law, is the automatic identification of all heirs. Other challenges are as follow:

The determination of inheritance, which is one of the mathematics operations, must be tuned orderly and accurately to get the correct results after identifying heirs and determine who will inherit the deceased person. It is not an easy matter and it may not be permitted to be wrong because it would be a sin, it is therefore envisaged to be cautious and well versed in Islamic and Sharia law regarding the Inheritance division.

The task of calculating inheritance under Islamic law is very complex, especially when there are many heirs or when the calculation is done manually. Indeed, identifying heirs is a difficult task and requires a lot of time and efforts, to avoid producing errors in the calculations.

For accuracy and timeliness in the calculation of inheritance based on the extraction of family relationships, we suggest using family ontology in the calculation of inheritance according to Isla- mic law. The reasons for this are as follows:

This research is important and meaningful for all Muslims, since each is part of every person’s daily life, and what comes next is how to calculate and distribute the inheritance. Everyone can face a family member’s death, and thus become one of the heirs of the deceased, which is very important to know precisely family tree.

Our work fills a gap in the context of the semantic web and focuses on the task of facilitating calculation of inheritance according to Islamic law with family relationships. Using ontology for semantic extraction of family relationships can result in vastly improved and automated search capabilities and information analytic to extract new relations, which can be used to calculate the inheritance of each heir.

This work is aimed at saving time, effort and cost that face the passing on the deceased’s property to the heirs by developing an Arabic family Ontology-based tool that would identify automatically the heirs, then calculate their inheritance shares and specify the value of the share of each heir.

Inheritance in Islamic law

Inheritance (called Almyraṯ) is one of the most important areas of Islamic jurisprudence also called Al-Sharia. The rules governing inheritance come from four sources of Sharia law. The first source is the Koran, which is the holy book of Muslims. The second source is called the Sunnah (Alhadiṯ); these are the sayings and practices of the Prophet Mohammed. According to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), this science which is also called science of Almyraṯ (ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺮﺍﺙ ﻋﻠﻢ) or science of Alfraʾḍ (ﺍﻟﻔﺮﺍﺋﺾ ﻋﻠﻢ) or inheritance science is considered half of the knowledge and must be learn and taught for all Muslims. The third source of law, Aǧmaʿ (ﺇﺟﻤﺎﻉ), refers to a consensus of opinion, which means that lawyers agree on a rule of law. Finally, Qyas (ﻗﻴﺎﺱ), or analogical reasoning, is used to apply the text rule for one specific situation to another unspecified situation (Al-Jibali, 2005).

The main verse covering the rules of Islamic inheritance law is in Surat An-Nisaa (ﺍﻟﻨﺴﺎﺀ ﺳﻮﺭﺓ), which deals with many laws trance, called also Almyraṯ (ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺮﺍﺙ), according to the Islamic law. This domain is very important for Muslims because it defines who inherits and who is to be inherited, and what shares go to the heirs (Salako et al., 2013; Chebet and Luvand, 2014). When a person dies, the first issue of special importance is how to deal with all of the property called Altrkt (ﺍﻟﺘﺮﻛﺔ), left behind him, which is considered the rights of the heirs. The distributions of the estate among the heirs are defined according to the Islamic law, where it identifies the share of each individual who has right in Almyraṯ.

The big challenge is how to find information of legal heirs in an automatic way, and more convenient and clear form, which can be avoid many problems between the heirs and preserve their rights fairly and honestly. Nevertheless, the manual calculation is a complex task, very hard, time-consuming, error-prone, and can cost very much (Chebet and Luvand, 2014).

Related work

Now, there is much family ontology proposed by different groups of researchers for different objectives. The most exploited domains of family ontology are medical and social domain.

In the medical field, some researchers are interested in developing such ontology to study genetic factors that are linked to patients’ clinical family history. Their purpose is to facilitate the diagnostic, risk assessment and treatment of patients and family members (Morales et al., 2008). By having a consistent and precise family health history, preventive medicine is able to identify earlier the risk of a person developing certain diseases to take necessary decisions to avoid and minimize illnesses or symptoms (Frezzo et al., 2003; Luciano et al., 2011). In Santos et al. (2014), OntoFam, an ontology-based information system, has been created to facilitate the creation and management of clinical pedigrees and can be integrated with existing Health Information Systems. The FHHO (FMA, 2018), Family Health History Ontology, assists in rep- resenting the family health histories of persons related by biological and/or social family relationships (e.g. step, adoptive) who share genetic, behavioral, and/or environmental risk factors for disease. This ontology represents how persons are related to each other and to their health states. However, this representation is very limited because it does not provide details on health conditions and others.

In Vacura (2016), they provide an overview of FOAF (Brickley and Miller, 2014) and other approaches for describing human relationships on the web. The authors propose an explicit formal axiomatization of the FOAF vocabulary, and an ontological analysis concerning the properties used to describe human relation- ships. The work analyses the distribution of human relations based on their epistemological status, and defines an onto epistemic meta-property as characteristic of some of these predicates.

Motivations and problem statement

Moreover, the inheritance is one of the most important branches of the Islamic family law. It is also called the Science of Almyraṯ (ﺍﻟﻤﻴﺮﺍﺙ ﻋﻠﻢ) or the Science of Alfraʾḍ (ﺍﻟﻔﺮﺍﺋﺾ ﻋﻠﻢ). It gives us rules, which guide as to who inherit and who is to be inherited, and what shares go to the heirs; the Islam has formed a complete legal system for inheritance distribution (Mohammedi, 2012).

However, the main challenge that encounters the distribution. The main verse covering the rules of Islamic inheritance law is of an inheritance, according to the Islamic law, is the automatic in Surat An-Nisaa (ﺍﻟﻨﺴﺎﺀ identification of all heirs. Other challenges are as follow:

This research is important and meaningful for all Muslims, since death is part of every person’s daily life, and what comes next is how to calculate and distribute the inheritance. Everyone can face a family member’s death, and thus become one of the heirs of the deceased, which is very important to know precisely family tree.

We propose to use ontology to represent the family relationships in a semantic manner, because it is the best tool that can store family relationships in a more efficient way. It can store the most important family events (birth date, death date, date of marriage, date of divorce). It provides a common vocabulary and standards for all parties involved that can be used to calculate the Islamic inheritance. With inference abilities, it is possible to obtain new relationships, which are important for identifying heirs.

Inheritance in Islamic law

Almowaraṯ (ﺍﻟُﻤَﻮﺭﺙ) the deceased: the dead person whose property will be transferred to other persons.

Alwarṯ (ﺍﻟَﻮﺍِﺭﺙ): This is the living person, male or female, to whom the deceased’s property will be transferred.

Almwrwṯ (ﺍﻟَﻤْﻮُﺭﻭﺙ) Inheritable objects: also called Altrkt (ﺍﻟﺘﺮﻛﺔ) patrimony or inheritance, i.e. the wealth and property left by a deceased person upon his death to his heirs.

According to the Islam, which has defined the sharing formula of the properties of the deceased, the share of heir is divided on two kinds: Alfrḍ and Altʿṣyb ( (التعصيب (Mohammedi, 2012).

Alfrḍ ( الفرض†) (Prescription), The Quran and Sunnah define six fixed shares that cannot be increased or decreased. They are: one-half (2/ النصف) ( 1 ), one-third (3/ الثلث) ( 1 ), one-fourth ( (الربع /1)), one-sixth (6/ السدس) ( 1 ), one-eighth (8/ الثمن) ( 1 ), and two thirds (3/ الثلثان) ( 2 ). Those shares divided for various heirs based on the fulfilment of certain conditions, which are fixed in the holy Quran and Sunnah.

Altṣyb is an Arabic word which comes from the name Alṣb, which means clan; paternal relations; agnates. An individual inheriting through taasib is called aasib. Thus, tʿṣybarises from family relationships. There are three forms of tʿṣyb (Mohammedi, 2012): 1) Independent tʿṣyb, 2) Tṣyb by association, 3) Tṣyb by joining with others. To illustrate how the distribution of inheritance can be done, a list of some rules has been summarized rom Quran in Table 1.

We note that (1:2): The male portion of two females and Husband, Wife, Father, Mother, Son, Daughter can never be blocked to inherit the deceased. Otherwise, son blocks Paternal Grandson, Paternal Granddaughter, Full brother, Full sister, Paternal brother, Paternal sister, Maternal Brother, Maternal sister, Full Nephew, Paternal Nephew, and all the rest relatives with the deceased. In addition, the absence of offspring can allows some relatives to inherit the deceased. In addition, each family member may not permit other family members to inherit according to their class in the family hierarchy which is defined by Islamic law.

A limited number of works have been developed on the theme of inheritance and we note that their applications in the acquisition of knowledge (number and type of heirs) are implemented manually, which increases time and reduces efficiency. Therefore, these works are focused on calculating the share of each heir in accordance with Islamic law. Thus, the main challenge is how to transmit this knowledge to all people, in a more practical and unambiguous form.

Many Islamic inheritance calculator websites perform the calculation using manually acquired information of the type and number of heirs to find the exact share of each heir based on Islamic law. Despite the great importance of Inheritance science, very few works have been proposed and published about this science.

As in Chebet and Luvand (2014), the paper presents the modeling of a rules-based expert system for calculating inheritance shares

on the basis of Islamic law. In this work, the authors present the basic concepts applying to expert systems and exposed to the fundamental principles of inheritance sharing according to the Islamic law. They extract the various rules that can be used to design and implement the expert system.

The main aim of this work is how to protect family bonds and relationships and to save the right of individuals to inherit the deceased properties to avoid potential conflicts within the family unit. Because the manually identification of decedent’s successors permit individuals to make rash decisions concerning the distributions of their wealth and disinherit some family members which can potentially lead to the disintegration of the family unit. Establishing fixed distribution requirements can be save the share of each heir, increase the speed of inheritance calculation, increase effectiveness, and reduce human energy.

Architecture of the proposed system

Our architecture reposed on two phases as shown in Fig. 1. The first phase called Ontology construction, and the second one called Inheritance calculation. In the first phase, the AraFamOnto ontology is created using existing ontologies by adding the elements that are missing. The proposed ontology is specified to implement only blood relationships that are defined by Islamic law. We are interested in storing four types of personal information about life events that happen throughout our life, which are: Birthdate, Date of Marriage, Date of Divorce and Death Date. In the second phase, the user enters the deceased person’s name as the request and the heirs are expanded from the AraFamOnto ontology, then each heir’s share is calculated

automatically. These phases are outlined as follows.

Ontology construction

Our goal is to reuse family ontology as long as there are previous works that are available for reuse such as (Herradi et al., 2015; Stevens et al., 2014; Miller, 2013). It will be better to make an effort to improve the existing work rather than build the proposed ontology from scratch. As such, the main aim of this paper is to build a consistent family ontology in Arabic language with other additional features such as events (e.g. birth, marriage, death, etc.) and inference capabilities.

Ontology construction is not an easy task (Al-Zamil and Al-Radaideh, 2014; Jarrar, 2013). This takes time, cost and can be done manually, automatically or semi-automatically depending on the researcher’s goal. The main problems of ontology development consist in deﬁning important terms, classes’ hierarchy, the relations between these classes and properties that describe a domain of knowledge (Al-Jibali, 2005).

We build manually AraFamOnto ontology, which is an Arabic ontology that covers family relationships knowledge domain in a semantic manner. This ontology should provide information about family members who are related to the deceased. This information will be used to calculate each heir’s share of the inheritance. How-ever, family relationships are completely dependent on the culture and the language (Iyad and Alaa Abu-Taha, 2015). We note that some concepts may not exist in some languages, taking the example of the concept deﬁning uncle, in French and English language and culture, there is only one speciﬁc term that represents this relationship. However, there are two terms to deﬁne this relation-ship in Arabic culture that are ‘ ﻋﻢ and ‘‘ﺧﺎﻝ. The ﬁrst concept represents the father’s brother and the second represents the mother’s brother. This distinction is very important in the calculation of inheritance under Islamic law.

We create classes and sub-classes related to our domain manually. Table 2 presents some ontological concepts of AraFamOnto ontology in Arabic and English. We mention that person ‘‘ﺷﺨﺺ is the most general concept.

Where the uppercase concept is a class and the lowercase concept is a subclass.

We use Object properties to connect the concepts of the ontology together. It deﬁnes family relations between persons. The most used in our system are illustrated in Table 3.

5.2. Inheritance calculation

In this phase, the calculation is divided into two sub-phases, which are: Extraction phase and calculation phase. The details are presented as follows:

In the extraction phase, the user provides the system with a name of the deceased person as a request to ﬁnd the deceased person’s heirs. The system tries to collect/search information from AraFamOnto ontology with a particular condition that each heir must be alive.

In addition, the system tries to ﬁnd the number of heirs by using family ontology which is the desired information for the next step. Semantic search permits to explore the ontology with logical rules (see Table 4), that deﬁne relationships between per-sons (family relationships) rather with keywords to locate the primary heirs and the secondary heirs. The primary heirs are four kinds: 1. The SPOUSE (Husband or a maximum of four Wives). 2. The CHILDREN (Sons and Daughters). 3. The PARENTS (Father and Mother). 4. The GRANDCHILDREN (Son’s SON or Son’s DAUGHTER only). The secondary heirs are: 1. The GRAND-PARENTS (Paternal and Maternal). 2. The BROTHERS and/or SIS-TERS (In the absence of Father and Son ONLY). 3. The UNCLES and/or AUNTS (In the absence of Grandparents ONLY). 4. The NEPHEWS and/or NIECES (In the absence of Brothers and Sisters ONLY) (Al-Jibali, 2005).

In this step, we use some logical rules to infer new family relationships. These rules are used to extract automatically the instances, which are in our case heirs; using SPARQL queries (SPARQL) (as shown in Fig. 2). The purpose of this work is to use the beneﬁts of ontology to infer new information from existing data. Each of the family relationship rules was derived from basic family relationships, which are: Parenthood, marriage, and divorce (see Table 4).

In the Calculation phase, we developed an algorithm to calculate each heir’s share of inheritance based on the Sharia law. In the Sharia law, inheritance rules are complex, involving different classes of heirs and different methods of inheritance (Mohammedi, 2012). The ﬁnal distributions are depending on several factors, including the number and gender of children as well as the number of other surviving heirs. The distribution of the inheritance is associated with the presence of the branch of Male heir respectively, son, father, grandfather, son’s son …etc.

System implementation

Dataset and ontology design

Since ﬁnding ontology is not possible in Arabic with the required conditions for use in the testing phase, we opted to create ontology manually covering 50 families that have been adopted from our normal life but with different information such as names but with the same life events like date of birth and date of death. Our choice is motivated by the fact that there is a great power in being able to validate ontology through real family relationships.

To construct AraFamOnto ontology, we have used Protegeeditor (PROTEGE, 2017). It is a free software, an open source ontology editor and a knowledge acquisition system. It is a tool supporting the construction of ontologies and it also provides an application platform for knowledge based systems. The Fig. 3 presents the Family Ontology implemented using Protégé editor. The Thing rep-resents the class of all things. The Person “ ﺷﺨﺺ ”class is the root class and others are the sub-classes. To interrogate the ontology, we used Jana API by writing Java programs and SPARQL Queries. Apache Jena (JENA, 2017) is a free and open source Java framework for building semantic web and Linked Data applications. It pro-vides an API to work with models, RDFS and the Web Ontology Language (OWL) to add extra semantics to RDF data.

Creating instances is the important step in our building ontology. This step is completely automatic. We use ANPL process to extract the instances (individuals) from ﬁles and put these instances in the ontology with their relations. The entry is a text ﬁle, which contains the family members of each person. This per-son is a man who married a woman and has children with her. The ﬁle also contains the person’s parents.

Evaluation

We implement our system on the NetBeans IDE using Java programming language to design the graphical user interface (GUI), which displays the system elements.

The interface GUI of the proposed system is divided into two partitions, as shown in Fig. 4. The ﬁrst partition shows the name of the deceased person as incoming information, and the second one displays the share of each heir after extracting the number and type of heirs using the inheritance algorithm and based on the AraFamOnto ontology.

The system takes the incoming name of the deceased person and ﬁrst searches for heirs who are alive by scanning AraFamOnto ontology. If there are male or female heirs, the system calculates the inheritance of each heir according to the formula deﬁned by Islamic law. In this article, the extraction of heirs is set at 22 on the basis of Islamic law. While the number of heirs is undeﬁned and it depends on the family relationships stored in the ontology.

Further on, to test the applicability of our reasoning process, we took a sample of an individual as a deceased person ‘‘125/1934 ﻣﻮﺳﻰ” stored in our ontology (see the Fig. 5). We have randomly selected this person as our incoming data, who is a deceased person to seek the practice of passing on his property upon death to persons who have survived. The process consists of ﬁnding and calculating the individual inheritance share of each heir.

We apply rules deﬁned in Table 4 one by one to search in the AraFamOnto ontology relationships that could be used to extract heirs. However, we must use combined rules to implicitly extract secondary heirs. Thus, we extract from AraFamOnto the individuals who are linked to a deceased person by a parental (see Fig. 2(a) as an example) and/or fraternal (see Fig. 2(b) as an example) relation-ship. This extraction process is done automatically using SPARQL queries running on the java program.

6.3. Results and discussion

First, we searched in the AraFamOnto ontology, for relation-ships that could express that the deceased has male origin-heirs, which are the ‘‘has Son” relationship (‘‘”ﻟﻪ_ﺇﺑﻦ), the ‘‘has Father” relationship (‘‘”ﻟﻪ_ﺃﺏ), the ‘‘hasSonSon” relationship (‘‘”ﻟﻪ_ﺇﺑﻦ_ﺍﻹﺑﻦ), etc. This type of relationship can block (ﺣﺠﺐ) all other family members from inheriting the deceased, except some members, who are the mother, father, daughters, wives or husband according to the gender of the deceased. This extraction process is done automatically using scripts executing SPARQL queries see Fig. 2. The results obtained are presented in Fig. 4.

In our example, the deceased (1934/125 ﻣﻮﺳﻰ) had left two wives, three sons, and three daughters. Of course, since he has at least left a living male son, he is blocking the rest of the heirs except for what we mentioned earlier.

According to the Islamic law, we distribute the remaining shares based on their relative priority. We start by calculating the wives’ share. The wife gets the prescribed 1/8 share. This share shall be divided equally among all the wives. We have two wives, so each of them gets the prescribed share of 9/144 with 6.25%. The rest is divided between sons and daughters in a ratio of 2:1. Each on gets the 28/144 (19.44%) share and each daughter gets the 14/144 (9.72%) share.

The main objective of our system is to extract interpersonal relationships from AraFaOnto ontology. As it could be seen from Fig. 4, the user’s graphical interface receives the name of the deceased, and queries the ontology to extract the surviving relatives (see Fig. 2) and, returns the results to the program. In this case, we are interested to extract the number of heirs by categories like number of sons or daughters or wives or son’s son … etc. The system proposed in this paper was developed to help people to obtain their rights to inherit the deceased person’s properties.

Looking to the results obtained by our system, in comparison with others, we can deduct that our approach used AraFamOnto ontology in obtaining interest results to calculate the Islamic inheritance. We can only use one data, namely the name of the deceased person as the entry, and obtain all information on heirs and fractions of shares. These results can be used to print the most important document for Muslims, Alfryḍt (ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻳﻀﺔ). This document preserves the right to transfer the property of a deceased person to his heirs, thus saving time and reducing human effort in calculating inheritance shares according to the Islamic law.

When calculating the Islamic inheritance using our system, direct and indirect family relationships are automatically extracted from the ontology using only the name of the deceased person expressed in the query to calculate the shares according to the relative priority. Interesting results have been obtained than other comparative approaches. All other works do not use both database and ontology to ﬁnd the heirs because they are manually provided by the user. In general, we ﬁnd that this operation takes time and increases errors in inheritance calculation and affect the results obtained, which reduce the performance of the calculation.

From the viewpoint of the obtained results and the calculated share of each heir, we can conclude that the use of the semantic representation method (ontology) to implement family relation-ships between individuals improves the performance of inheritance calculation and produces best results with less errors and good accuracy.

Conclusion

The inheritance is one of the most important branches of the Islamic family law. It gives rules that guide us to who is inherited and who should inherit, and what shares go to heirs. In this work, we present the problem of automatic inheritance determination and provide ontology as a solution for identifying heirs.

This paper presents AraFamOnto ontology that aims to improve time saving by automatically identifying heirs and calculating their inheritance shares according to the Islamic law. We conducted tests with sets of families designed to implement ontology and inheritance calculation. The tests performed with logical rules, show the need for an ontology that implements family relation-ships to gain even more time, effort and cost savings when we use it to calculate inheritance. However, it seems certain that the use of the family ontology to calculate the inheritance of each heir under the Islamic law will have a major inﬂuence on the future development of information technology in the automatic treatment of civil status.

Finally, the aim of this work is to protect family bonds and relationships and to save the right of individuals to inherit the deceased properties to avoid potential conﬂicts within the family unit (Mohammedi, 2012). As future, we wish to use the ontology in Municipal to allow any person to obtain the determining inheritance or Alfryḍt(ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻳﻀﺔ) which is a document issued to know the number of heirs and the amount of each person’s share of these heirs without going to courts or others.

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[1] http://www.islam101.com/sociology/inheritance.htm

[2] https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2742

[3] https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2742

[4] A.A.A. Fyzee: Outlines of Mohammedan Law (1964) p.381

[5] A.A.A. Fyzee: Outlines of Mohammedan Law (1964) p.381

[6] A.A.A. Fyzee: Outlines of Mohammedan Law (1964) p.381

[7] Aqil Ahmed: Mohammedan Law (2013) p. 41

[8] Abdul Hamid Khan v. Peare Mirza AIR 1935 Oudh 78.

[9] Aga Sheralle v. Bai Kulsum (1908) 32 Bom. 504.

[10] (1935) 10 Luck 550.

[11] Ameer Ali: Mohammedan Law Vol. II 5^th Ed. P.1254

[12] Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence. Vol. 3. Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. p. 30.

[13] Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence. Vol. 3. Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. p. 30.

[14] Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence. Vol. 3. Kuwait Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. p. 30.

[15] Mirdawi, Ali bin Muhammad (1956). Al Insaf fi ma’rifat Al rajeh mina al-khilaf (in Arabic). Saudi Arabia: Al Sunnah Al Muhammadiyya. p. 304.

[16] Qur’an, ^[^Quran ^4:11^]

[17] “(I)f the deceased left children behind, each of the parents shall get one sixth of the estate, but if the deceased left no children and the parents are the only heirs, the mother shall get one third of the estate…””Sura 4:11 [1] Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine

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[21] “If a man or a woman is made an heir on account of his [or her] kalalah relationship [with the deceased] and he [or she] has one brother or sister, then the brother or sister shall receive a sixth, and if they be more than this, then they shall be sharers in one-third, after payment of any legacies bequeathed and any [outstanding] debts – without harming anyone. This is a command from God, and God is Gracious and All-Knowing.” Qur’an, ^[^Quran ^4:12^].

[22] “People ask your pronouncement. Say: God enjoins you about your kalalah heirs that if a man dies childless and he has only a sister, then she shall inherit half of what he leaves and if a sister dies childless, then her brother shall be her heir; and if there are two sisters, then they shall inherit two-thirds of what he [or she] leaves. If there are many brothers and sisters, then the share of each male shall be that of two females. God expounds unto you that you err not and God has knowledge of all things.” Qur’an, ^[^Quran ^4:176^].

[23] Surah An Nisa verse 5

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Islamic Inheritance: Law, Logic, and Legacy in Sharia Jurisprudence
Comparative Perspectives on Sunni and Shia Traditions with Contemporary Application

Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri

Advocate Supreme Court Pakistan, Arbitrator Fellow CIArb,

Mediator CEDAR,IMI,CMC,U.S.A. , Master Trainer Mediation CEDAR , Legal Educator, Reformist of Judicial System and Legal education, White collar Crime Investigator

Preface

Executive Summary

Key highlights include:

A doctrinal analysis of Quranic verses on inheritance (Surah al-Nisa: 4:11, 4:12, 4:176)
A breakdown of fixed shares (Ashab al-Faraid) and the role of residuaries (Asabah)
Rules of exclusion, disqualification (e.g., homicide, apostasy), and representation
Detailed comparison of Sunni (particularly Hanafi) and Shia (Jafari) schools of thought
Case examples and illustrations of inheritance calculation
Legal reforms in Muslim-majority jurisdictions and the tension between Sharia and secular codes
Practical guidance for Islamic estate planning and will-making in multicultural contexts

About the Author

Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri
Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan , Arbitrator Fellow CIArb , International Mediator (CEDR, IMI, CMC-USA) , Master Trainer, Legal Educator, Judicial Reformist

This book is a continuation of his mission to provide clarity in legal understanding, empower future jurists, and preserve the balance of justice as prescribed in Islam.

Index of Contents

Title: Islamic Inheritance: Law, Logic, and Legacy in Sharia Jurisprudence
Author: Mian Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri

Preface
Executive Summary
About the Author
Introduction to Islamic Inheritance Law
1. Definition of Mīrāth and Ilm al-Faraiḍ
1. Historical Evolution and Sources
1. Importance in Sharia and Modern Legal Systems
Chapter 1: Islamic Inheritance and the Qur’an
1. Qur’anic Verses on Inheritance
1. Hadith Supporting Inheritance Norms
1. Importance of Drafting an Islamic Will
1. Prohibitions and Limitations in Testamentary Bequests
Chapter 2: Sunni Law of Inheritance
1. Categories of Legal Heirs: Sharers and Residuaries
1. Fixed Shares of Male and Female Heirs
1. Quranic Heirs (Ashab al-Furud)
1. Residuary Heirs (Asabah)
1. Primary Heirs and Rules of Exclusion
1. Disqualifications (Difference of Religion, Homicide)
1. Islamic Inheritance Table: Sharers and Residuaries
1. Case Studies and Practical Illustrations
Chapter 3: Inheritance under Shia Law in Pakistan
1. Doctrinal Foundations of Jafari Law
1. Key Principles: Representation, Bequests, Widow’s Rights
1. Classification of Heirs: Consanguinity and Special Cause
1. Per Stripes vs. Per Capita Distribution
1. Doctrine of Increase (Aul) and Return (Rudd)
1. Comparative Analysis: Sunni vs. Shia Interpretation
1. Case Law and Judicial Practice in Pakistani Courts
Chapter 4: How to Split Inheritance in Islam
1. Fixed vs. Residual Shares
1. Order of Distribution
1. Obligations Before Distribution (Funeral, Debts, Wills)
1. Role of Executors and Witnesses
1. Nuzriah and Pre-Death Gifts
1. Zakat and Charitable Dispositions
1. Case Examples with Percentages
Chapter 5 Who will Inherit
Male Heirs
Female Heirs
Non Heirs
Chapter 6: Impediments To Inheritance
Murder
Difference of religion
Simultaneous death
Li’an (Cursing for adultery)
Slavery
“Emergency marriage”
Chapter 7 : Exclusion
Chapter 8: Inheritance Of Children
Son
Daughter
Son(s) and daughter(s)
Grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)
Daughter(s) and granddaughter(s)
Daughter(s) and grandson(s)
Daughter(s), grandson(s) and granddaughter(s)
Son(s) and grandchildren
Chapter 10: Inheritance of Spouses
Husband
Wife
Chapter 11: Inheritance Of Parents
Father
Mother

15. Chapter 12: Inheritance of Grandparents

Grandfather
Grandmother

16. Chapter 13 :Inheritance of Siblings

o Uterine brother

o Uterine sister

o Uterine brother(s) and sister(s)

o Full brother

o Full sister

Sister

o Full brother(s) and full sister(s)

o Consanguine brother

o Consanguine sister

o Consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

o Full sister(s), consanguine brother(s) and consanguine sister(s)

o Full brother, consanguine brother(s), consanguine sister(s)

Chapter 14 : Residuaries (‘Asabah)
Residuaries by themselves (‘Asabah bin-Nafs)
Residuaries by another (‘Asabah bil-ghair)
Residuaries with another (‘Asabah ma’al ghair

Chapter 15 : Partial Exclusion
Chapter 16: Islamic Succession Law (7 Fundamentals)
FIRST – Eligibility & Reasons
SECOND – Prescribed sharer
THIRD – Residuary sharer
FOURTH – Conditions
FIFTH – Blocking Rules
SIXTH – Apply to Assets
SEVENTH – Islamic estate planning

Chapter 17: Inheritance Arithmetic (“Inherithmetic”)

Chapter 18: Special Cases
Chapter 19: Further Reading
Chapter 20: Islamic Inheritance Calculation System Based On Arabic Ontology
Comparative Structures and Legal Commentary
Modern Islamic Countries’ Approaches (e.g., Malaysia, Pakistan, UK)
Codification of Faraid Laws
Role of Qiyas in Expanding Heir Categories
Women and Inheritance: Traditional and Modern Debates
Challenges in Implementing Islamic Inheritance
Illiteracy, Gender Discrimination, and Misconceptions
Wills vs. Court-Enforced Inheritance
Need for Legal Awareness and Mediation Mechanisms

CHAPTER 1: ISLAMIC INHERITANCE AND THE QURAN

Hadith Establishing Parameters of Who Can Inherit

One famous hadith pertaining to inheritance is in Al-Bukhari.

It states: “There shall be no will (wasiyyah) in favor of a wa’rith (a legal heir).”

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was reported to have said: “A Muslim cannot be the heir of a disbeliever, nor can a disbeliever be the heir of a Muslim.” (Sahih al Bukhari).

This view is an accepted limitation for who can be an heir.

Obligation and Benefit of Creating a Will

Muslims are also encouraged to give money to the orphans and poor if they are present during the division of property. [Qur’an, 4:8]

Inheritance in Islam

Typer of Laws Types of Laws in Islam

Criminal laws: theft, murder, slander…
Civil laws: regulates relations between people and state
Business laws: buying, selling, hiring, Riba (interest)…
Family Laws: marriage, divorce, inheritance
International laws: , warfare, treaties, places of peace, places of war, slavery…
Ritual laws (rules): how should I pray, do pilgrimage?

Divine Decree for Inheritance

Surah-e-Nisa : Verse 11

When a Muslim dies there are four duties which need to be performed. These are:

Payment of funeral expenses.
Payment of his/her debts.
Execution of his/her will.
Distribution of remaining estate amongst the heirs according to Sharia.

Inheritance in Pre-Islamic Arabia

In old customary system only the male agnates (asaba) were entitled to inherit. (Rejected by Law Giver )
Females were not entitled for any type of inheritance (Rejected by Law Giver )
Amongst the male agnates there were rules of priority, which determined which of the surviving male agnates were entitled to inherit. (It is likely that this rule of priority is continued in Islam. In Islam son takes priority over the father who in turn takes priority over the brothers who in turn take priority over the paternal uncles.)

The Pre-Islamic Practice according to Sunnis and Shias

The Sunni Islamic law of inheritance is therefore, an amalgamation of the Quranic law superimposed upon the old customary law to form a complete and cohesive system. The rights of
the asaba were recognized by the Prophet Muhammad () himself. Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet Muhammad () said, “Give the Faraid (the shares of the inheritance that are prescribed in the Quran) to those who are entitled to receive it. Then whatever remains, should be given to the closest male relative of the deceased.” (Sahih al- Bukhari)
The Shia jurists on the contrary took the view that since the old agnatic customary system had not been endorsed by the Quran it must be rejected and completely replaced by the new Quranic law.

Obligatory Sharer ( Ashab al-Farid)

Safeguard to the Interest of Women

“Allah commands you regarding your children. For the male a share equivalent to that of two females.” [Quran 4:11]

This first principle which the Quran lays down refers to males and females of equal degree and class.
This means that a son inherits a share equivalent to that of two daughters, a full (germane) brother inherits twice as much as a full sister,
Similarly, a son’s son inherits twice as much as a son’s daughter and so on.
This principle is however, not universally applicable as we shall see later in verse 4:12, the descendants of the mother notably the uterine brother and uterine sister inherit equally as do their descendants.

“If (there are) women (daughters) more than two, then for them two thirds of the inheritance; and if there is only one then it is half.” [Quran 4:11]

If there is only a single daughter or agantic granddaughter her share is a fixed one-half.
if there are two or more daughters or agnatic granddaughters then their share is two-thirds.
Two or more daughters will totally exclude any granddaughters.
If there is one daughter and agnatic granddaughters, the daughter inherits one-half share and the agnatic granddaughters inherit the remaining one-sixth, making a total of two-thirds. If there are agnatic grandsons amongst the heirs then the principle that the male inherits a portion equivalent to that of two females applies.

Parents and Grand Parents

“And for his parents for each of them there is one-sixth of the inheritance if he has a child, but if he does not have a child and the parents are the heirs then for the mother

one-third.” [Quran 4:11]

If there is a child or agnatic grandchild amongst the heirs then
each of the parents inherits one-sixth.
In the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild the mother inherits one-third.
The share of the father is not mentioned under these circumstances. The father in fact inherits as a residuary (a residuary heir gets whatever remains of the inheritance after the Quranic sharers have been allocated their shares, residuary heirs are generally male agnates) under these circumstances.
To these two Quranic heirs, the mother and the father, the maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather have been added by analogy. The maternal grandmother substitutes the mother in the latter’s absence.

“… but if he has brothers (or sisters) then for the mother one- sixth” [Quran 4:11]

Husband

“And for you there is one-half of what your wives leave behind if there is no child, but if they leave a child then for you there is one-

fourth of what they leave behind; … ” [Quran 4:12]

Again, according to Islamic law, the word “walad” here is interpreted as child or agnatic grandchild.
The husband, another Quranic heir, inherits one- half in the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild.
He will inherit one-quarter in the presence of a child or agnatic grandchild.

Husband ( Case Study)

Before continuing with the translation of verse 4:12 let us consider a situation where a woman dies leaving behind a husband and both parents as the only heirs.
The husband inherits one half of the estate; there is no argument on this point.
However, if we give the mother a one-third share then the father is left with only one-sixth. Should the male (father) not get twice the share of the female (mother) of equal degree and class?
This problem arose during the caliphate of Umar ibn Khattab (RA). After consultation with the learned companions (RA) the majority opinion was that the father should get twice the share of the mother, that is to say, the principle that the male inherits the share of two females is upheld. The father therefore, inherits one-third and the mother one-sixth

Widow (s)

“And for them one-fourth of what you leave behind if you did not have a child, but if you have a child then for them one-eighth of what you leave behind; …” [Quran 4:12]

This statement gives us the ruling on the share of the wife (widow).
The share of the wife is one-quarter in the absence of a child or agnatic grandchild
Her share will be one-eighth in the presence of a child or agnatic grandchild.
Two or more wives share equally in this prescribed share.

Kalala man and Kalala Woman

The interpretation of the second half of verse 4:12 has been a source of controversy, one reason being the meaning of the word “kalala”.
This word “kalala” occurs only in two places in the Quran [4:12 and 4:176] and in both occasions regarding inheritance. “Kalala” may mean “one who leaves neither parent nor child” or “all those except the parent and child”. It is generally taken to mean the former.

Uterine Siblings

Uterine Siblings (Same Mother, Different Fathers)

It is universally agreed that the siblings referred to in the above verse are uterine siblings (those with the same mother but different fathers).
The uterine siblings only inherit in the absence of any descendants or ascendants. If there is only one uterine sibling he or she inherits a one-sixth share. If there are two or more
The heirs mentioned in the Quran (mother, father, husband, widow, daughter, uterine brother, full sister, uterine sister
r, consanguine sister) together with the three heirs added by juristic method of analogy (paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother and agnatic granddaughter) form a group of heirs called Quranic heirs or sharers (ashab al-furud). These heirs when entitled to inherit are given their fixed shares and the remaining estate is inherited by the residuaries (asaba).

Other Residuaries

Primary Heirs

Rules of Exclusion

A person (e.g. brother) who is related to the deceased through another (i.e. father) is excluded by the presence of the latter,
An individual nearer in degree (proximity) to the deceased excludes the one who is remoter within the same class of heirs (son excludes all grandsons),
Full blood excludes half-blood through father (so a full brother will exclude a consanguine brother but not a uterine brother).

Prevention by Disqualification from Inheritance

Heirs may also be prevented from inheriting by disqualification.

Difference of religion and
Homicide of the deceased.

Isamic Inheritance table for Sharers and Residuary

We can deduce the below points from this Islamic inheritance table to help you learn Islamic inheritance law.

The first column shows the Islamic inheritors’ names, such as Husband, Wife, Son, Daughter, etc. Now you know the prospective inheritors eligible to inherit under Muslim succession law are Spouse, Parents (or Grandparents), Children (or Grandchildren), Siblings, Consanguine male relatives, and distant kindred relatives. There are 12 sharers including Husband, Wife, Daughter, Daughter of a son (or son’s son or son’s son and so on how low soever), Father, Paternal Grandfather (or Father of Father how low soever), Mother, Paternal Grandmother and Maternal Grandmother (i.e., Grandmother on the male line), Full sister, Paternal or Consanguine sister, Maternal or Uterine sister, and Uterine brother.
The second column shows the legend for each inheritor to help you memorize quickly. For example, H for Husband, W for Wife, etc.
The third column shows the possible inheritors fixed or prescribed shares. For example, Daughters of Sons can inherit 1/2, 2/3 or 1/6, depending upon the situation.
The fourth column shows the inheritors who can inherit as Muslim residuary sharers. For example, Sons can inherit as either Joint residuary (jR) or Independent residuary (iR). In another example, Daughters can inherit only as Joint residuary (jR).
The fourth column shows that inheritors can receive a share as only fixed or prescribed sharer but not as a residuary. For example, the Husband, Wife, Mother, Mother of Mother, Mother of Father, Maternal brothers, and Maternal sisters cannot inherit as a residuary.

CHAPTER-3: INHERITANCE UNDER SHIA LAW IN PAKISTAN

Introduction

Key Principles of Shia Inheritance Law:

Representation:

Heirs and Shares:

Shia law distinguishes between “sharers” (those with fixed Quranic shares) and “residuaries” (those who inherit what remains after sharers are allocated).

Childless Widow’s Share:

Obligatory Bequests:

Division of Property:

After debts and other obligations are settled, the remaining estate is divided among the heirs according to their respective shares.

Important Considerations:

Court Interpretations:

Complexity and Nuance:

Shia inheritance law is complex, with specific rules governing different types of heirs and situations.

Dynamic Nature:

Comparison of Sunni and Shia interpretation of Quran

The Sunni to some extent allows the principles of the pre-Islamic custom to stand and they add or alter those rules in the specific manner mentioned in the Quran and by the Prophet.

Shia Law Classification of heirs

Shia law divides the heirs on two grounds:-

Heirs by consanguinity (Nasab), that is blood relationship

Heirs by consanguinity are divided into three classes and each class is sub-divided into two sections.

Class I
1. Parents
1. Children and other lineal descendants how low so ever.

Class IIGrandparents (true or false) how high so ever.Brothers and sisters and their descendants how low so ever.

Class III

Paternal and
- Maternal uncles and aunts of the deceased, and of his parents and grandparents how high so ever, and their descendants how low so ever.

Heir by special cause (Sabab), which is heir by marriage (husband and wife).

The heirs by special cause may be divided into two kinds:

Heir by marriage (Zoujiyat), that is husband and wife
Heir by special relationship (Wala).

Order of Succession

The heirs will inherit the heritable property of a person in the following order:-

Among the heirs by consanguinity the first group excludes the second and the second excludes the third. That is to say in the presence of an heir of the first group, the heirs of the second or third group will not be entitled to share an so on.
As we have noticed each of the groups is divided into two sections. Now among these two sections of the heirs of each group, the claimants succeed together, that is, if there are heirs of both the sections, they will succeed together.
In each section there can be various heirs, e.g. in section (ii) of Group I, there can be a son and son’s son. The question arises as two who will then inherit. The rule in this regard is that the nearer in degree in each section will exclude the more remote in that section.
The decision is per stripes i.e. in each of these three groups of heirs by consanguinity, the descendants get per stripes or according to the branch.
The husband or wife is never excluded from the inheritance, but inherit together with the nearest heir by consanguinity.

Allotment of shares

After determining the people who are entitled to succeed to the property of the deceased in accordance with the rules the next problem that comes up for a solution is allotment of shares,

i.e. which heir will get what amount of shares.

For the purpose of determining the shares, the heirs are divided into two classes, viz. Sharers and Residuaries. There is no class of distant kindred under Shia Law.

Residuaries

There are total of nine sharers under Shia Law. Of these sharers, four inherit sometimes as Sharers and sometimes as residuaries. These are:

Father
Daughter
Full Sister
Consanguine Sister

The descendants of a person, who, if living, would have taken as a Sharer, succeed as Sharers. The descendants of a person, who, if living, would have taken as Residuary, succeed as Residuaries..

How the distribution of property is affected

Rule of representation

This rule requires interpretation, because it has more than one meaning as follows:

Determination of heirs, what persons are entitled to inherit from the deceased (First meaning).
Determination of the quantum of share, what he is entitled to inherit.[9] (Second meaning).

According to the principle of representation, the sons of B will get ½ (1/3 each grandson) and the sons of C will get ½ (1/4 each grandson).

Similar is the principle applicable to great grandparents who take the portion which the grandparents, if living, would have taken.

Succession among the heirs of the same class

Succession among descendants in each of the three classes of heirs by consanguinity is per stripes and not per capita.

The Rule of succession among descendants

The rule is that the descendants of a person, who if living, would have taken as Sharer, succeed as Sharers. In the same way, the descendants of a person, who if living, would have taken as a

Residuary succeed as Residuaries.

Distribution among heirs of the first class

Example:-

When no lineal descendant is present:-
1. Husband will inherit ½ as sharer when there is no lineal descendant
1. Mother will inherit 1/3 as sharer when there is no lineal descendant
1. Father will inherit 1/6 as residuary as when there is no lineal descendant

When lineal descendant is present:-

Father will inherit 1/6 as sharer when lineal descendant is present
1. Mother will inherit 1/6 as sharer when lineal descendant is present
1. Son will inherit 2/3 as residuary

Distribution among heirs of the second class

Father’s father would get 2/3 as sharer
Mother’s mother would get 1/3 as sharer

Distribution among heirs of the third class

First of all the surviving spouse is allotted his share and then the residue is divided among the following relations in order or property:

Paternal and maternal uncles and aunt of the deceased
1. Their descendants h.l.s., the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the parents on the descendants and,
1. Their descendants; h.l.s, the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the grand-parents
1. Their descendants how low so ever, the nearer excluding the remoter
1. Remoter uncles and aunts and their descendants in like order.

Of the above groups each in turn must be exhausted before any member of the next group can succeed.

Doctrine of Increase (Aul)

Daughter
1. Full or consanguine sister

Example: A, a Shia Mohammedan wife dies leaving (i) Husband and (ii) Two full sisters. According to Shia Law

The husband will get ½ as sharer as there is no lineal descendant of the deceased.
Full sister will get 2/3 as sharer when there is no lineal descendant, father or full brother

Since there are two sisters they will get 2/3 each which will turn out to be as 4/6 share of two full sister and thus husband will receive 3/6 share.

Total share (without reduction) = 7/6 i.e. more than unity (1)

In the above case, in order to make total sharer equal to unity, the share of the sisters will be reduced to ½ and the share of the husband will not be touched. Thus each sister will take ¼

Doctrine of Return (Rudd)

Exception

There are certain exceptions to the Doctrine of Return which are as follows:-

Husband: – The husband is not entitled to the ‘Return’ as long as there is any other heir of the deceased. If there is no other heir, the husband will take the whole estate by Return.
Wife:- Like the husband, the wife too is not entitled to a ‘Return’ of share as long as any other heir of the deceased exist. The old view was that if there was no other heir, the wife would not take the whole estate; she would take only her share ¼ and the surplus would escheat to the Government. But in Abdul Hamid Khan v. Peare Mirza [10], the Oudh Court followed the opinion of Ameer Ali,[11]and held that the rule now enforced is that the widow is entitles to take by return.
Mother:- The mother is not entitle to share the ‘Return’ if the deceased dies leaving a father and a daughter and also any of the following;
1. Two or more full or consanguine brothers
1. One full consanguine brother, and two full consanguine sisters
1. Four full or consanguine sister

Uterine brothers and sisters– Uterine brothers and sisters are not entitled to the ‘Return’ if they co-exist with full sisters and sisters divide the return in proportion of their sharers. The ‘Return’ in such cases goes to the full sister. This rule does not apply to consanguine sisters.

Conclusion

CHAPTER 4 : How to split Inheritance in Islam

Rules about inheritance in Islam

Heirs and their shares

Primary or Fixed Heirs (Ashab-ul-Furud)

First six primary heirs

The Quran specifically outlines those who are in every instance eligible for inheritance. These heirs are:

Mother, Father, Wife, Husband, Daughter, and Son.

Parents (father and mother)

The amount that parents (father and mother) inherit from their deceased child is typically 1/6 each. However, this can vary in some instances (please see example below).

Husband or wife

According to UK law, if the husband and wife have joint ownership of an estate, the entire ownership of the asset automatically passes to the surviving partner upon the death of the other.

Children (sons and daughters)

Under Islamic law, daughters typically inherit half of the share of the son. There are several reasons for this. Most importantly, the law represents her right to inheritance.

Grandparents

In the Islamic tradition, the paternal grandfather may inherit in the absence of a father of the deceased, but a maternal grandfather may not.

The paternal grandfather will receive 1/6 of a share in the presence of the following heirs:

Son(s)
Male descendant(s)
Combination of son(s) and daughter(s)
Male descendant(s) and daughter(s)
Male and female descendant(s)

In the presence of the following, the paternal grandfather will receive 1/6 + residue:

Daughter(s),
Female descendant(s)
Combination of the daughter(s) and female descendant(s)

Other primary heirs – Includes grandchildren, half-siblings

Other primary heirs include grandchildren and half-siblings, who inherit in the instance that the deceased does not have relatives in the first and second categories.

Secondary or Residual Heirs (Al-Asabat)

Secondary or residual heirs inherit in the instance that there are no primary six heirs. These include:

Aunts and Uncles
Nieces and nephews
Other distant relatives.

Other Heirs – Distant Relatives (Dhawul-Arham)

Dhawul-Arham or extended family may receive inheritance, only in the instance that there are no primary or secondary heirs. These include:

First class heirs

First Class heirs are otherwise referred to as Quranic heirs. These consist of:

Four males: Husband, maternal brother, father, and paternal grandfather
Nine females: Wife, daughter, son’s daughter, mother, paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, full sister, maternal sister, and paternal sister

Second class heirs

Residuary relatives in this category only inherit in the event that there are no first-class heirs. These residuary relatives are related to the deceased through the male line only.

All the residuary are related to the deceased through males only. The residuary relatives are further divided into the following sub-categories:

Son(s) or male lineal descendants
Father of grandfather of deceased
Offspring of father, including full brothers, consanguine brothers, and their male lineage
Offspring of grandfather

Third class heirs

Descendants from daughters
Grandparents’ descendants through a female
Descendants through parents
Descendants through grandparents

Denying inheritance

The ability to deny inheritance occurs in only very specific circumstances, as there are strict and fixed rules around who is entitled to inheritance, which must be adhered to by every Muslim.

Obligations and bequests

Whilst the rules regarding inheritance are already determined by the Shariah, it is possible to leave behind gifts (also referred to as bequests).

Pre-inheritance obligations

When compiling an Islamic will, it is imperative that one factors in the following expenses:

Making sure that the debts of a Muslim are paid
Ensuring that any Kaffarah is paid (any missed fasts/penalty payments – this varies between Islamic schools of thought or Madhhabs)
Making sure that funeral costs are accounted for

Nuzriah before death

The Nuzriah, or Nazar is a vow that a Muslim can make whilst alive to dedicate part or all of their wealth to another party before their death.

Paying Zakat on inheritance

Once one is in receipt of their inheritance, it is potentially zakatable and the value needs to be looked at alongside any other zakatable wealth.

Example of Islamic inheritance distribution

Here’s a simple example of how assets may be divided according to the Shariah between a husband and wife:

Upon the passing of a husband:

Wife 1 12.50% 1/8

Son 1 36.11% 13/36

Daughter 1 18.06% 13/72

Mother 16.67% 1/6

Father 16.67% 1/6

Upon the passing of a wife:

Husband 25.00% 1/4

Son 1 20.83% 5/24

Son 2 20.83% 5/24

Mother 16.67% 1/6

Father 16.67% 1/6

Alive

Details of inheritance in Islamic law

When a Muslim dies there are four duties that need to be performed. They are:

Pay funeral and burial expenses.

Paying debts of the deceased.

Determine the value / will of the deceased if any (which is capped to one third of the estate as the remainder is decided by shariah law).

Distribute the remainder of estate and property to the relatives of the deceased according to Shariah Law.

Therefore, it is necessary to determine the relatives of the deceased who are entitled to inherit, and their shares.

These laws take greater prominence in Islam because of the restrictions placed on the testator (a person who makes a will). Islamic law places the following types of restrictions on the testator.

Which persons they can bequeath their wealth to.

The amount that they can bequeath (which must not exceed one third of the deceased’s estate).

Different types of heirs

Members of the ʿaṣaba (residuaries), usually a combination of male (and sometimes female) relatives that inherit as residuaries after the shares of the Quota-heirs is distributed.

Extended family members (dhawu al arham): This includes any blood relative who is not a quot-heir or ‘asaba (residuary). Examples include maternal grandfather, aunts, nieces and female cousins.

Inheritance is distributed in the following order:[13]

All quota-heirs are allocated their shares. If this exhausts the property, the process completes. Otherwise, go to next step.

Residuary heirs get the remainder of the property.

If there are no residuaries, but there is a balance from step (1), then the money is redistributed proportionally to the quota-heirs. This process is called (al rad).

If there are no quota-heirs and no residuary heirs, then the property is distributed to extended family members.

If there are no quota-heirs, no residuary heirs, and no extended heirs, then the property escheats to the state treasury, Bayt al-mal.

Rules of inclusion and exclusion

Women and inheritance

The role of Islamic inheritance in the development of Islamic mathematics

Key Aspects of Islamic Inheritance Law:

Primary Sources:

The Quran and Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and practices) are the foundational sources of Islamic inheritance law.

Heirs:

Heirs are classified into Quranic heirs (those with fixed shares) and residuaries (who inherit what remains after the sharers’ portions).

Fixed Shares:

Quranic heirs, such as the mother, father, husband, widow, daughter, and certain siblings, are entitled to specific shares of the inheritance.

Residuaries:

Residuaries inherit the remaining portion of the estate after the sharers have received their fixed shares. Certain Quranic heirs can also inherit as residuaries in specific situations.

Exclusion (Hajb):

Certain heirs can be excluded or have their inheritance reduced by the presence of other, closer relatives.

Debts and Obligations:

Before distribution, all debts, funeral expenses, and valid bequests (within one-third of the estate) must be settled.

Importance of Fara’id:

The principles of Fara’id are crucial for ensuring a fair and just distribution of wealth, reflecting the divine will and promoting social harmony.

Different Schools of Thought:

While the fundamental principles are consistent, different schools of Islamic jurisprudence (like Hanafi and Shia) may have nuanced interpretations and applications of these principles.

Contemporary Issues:

Modern challenges include interpreting inheritance laws in the context of changing social structures and addressing issues like orphaned grandchildren.

CHAPTER 5 : WHO WILL IHERIT

MALE HEIRS

Male heirs of a deceased are fifteen (15):

Son.

Grandson or his descendant.

grandfather ‘Y’ (in the absence of ‘X’) and paternal great-grandfather ‘Z’ (in the absence of both ‘X’ and ‘Y’).

Father.

This is straight forward. A father shall inherit from his son or daughter.

Paternal grandfather or his ascendant.

Full brother.

He has the same father and same mother with the deceased.

Consanguine brother.

He has the same father but different mother with the deceased.

Uterine brother.

He has the same mother but different father with the deceased.

Full brother’s son or his male descendant.

Consanguine brother’s son or his male descendant.
Full paternal uncle.

Father’s elder or younger brother from the same father and mother.

Half paternal uncle.

Father’s elder or younger brother from the same father but different mother.

Full paternal uncle’s son or his male descendant.
Half paternal uncle’s son or his male descendant.
Husband.
A husband will inherit from his wife if she dies before him. Likewise, if a man divorces his wife with one or two pronouncements (i.e. revocable divorce) and she dies WHILE in her Iddah (i.e. waiting period), he will inherit from her because technically, she remains his wife. However, if the divorce is irrevocable (three pronouncements), he will NOT inherit from her whether the Iddah has expired or not.
Patron.

A man who sets a slave free will inherit from the slave if the later has no heir.

FEMALE HEIRS

Female heirs are nine (9):

Daughter.

Son’s daughter.

Mother.

When a son or daughter passes on, his/her mother is entitled to a part of his/her estate. She cannot be excluded no-matter what happens.

Either grandmother.

Full sister.
Consanguine sister.
Uterine sister.
Wife.

As-Shafi’i – She will NOT inherit from him whether or not the Iddah has expired.Abu-Hanifa – If the Iddah has not expired, she will inherit from him, otherwise, she will become a non-heir.Ahmad ibn Hanbal – She has the right to inherit from him whether the Iddah has expired or not provided she has not married another person.Malik – She will inherit from him even if the Iddah has expired or she has married another person.

Patroness.

A woman who sets a slave free will inherit from him/her so long as he/she has no heir.

NON-HEIRS

Non-heirs are those relatives not entitled to any part of the deceased’s estate. They include:

Daughter’s sons and daughters and their descendants.

They will inherit through their father’s (daughter’s husband’s) line only. Their mother’s line is cognate.

Sister’s sons and daughters and their descendants.

This refers to all the three types of sisters: full, consanguine and uterine. Their children will inherit through their father’s line only as the case with daughter’s children.

Daughters of full brother.
- Daughters of consanguine brother.
- Daughters of full brother’s son.
- Daughters of consanguine brother’s son
- Sons and daughters of uterine brother.
- Sons and daughters of uterine sister.
- Daughters of full paternal uncle.
- Daughters of half paternal uncle.
- Daughters of full paternal uncle’s son.
- Daughters of half paternal uncle’s son.
- Paternal aunt, her children and their descendants.
- Maternal uncle, his children and their descendants.
- Maternal aunt, her children and their descendants.
- Maternal grandfather’s mother.

Paternal grandmother’s father.

As in (11) above, paternal grandmother is also an heir in the absence of mother; but in her absence, her mother replaces her, not her father.

CHAPTER 6: IMPEDIMENTS TO INHERITANCE

Impediment means barring an heir from getting his/her share of the deceased’s estate due to certain circumstances. These include:

Murder

Difference of religion

Simultaneous death

Li’an (Cursing for adultery)

Slavery

“Emergency marriage”

CHAPTER 7 : EXCLUSION

If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are absent (i.e. have died), when ‘X’ eventually passes on, the 7 grandchildren will replace or represent their fathers and inherit from his estate.
1. Supposing ‘A’ and ‘B’ are both present at the time ‘X’ dies, they will exclude their children from having any share of ‘X’s’ inheritance.
1. If at the time ‘X’ passes on, only ‘A’ is present, (i.e. ‘B’ has died before ‘X’), the 4 children of ‘B’ cannot take the place of their father this rule applies exclusively when ‘A’ is a SON and not a daughter. Therefore,

Rule 1: A son excludes ALL grandchildren.

Modifying the analogy a bit, if ‘A’ were to be a daughter and ‘B’ a son, what happens?

Assuming ‘A’ and ‘B’ are both absent when ‘X’ dies, only the 4 children of ‘B’ will inherit from him. The children of daughter ‘A’ are non-heirs.
If ‘A’ and ‘B’ are present at the time ‘X’ passes on, they will exclude the children of ‘B’.
On the other hand, if ‘B’ died before ‘X’, and ‘A’ is the only surviving child, she will NOT exclude the children of ‘B’. However, this does not mean that ‘B’s’ children will take the place of their father or will be entitled to their father’s share of the estate. A new sharing formula is to be created for them [We shall see the details of this sharing formula with numeric examples in subsequent chapters Insha Allah. Here we are just interested in discussing who excludes who and in what circumstance(s)]. This brings us to the next rule of exclusion.

Rule 2: A daughter does not exclude grandchildren [i.e. children of her late brother(s)].

‘P’ dies before ‘Z’. When ‘Z’ passes on, ‘Q’ and ‘R’ will exclude the grandchildren.
If ‘P’ has at least a son; in the same circumstance, ‘Q’ and ‘R’ will NOT exclude the grandchildren. However, they (the grandchildren) will not be entitled to the share of the estate their father (‘P’) should have gotten. A new sharing formula is created for them. Hence,

Rule 3: Two or more daughters exclude strictly granddaughters.

Rule 4: Two or more daughters do not exclude grandchildren comprising of at least a grandson.

This pair of rules has a wide range of application.

Inheritance of second and third generation heirs. The children of the deceased are the first generation heirs; his/her grandchildren are the second generation heirs, while his/her great- grandchildren are the third generation heirs. Let’s say a deceased ‘W’ (male or female) has a son ‘K’ who in turn begets a son ‘L’ and two daughters ‘M’ and ‘N’. ‘L’ grew up, got married and is blessed with five (5) daughters. In this case,

‘K’ = first generation heir of ‘W’.

‘L’, ‘M’ and ‘N’ = second generation heirs of ‘W’. Five daughters = third generation heirs of ‘W’.

When ‘W’ dies and the status-quo remains (i.e. no one died before him/her), ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ (the first generation heirs) will inherit from him/her. The second and third generation heirs will all be excluded due to the presence of son ‘A’.
1. If ‘A’ died before ‘W’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ will NOT exclude ‘S’, ‘T’, ‘U’ and ‘V’ because ‘S’ and ‘T’ are sons. Note that ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ are non-heirs (grandchildren through daughters).
1. In a situation whereby all the first generation heirs (‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’) as well as ‘S’ and ‘T’ are absent, ‘U’ and ‘V’ will exclude the daughters of ‘S’ and ‘T’ from inheriting from ‘W’ because only the six (6) of them are rightful heirs. Others are non-heirs.
1. Supposing ‘T’ has a son in addition to his 2 daughters, in the absence of ‘S’ and ‘T’ and the first generation heirs, ‘U’ and ‘V’ cannot exclude the seven rightful heirs of the third generation (i.e. 4 daughters of ‘S’ and a son and 2 daughters of ‘T’). The seven (7) of them will inherit from ‘W’. The presence of ‘T’s’ son will entitle not only his daughters but also all the daughters of ‘S’ to a share of ‘W’s’ estate.

Another application of this pair of rules (though in a modified form) is when full sisters are inheriting along with consanguine sisters. We recall that sisters’ children are non-heirs. So the possibilities are as follows:

Rule 5: One full sister does not exclude consanguine sister(s).;

Rule 6: Two or more full sisters exclude strictly consanguine sisters.

Rule 7: Two or more full sisters do not exclude consanguine sisters if a consanguine brother is also present.

Next, let’s consider a set of heirs in a particular order. I call the set “alpha” and it’s made up of:

Full brother
Consanguine brother
Full brother’s son or his descendant
Consanguine brother’s son or his descendant
Full paternal uncle
Half paternal uncle
Full paternal uncle’s son or his descendant
Half paternal uncle’s son or his descendant