Guide
Islamic inheritance shares (faraid)
Faraid gives some heirs a fixed share, then the residue to the nearest residuary heirs.
Fixed shares, then the residue
Under faraid, the Quran fixes the shares of the spouse, the parents and the daughters: a wife takes 1/8 when there are children, 1/4 when there are none; a husband takes 1/4 or 1/2. What is left, the residue, goes to the residuary heirs; when sons and daughters inherit together, a son takes twice a daughter's share. Debts, funeral costs and any bequest, limited to a third, come before the division.
Examples
- A man leaves a wife, a son and a daughter: the wife 1/8, the son 7/12, the daughter 7/24.
- A man leaves a wife, two sons and a daughter: the wife 1/8, each son 7/20, the daughter 7/40.
- A woman leaves a husband, a daughter and a full brother: the husband 1/4, the daughter 1/2, the brother 1/4.
Schools and special cases
The Hanafi and Shafiʿi schools differ on some cases. When the fixed shares exceed the whole, each is reduced in proportion (ʿawl); when they leave a surplus with no residuary heir, it returns to them, the spouse aside (radd). Have the shares checked by a mufti or a scholar before dividing.
With Batwara
In Who inherits?, choose Faraid — Hanafi school or Faraid — Shafiʿi school; the result shows each share, its basis, and the heirs excluded. See Inheritance calculator.
