Inheritance in Islamic Law (Ilm al-Fara'id)
Suggest editOverview and Divine Legislation
The science of Islamic inheritance law, known as Ilm al-Fara'id (علم الفرائض, the science of obligatory shares) or Ilm al-Mawaris (the science of inheritance), is one of the most precisely legislated domains in Islamic jurisprudence. Unlike most areas of Islamic law, which rely on general principles derived from texts through scholarly reasoning, the shares of inheritance are directly specified by Allah in the Quran — a remarkable fact that jurists highlight to show the divine concern for just distribution of wealth after death.
The primary Quranic texts are verses 4:11–12 and 4:176, in which Allah distributes the shares of the estate among various categories of heirs with mathematical precision. The Prophet declared: 'Learn the rules of inheritance and teach them, for they are half of all knowledge, and they will be forgotten. They are the first knowledge to be removed from my ummah' (Sunan Ibn Majah 2710). Scholars understood 'half of all knowledge' as meaning that knowledge is either about the living or the dead, and inheritance belongs entirely to the latter — though some interpret it hyperbolically as emphasizing its importance.
The Fixed Shares (Furud al-Muqaddarah)
The Quran specifies six fixed fractional shares: one-half (1/2), one-quarter (1/4), one-eighth (1/8), two-thirds (2/3), one-third (1/3), and one-sixth (1/6). Each share is assigned to specific relatives under specific conditions:
The spouse shares vary based on the presence of children: a husband receives 1/2 if his wife left no children, and 1/4 if she did; a wife receives 1/4 if her husband left no children, and 1/8 if he did. The daughter's shares: a sole daughter receives 1/2; two or more daughters together receive 2/3; daughters receive their residuary share when inheriting alongside a son (receiving half of what the son receives). The parent shares: each parent receives 1/6 when the deceased has children; the mother receives 1/3 when there are no children and no multiple siblings, and 1/6 otherwise; the father, in addition to his 1/6, receives whatever remains as a residuary heir when there are daughters but no sons. Siblings: a sole uterine sibling receives 1/6; two or more share 1/3; full or paternal sisters mirror the daughter shares (1/2, 2/3) and join brothers as residuaries.
Residuary Heirs (Asabah)
After the fixed-share heirs (dhawi al-furud) receive their portions, whatever remains of the estate goes to the residuary (asabah) heirs — those who take whatever is left without a defined fraction. The hierarchy of residuary heirs follows the agnatic (paternal) line: son, then son's son, then father, then grandfather, then full brother, then paternal brother, and so on. When a son and daughter inherit together, the son receives double the daughter's share (following the Quranic principle: 'for the male the equivalent of the portion of two females', 4:11), balanced by the fact that the male bears financial responsibilities — mahr, maintenance — that the female does not.
In rare cases, the fixed shares may exceed the total estate (a situation called aul — increased proportional reduction), in which case each share is reduced proportionally. The Companions debated this issue during the caliphate of Umar, and the majority adopted the aul solution. Conversely, when the fixed shares do not consume the entire estate and there are no residuary heirs, the surplus returns to the fixed-share heirs proportionally (this is called radd — return).
Impediments to Inheritance
Three conditions prevent a person from inheriting: killing the deceased — one who kills the person from whom they would inherit is barred from the inheritance, based on the hadith: 'The killer does not inherit' (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2109); difference in religion — a non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim, and a Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, based on the Prophet's hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari 6764), though there is scholarly discussion on bequest to non-Muslim relatives; and slavery — a slave does not inherit (a historical condition no longer relevant).
The Will (Wasiyyah)
A Muslim may leave a will allocating up to one-third of their estate to non-heirs (those not entitled to a fixed share), charitable causes, or specific purposes. The limit of one-third was established by the Prophet in his response to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who wanted to leave all his wealth in charity. The Prophet said: 'One-third, and one-third is much' (Sahih al-Bukhari 2742). A will cannot benefit a designated heir (those who receive a fixed share), as the Prophet said: 'There is no bequest to an heir' (Sunan Abu Dawud 2870) — this is to prevent manipulation of the divinely ordained shares. Debts take priority over both the will and inheritance shares: debts are paid first, then the will (up to one-third), then the inheritance is distributed.