Methodology
Islamic inheritance, in 13 short reads.
Each page covers one school, rule, or special case: the source verses, the worked examples, and where the schools diverge. Useful before you trust any calculator output.
Schools of thought (madhabs)
The General (majority Sunni) opinion
The default ruleset: where the four Sunni schools agree, the General view follows them. A safe starting point for any calculation.
Hanafi inheritance
The largest Sunni school. Stricter blocking around the grandfather and a distinctive ruling on the Musharakah case.
Maliki inheritance
Dominant in North and West Africa. Historically reluctant to apply Radd; agrees with Shafi'i on the shared-sibling case.
Shafi'i inheritance
Egypt, the Levant, and Southeast Asia. Distinctive on the grandfather-with-siblings case and applies the Musharakah ruling.
Hanbali inheritance
The Arabian peninsula. Agrees with Shafi'i and Maliki against the Hanafi position on most contested cases.
Core rules
Fixed shares (الفروض)
The six prescribed Quranic fractions (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, 1/6) and which heirs receive which.
Blocking (الحجب)
How a closer heir prevents a more distant one from inheriting. Hajb is the most common reason an expected heir gets nothing.
Residuary heirs (العصبة)
Asabah heirs take whatever remains after fixed shares are paid. Three sub-types: by self, by another, with another.
Awl (العول)
When prescribed shares total more than the estate, Awl scales every share down proportionally so the math fits.
Radd (الرد)
When prescribed shares total less than the estate and there's no residuary, Radd returns the surplus to non-spouse heirs.
Special cases
Umariatan (العمريتان)
Two named cases under Caliph Umar: spouse + mother + father, where the mother takes 1/3 of the remainder, not 1/3 of the total.
Musharakah (المشتركة)
Full siblings join maternal half-siblings in their 1/3 share when the estate is exhausted. Maliki and Shafi'i apply it; Hanafi does not.
Grandfather with siblings (الجد مع الإخوة)
When a grandfather inherits alongside the deceased's siblings, does he block them (Hanafi) or share with them (Maliki/Shafi'i/Hanbali)?
Frequently asked questions
What is Fara'id?
Fara'id is the Islamic law of inheritance: a system of fixed shares prescribed in the Quran (Surah An-Nisa 4:11, 4:12, and 4:176) that determines how a deceased Muslim's estate is divided among their heirs.
How many fixed Quranic shares are there?
Six: 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). The article on fixed shares lists which heir receives which.
What are the five Sunni schools of inheritance?
The four classical Sunni madhabs are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali. FairShare also surfaces a fifth 'General' position that reflects the points the four schools agree on — useful when you don't need to commit to a specific madhab.
What is Awl?
When the prescribed fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate (because of overlapping fractions), Awl scales every share down proportionally so the totals fit within the estate.
What is Radd?
When the prescribed shares add up to less than the estate and there are no residuary heirs (Asabah), Radd returns the surplus to the non-spouse fixed-share heirs proportionally.
Is FairShare a replacement for a mufti or attorney?
No. FairShare is an educational tool. Real estate distributions involve facts (debts, wasiyyah, jurisdictional law) that no calculator can capture. Always consult a qualified mufti and a licensed attorney for any actual distribution.