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.
The General ruleset in FairShare follows the rulings the four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) agree on — and where they diverge in well-known cases, follows the majority position. It's the right starting point for anyone who isn't deliberately following one school over the others.
What it covers
Every fixed-share heir is assigned the same fraction across all four schools — that's the bedrock 80% of Fara'id. The General view aligns with the schools on:
- The six prescribed fractions (1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, 1/6) and which heirs receive them.
- The blocking (Hajb) chain — son blocks son's son, father blocks paternal grandfather, etc.
- The Awl proportional reduction when shares overflow.
- The Radd surplus redistribution when shares fall short and no residuary is present.
Where it differs from individual schools
On the three named contested cases — Umariatan, Musharakah, and Grandfather-with-siblings — General sides with the majority of three schools against any single dissenter. In practice that means agreeing with Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali on the grandfather case; with Maliki and Shafi'i on Musharakah; and with Umar's ruling (which all four classical schools eventually adopted) on Umariatan.
When you should pick a specific school instead
If you or your family follow one school as a matter of religious commitment — and especially if you're consulting a mufti from that school — choose it explicitly in the calculator. The differences are small in most cases but real when they trigger.