Schools of thought (madhabs)

Maliki inheritance

5 min read.

Followed across North and West Africa. Classical Maliki scholars were reluctant to apply Radd, and the school agrees with Shafi'i on the Musharakah case.

The Maliki school is dominant across North Africa and West Africa, with deep roots in the practice of the people of Madinah. Its inheritance rulings mostly match the General (majority) opinion. The main exception is its classical position on Radd.

Where Maliki differs

Reluctance to apply Radd

Classical Maliki authorities preferred that surplus inheritance (when fixed shares total less than the estate and there's no residuary) go to the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) rather than be redistributed among the fixed-share heirs. In modern practice, where the treasury isn't organised to receive estates, Maliki scholars apply Radd the same way the other schools do. FairShare follows the contemporary practice.

Sides with Shafi'i on Musharakah and the grandfather case

Maliki sides with Shafi'i and Hanbali (against Hanafi) on the Musharakah case, where full siblings join maternal half-siblings in their 1/3 share. It takes the same side on the grandfather-with-siblings case, where the grandfather shares with the siblings rather than blocking them.

What it has in common with the others

The six fixed fractions, the blocking chain, Awl, and Umariatan. Maliki agrees with the majority on all of these.

Further reading