Core rules
Awl (العول)
When the fixed shares add up to more than the estate, Awl reduces each one in proportion until they fit.
Awl is the rule for when the fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate. Each share is reduced in proportion so the total fits.
A standard example
A woman dies leaving a husband, two full sisters, and her mother. Their Quranic shares are:
- Husband (no children): 1/2
- Two or more full sisters: 2/3
- Mother (multiple siblings present): 1/6
Add them: 1/2 + 2/3 + 1/6 = 3/6 + 4/6 + 1/6 = 8/6. The total is more than the whole estate.
Caliph Umar's ruling
When Umar ibn al-Khattab encountered a case like this, he consulted the leading companions of the Prophet. The ruling was to keep each share in the same proportion to the others and shrink them all to fit. In practice you raise the denominator from 6 to 8 (the actual total of numerators) and keep the numerators the same:
- Husband: 3/8 (was 3/6)
- Two full sisters: 4/8 = 1/2 (was 4/6)
- Mother: 1/8 (was 1/6)
The numerators add up to 8, the denominator is 8, and the total is exactly the whole estate. Each share stays in the same proportion to the others.
Step by step
- Find the least common denominator of all prescribed fractions.
- Express each share with that denominator.
- Sum the numerators.
- If the sum exceeds the denominator, replace the denominator with the sum. Numerators stay the same.
When Awl triggers
Awl tends to appear when a spouse is present alongside multiple female descendants or sisters, especially when parents also have prescribed shares. It rarely comes up when the heirs are all male, because most male heirs inherit as residuaries. They take whatever's left instead of competing for fixed fractions.