يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِيٓ أَوْلَٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۚ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءً فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ ۖ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةً فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ ۚ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ
"Allah instructs you regarding your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are only daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children."
This verse establishes the foundational shares: sons/daughters via Asabah (2:1 ratio), daughters alone (½ or ⅔), and parents (⅙ each when children exist).
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ
"And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave... And for wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave."
Establishes husband's share (½ or ¼) and wife's share (¼ or ⅛) depending on the presence of children. Also covers maternal siblings' share (⅙ or ⅓).
يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى ٱلْكَلَٰلَةِ ۚ إِنِ ٱمْرُؤٌا۟ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَلَهُۥٓ أُخْتٌ فَلَهَا نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ
"They ask you for a ruling. Say: Allah gives you a ruling concerning a person who dies without descendants or ascendants — if he has a sister, she receives half of what he left."
Defines Kalalah (no surviving children or parents). Establishes full/paternal sisters' shares: ½ (one), ⅔ (two or more). Full brothers inherit as Asabah in this case.
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّٰتٍۢ
"These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens..."
Allah describes the Faraid as His Hudood (boundaries/limits), signifying they are obligatory and not subject to personal modification. This underpins the mandatory nature of Faraid in Islamic law.
تَعَلَّمُوا الْفَرَائِضَ وَعَلِّمُوهَا، فَإِنَّهَا نِصْفُ الْعِلْمِ، وَهُوَ يُنْسَى، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ شَيْءٍ يُنْزَعُ مِنْ أُمَّتِي
"Learn the Faraid and teach it, for it is half of knowledge, it will be forgotten, and it is the first thing that will be taken away from my Ummah."
This hadith underscores the critical importance the Prophet ﷺ attached to inheritance knowledge, and explains why classical scholars dedicated entire books to its study.
أَلْحِقُوا الْفَرَائِضَ بِأَهْلِهَا، فَمَا بَقِيَ فَهُوَ لِأَوْلَى رَجُلٍ ذَكَرٍ
"Give the fixed shares (Faraid) to those entitled to them, and what remains goes to the nearest male agnate (Asabah)."
This is the foundational hadith establishing the two-step distribution: first allocate all Ashabul Furudh (fixed shares), then give the remainder to the nearest male Asabah. It is the operational basis of the entire Faraid calculation sequence.
الثُّلُثُ وَالثُّلُثُ كَثِيرٌ، إِنَّكَ أَنْ تَذَرَ وَرَثَتَكَ أَغْنِيَاءَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ تَذَرَهُمْ عَالَةً يَتَكَفَّفُونَ النَّاسَ
"A third, and a third is too much. It is better that you leave your heirs wealthy than that you leave them poor, begging from people."
The Prophet ﷺ capped Wasiyyah (bequest) at one-third of the distributable estate. This is why the calculator enforces the ⅓ ceiling on the Wasiyyah input field.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَعْطَى كُلَّ ذِي حَقٍّ حَقَّهُ، فَلَا وَصِيَّةَ لِوَارِثٍ
"Indeed Allah has given every person with a right their due right. There is no bequest for an heir."
Wasiyyah cannot be made to a person who is already a legal heir under Faraid, unless all other heirs consent after the testator's death. This principle is noted in the Estate tab.
قَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ لِلِابْنَةِ النِّصْفَ وَلِابْنَةِ ابْنٍ السُّدُسَ تَكْمِلَةً لِلثُّلُثَيْنِ
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the daughter one half, and the son's daughter one sixth — completing two-thirds."
Basis for the ⅙ share given to a granddaughter (son's daughter) when there is exactly one daughter, to complete the ⅔ maximum for female descendants. Implemented in this calculator.
هَذَا هُوَ النَّظْمُ الجَلِيلُ فِي الفَرَائِضِ ··· مَنْظُومَةُ الرَّحَبِيِّ فِي عِلْمِ المَوَارِيثِ
The Raḥbiyyah is a 110-verse poem by Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Raḥabi covering all aspects of Faraid in rhyming verse. It is the most memorized text on Islamic inheritance across all four madhabs.
Key topics covered: the six fixed shares, Asabah hierarchy, Hajb (blocking) rules, Aul, Radd, Kalalah, and Umariyatain. Many later works are commentaries on this poem.
A concise but comprehensive treatise on Faraid from the Hanafi school. It systematically covers: the six fixed fractions (Furudh al-Muqaddarah), the order of Asabah, the Hajb hierarchy, and cases of Aul. Widely taught in South Asian and Central Asian madrasahs. Translated into multiple languages including English by Sir William Jones (1792).
This calculator's Hanafi-default calculation logic (Aul accepted, Radd to non-spouse heirs) largely follows the al-Sirajiyyah framework.
The authoritative Shafi'i fiqh manual, with a dedicated Kitab al-Faraid (Book of Inheritance). Imam al-Nawawi details the Shafi'i positions on contested cases including: Umariyatain, Akdariyyah, Musharraka, and the Shafi'i acceptance of Radd (unlike some Hanafi positions).
Shafi'i is the dominant madhab in Malaysia, Indonesia, and East Africa — key markets for this calculator. The Shafi'i majority rules followed here align with Minhaj al-Talibin.
The primary Maliki reference on Faraid, dominant in North and West Africa. Notable Maliki distinctions: acceptance of Radd to all heirs including spouse (unlike Hanafi/Shafi'i), different treatment of paternal grandfather with siblings, and specific rules for Musharraka (Ḥimariyyah) case.
Future versions of this calculator may offer a Madhab selector toggle for Maliki and Hanbali variants of contested cases.
A 15-volume encyclopedic work containing one of the most thorough comparative analyses of Faraid across all four madhabs. Volume 9 covers inheritance in extraordinary depth, including minority scholarly opinions and their evidentiary bases. Essential for understanding the reasoning behind contested cases.
Ibn Qudamah documents the positions of over 40 Companions and Tabi'un (successors) on various inheritance scenarios, providing the scholarly consensus basis for many rules in this calculator.
A detailed commentary on al-Marghinani's al-Hidayah, covering the Hanafi principles of Faraid with extensive legal reasoning. Particularly valuable for complex cases like Aul, the grandfather-siblings scenarios, and the treatment of Kalalah under Hanafi doctrine.
Provides the theoretical grounding for why the Hanafi school applies Aul proportionally rather than treating certain shares as absolute.
Designated by the Prophet ﷺ as the Ummah's Faraid expert. His rulings form the basis of the Jumhur (majority) position across madhabs. Originator of the Umariyatain ruling (endorsed by Umar ibn al-Khattab twice), and the standard Hajb Hirman hierarchy. His fatwas on contested cases were compiled by later scholars.
When Ibn Mas'ud and Zayd ibn Thabit differed on inheritance cases, the majority of later scholars followed Zayd. The rules in this calculator generally reflect the Zaydi-Jumhur position.
Ali ibn Abi Talib is credited with originating the doctrine of Radd (returning surplus to heirs proportionally when no Asabah exists). His rulings on the Musharraka/Ḥimariyyah case and complex sibling-with-spouse scenarios influenced the Maliki and some Shafi'i positions.
The Radd rule implemented in this calculator (surplus returned to non-spouse heirs proportionally) follows 'Ali's position, which is the majority view.
His detailed treatment of Faraid in Kitab al-Umm resolves many disputed cases through rigorous Quranic and Hadith analysis. Al-Shafi'i's systematic usul (legal methodology) applied to inheritance helped standardize Faraid across generations. His positions on Aul (accepted) and Radd (returned to all non-spouse heirs) are followed here.
Dominant madhab in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Egypt, and East Africa — making Shafi'i defaults the most relevant for the largest portion of calculator users.
The Hanafi school's Faraid framework, as systematized by Abu Hanifah and his students Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, is foundational for Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Turkey, and much of the Arab world. Key Hanafi distinctives: the grandfather-siblings rules, treatment of Umariyatain, and specific Hajb hierarchies.
Users in South Asia and Turkey should note that some complex cases may have Hanafi-specific rulings that differ slightly from the Shafi'i defaults applied here.
The most comprehensive modern comparative fiqh encyclopedia, with Volume 10 dedicated entirely to Islamic inheritance. Al-Zuhayli systematically presents all four madhab positions with their evidences, then indicates the rajih (preponderant) view. Invaluable for resolving contemporary edge cases and explaining the rationale behind classical rulings.
Translated into English and widely available. Recommended for scholars, lawyers, and developers seeking authoritative modern treatment of all Faraid scenarios.
This calculator follows the standard Sunni Faraid methodology agreed upon by the four Madhabs for the vast majority of cases. The algorithm proceeds in the following sequence:
1
Estate Deductions · الحقوق المتعلقة بالتركة
Before any distribution, the gross estate is reduced in order: (1) funeral and burial expenses (تجهيز), (2) debts owed to people and to Allah (ديون), (3) wasiyyah/bequest to non-heirs up to ⅓ maximum. What remains is the net distributable estate.
2
Hajb — Determine Blocking · الحجب
Before shares are allocated, certain heirs block others from inheriting. Hajb Hirman (complete exclusion) applies: sons block grandsons, fathers block grandfathers and siblings, mothers block grandmothers, etc. Blocked heirs receive nothing. The calculator applies all classical Hajb rules per the Jumhur consensus.
3
Ashabul Furudh — Fixed Shares · أصحاب الفروض
The six prescribed fractions — ½ (نصف), ¼ (ربع), ⅛ (ثمن), ⅔ (ثلثان), ⅓ (ثلث), ⅙ (سدس) — are allocated to eligible heirs based on their relationship to the deceased and the presence of other heirs. These shares are explicitly stated in An-Nisa 4:11–12 and 4:176.
4
Aul — Proportional Reduction · العَوْل
If the sum of fixed shares exceeds 100% (e.g. in a 6-wife + daughters case), the estate cannot cover all shares in full. Aul reduces all shares proportionally so they sum to exactly 100%. Supported by the Jumhur including the three Imams; rejected by Ibn Abbas who argued some shares should be reduced first.
5
Asabah — Residuary Inheritance · العَصَبَة
After fixed shares, any remainder goes to the nearest male Asabah in this order: son → son's son (descending) → father → grandfather → full brother → paternal half-brother → their sons, and so on. When a male Asabah has a corresponding female (e.g. son/daughter), the female inherits alongside him at half the male's share (Asabah bil-Ghair).
6
Radd — Return of Surplus · الرَّدّ
If fixed shares total less than 100% and there is no Asabah, the surplus is returned to the eligible heirs (excluding spouse) in proportion to their original shares. This is the Radd doctrine of Ali ibn Abi Talib and is the position of Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools. Hanafi has a nuanced position excluding the spouse.
7
Bayt al-Mal — Public Treasury · بيت المال
If no eligible heirs remain at all (extremely rare), the estate passes to the Islamic public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) for distribution to the Muslim community. This is the last resort rule documented in all classical texts.
Disclaimer: This calculator implements the majority (Jumhur) Sunni Faraid rules and is intended as an educational reference tool. Complex real-world estates may involve factors not covered here — multiple wives, adopted children, missing heirs, debts exceeding estate, non-Muslim heirs, simultaneous deaths, and more. Always consult a qualified Islamic scholar (Alim) and a qualified lawyer before any actual estate distribution.