Faraid.
The Quranic shares, explained.
What the Quran prescribes for inheritance, who inherits what, and the most common family configurations with their shares worked out. For real-world distribution, see a qualified scholar.
This is educational, not a fatwa
Faraid has real legal weight. For your specific family situation, consult a qualified faqih (Islamic jurist) or your local Islamic centre. This page teaches the principles so you can have an informed conversation, not bypass one.
Before the heirs receive anything
Four things come off the top of the estate, in this order:
- Funeral expenses — kafan, burial, transport.
- Outstanding debts the deceased owed at the time of death (mortgages, loans, owed zakat or kaffarah).
- Wasiyyah (will), up to one-third of what remains, to non-heirs (charity, a friend, a non-Muslim relative).
- The remainder is divided among the heirs according to Faraid.
The two kinds of heirs
Fixed-share heirs (Ahl al-Furudh): the Quran specifies an exact fraction. These twelve heirs — wife, husband, mother, father in some cases, daughter(s), full sister(s), uterine sibling(s), grandmother, grandfather in some cases — take their fixed share first.
Residuary heirs (Asaba): after the fixed shares are distributed, whatever's left goes to the residuary, in a specific order — sons, then father, then grandfather, then brothers, then paternal uncles, and so on. If there's no residuary and the fixed shares don't add up to the whole, the leftover redistributes back to certain fixed-share heirs (Radd).
Fixed Quranic shares
From Surah an-Nisa 4:11-12 and 4:176, plus the hadith of the grandmother. The exact share depends on which other heirs are alive — most shares have a conditional rule built in.
| Heir | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wife | 1/8 if there are children, 1/4 if no children | Surah an-Nisa 4:12 |
| Husband | 1/4 if there are children, 1/2 if no children | Surah an-Nisa 4:12 |
| Mother | 1/6 if there are children or 2+ siblings; 1/3 of the residue if neither (with husband + father, the third is of the residue, not the whole) | Surah an-Nisa 4:11 |
| Father | 1/6 if there are male descendants; 1/6 + residue if only female descendants; full residuary if no descendants | Surah an-Nisa 4:11 |
| Daughter (one) | 1/2 of the estate if no sons | Surah an-Nisa 4:11 |
| Daughters (two or more) | 2/3 of the estate shared equally, if no sons | Surah an-Nisa 4:11 |
| Daughter(s) with son(s) | Become residuary heirs alongside the sons; each son takes twice the share of each daughter (2:1) | Surah an-Nisa 4:11 |
| Full sister (one, no descendants of deceased) | 1/2 | Surah an-Nisa 4:176 |
| Full sisters (two or more, no descendants) | 2/3 shared equally | Surah an-Nisa 4:176 |
| Uterine sibling (same mother) (one) | 1/6 of the estate | Surah an-Nisa 4:12 |
| Uterine siblings (two or more) | 1/3 shared equally | Surah an-Nisa 4:12 |
| Grandmother (paternal or maternal) | 1/6 if mother is not alive (shared between them if multiple grandmothers exist at the same level) | Hadith (Abu Dawud 2894, sahih) |
Common family configurations
How the shares work out in the most-asked scenarios. These cover ~80% of real cases. For the unusual ones (multiple spouses, complex sibling configurations, grandchildren when children are alive), see a scholar.
Husband, two daughters, mother, father — wife died
- Husband: 1/4 (because there are children)
- Two daughters: 2/3 shared (because no sons)
- Mother: 1/6 (because there are children)
- Father: 1/6 + residue (as a male ancestor with female-only descendants)
Shares add up to more than 1, so the estate is recalculated by the awl (proportional reduction) method. Each share is scaled down proportionally.
Wife, one son, one daughter — husband died
- Wife: 1/8 (because there are children)
- Remaining 7/8 goes to children as residuary, with son taking twice daughter's share
- Son: 7/8 × 2/3 = 7/12 of the estate
- Daughter: 7/8 × 1/3 = 7/24 of the estate
Clean case, no need for awl.
Wife, no children, parents alive — husband died
- Wife: 1/4 (no children)
- Mother: 1/3 of the residue after the wife's share (per the consensus of Sahabah, also called 'Umariyah')
- Father: the remaining residuary
The mother's '1/3 of residue' rather than '1/3 of full estate' here follows the position established by Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) and accepted by all four Sunni schools — without it, the father would receive less than the mother, which conflicts with the general principle that the male ancestor receives at least equal to the female.
Two daughters, mother, full brother — father died, no wife
- Two daughters: 2/3 shared (no sons)
- Mother: 1/6 (because there are children)
- Full brother: residuary (1/6 remaining)
Sons take precedence over brothers, but with no sons the brother inherits the residue. If there were a son, the brother would be completely excluded.
Hijab — exclusion rules
Some heirs are blocked entirely when a closer relative is alive. The most common cases:
- Sons block: brothers, paternal uncles, cousins. Daughters do not block (they share with sons).
- Father blocks: grandfather, brothers, sisters (except in joint cases with maternal-line siblings where opinions vary).
- Mother blocks: grandmother.
- Full brothers block: paternal brothers (same father different mother), but uterine siblings (same mother different father) inherit independently.
These rules trace back to the principle that closer ties inherit before more distant ones, with male ancestors and descendants having a structural priority in the residuary chain.
Wasiyyah — the Islamic will
How to write a wasiyyah for the one-third you can direct as you wish, and what to leave to Faraid.
Zakat calculator
The annual obligation. 2.5% of qualifying wealth, in five minutes.
"These are the limits set by Allah. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment." (Surah an-Nisa 4:13)
Faraid is one of the few areas of fiqh the Quran legislates in direct, specific detail. Treat it accordingly.