Introduction to the Inheritance regulation in Islam

by
Dr Abdussalam Yusuf

Our Creator has left no issue in the life of a Muslim unregulated. Hence the noble Shariah has
given such a detailed guidelines on the distribution of what is left behind by any deceased
Muslim as can be found in no other faith. This guidelines is called ilmul Mirath (the science of
inheritance) or Faridah (binding ordinance) as used in Qur‟an 4:11 to introduce the laws of
inheritance.

The importance of the science of the distribution is vindicated by the emphasis of Allah and His
Apostle on it. While Allah called it FARIDAH (an ordinance that must be enforced), the Holy
Prophet encouraged its study and application thus:

"Learn the science of inheritance because it is half of Knowledge. It is easy to forget because
it Slips away and it is the first thing my people will be deprived of" .

"Certainly, Allah did not delegate the distribution of your estates to any close Angel nor any
appointed messenger. Rather, He takes charge of the distribution Himself and did it in detail.
Therefore, there should be no will made in favour of an heir"

Basis of inheritance

The basis of inheritance in Islam is contained in Quran 4: 7-14 and Quran 4:176. While Q 4: 7-
10 gave a general guidance, verse 11 deals with the inheritance between parents and children.
Verse 12 deals with inheritance between spouses.

“.Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children's (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to
that of two females; if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if
only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased
left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the
deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. The distrib ution in all cases is after the
payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to
you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah. and Allah is All-knowing, All-wise.

In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye
get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye
leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of le gacies and debts. If
the man or woman whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants nor descendants,
but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share
in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to any one).---(Q4:11-
12)

“ ……If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child, she shall have half the inheritance: If
(such a deceased was) a woman, who left no child, Her brother takes her inheritance: If there are

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two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the inheritance (between them): if there are brothers and
sisters, (they share), the male having twice the share of the female.---” (Q4:176).

Stressing on the obligation to implement the inheritance regulation, Allah says: “Those are limits
set by Allah. Whosoever obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens with rivers
flowing beneath, to abide therein (forever) and that will be the supreme achievement. But those
who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a Fire, to
abide therein: And they shall have a humiliating punishment”(Q4:13-14)

Day 2

Succession

Imam khalil in his Muktasar defines inheritance as a right capable of division which, by the
death of him who held that right, devolves upon his heirs. It is only after the death of the
intestate that the successors have any right whatever to the estate of their predecessor. Thus a
person can dispose, during his life time, of the whole of his property, but as soon as he is dead
and by the fact only of his death, his rights devolve upon his heirs.

The assets of a succession consist of all the property of the deceased after removing all prior
charges, if any, on the estate. The prior charges on an estate are paid out in the following order
of priority: (a)Funeral expenses (the cost of washing the body, the shroud, transport to the
cemetery and burial), (b) The debts of the deceased (including unpaid arrear of zakat that was
due before death), (c)Legacies, within the limits of the disposable third of the estate.

This net estate (Turkah) is divided between the sharers who take precedence of all other heirs.
The residue, if any is then divided among the residuary or agnates.

Before the distribution of estate , it must be confirmed that the person to be inherited (intestate)
is actually dead or declared by a competent Court as Mafqood – missing person. It should be
also be ascertained that Al-Warith ( heir) survived the Mawruth ( intestate) even if by a few
moments and that a valid and sufficient type of association or link exist between the intestate
and the heir. Finally is the absence of what can bar the heir from sharing in the estate. The
barring factors include:

(i) Murder - Islamic law bars a murderer from sharing in the estate of his victim.
(ii) Doubt in the order of the time of death - A good example is an accident involving a wife
and husband. Unless it is confirmed who died first, none of them will inherit the other.
(iii) A (stillbirth) a child who was delivered dead shall not inherit nor be inherited.
(iv) Lian - when a man disowns the paternity of a pregnancy or child through the stipulated
process called LIAN, (Quran.24: 6 & 7), the couple are separated and can not inherit one
another. There is no inheritance between the man and the child in question but the child
and the mother are allowed to inherit each other.

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(v) A bastard (born out of wedlock) is not qualified to inherit from the estate of the partner of
his/her mother in the act of Zina and the man too is barred from sharing in the estate of
the product of his illegal relation (Zina) with a woman. However the mother and child are
free to inherit one another.
(vi) Religious difference - a Muslim does not share out of the estate of a non Muslim nor does
a non Muslim qualify to inherit a Muslim. But nothing bars him from willing out to the
non-muslim relative or any other person, part of the estate provided the willed amount
does not exceed one third of the estate.

Day 3

Eligible heirs

Seven categories of male relations and five categories of female relative may inherit a
deceased person.

Table 1 Eligible male and female heirs

Daughter
Daughter of son
Mother
Grand mother
Wife
Female Sisters (whether Full, Half or Uterine)
heirs Former mistress of the freed slave
Son
Son of son (how low so ever)
Father
Paternal Grand father (how high so
ever)
Brother (Full, Half, uterine)
Son of full or half brothers
Paternal uncle
Son of uncle (how distant so ever)
Male Husband
heirs Former master of freed slave

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The shares.

The six principal fractions use in the Quran in promulgating the inheritance law are : 1 , 1 , 1 ,
8 4 2
1 , 1 , 2 . The owners of these fractions and the requisite conditions are summarize in the
6 3 3
table below.

Fraction Those entitled to it Condition for Entitlement

1/8 The Wives In the presence of (i.p.o)a surviving child or Grand child

One quarter a. The husband In the presence of a surviving child or Grand child
(1/4) b. The Wives i.a.o any surviving child or Grand child

Half (1/2) a. The husband In the absence of (i.a.o)any surviving child

b. The only daughter In the absence of any other child
c. The only daughter i. a. o. any a direct child or Grand child through son
of son i.a.o. any brother or sister or father or son or son of son
d. The only full i.a.o. any brother or full sister or father or son or son of son
sister
e. The only half
sister

One sixth a. Mother i.p.o offspring or two brothers and/or sisters, half, full,
(1/6) b. Grand mothers uterine

c. Father i.a.o mother (a paternal Grand Mother may share with her)

d. Grand father No condition attached. He may, in addition, take any residue

e. Daughter of son i.a.o. father by taking the position of father

f. Uterine i.p.o a sole daughter, i.a.o any male grand child to agnatize
bother/sister her

g. Half sister i.a.o any ascendants or descendants (the so-called Kalalah)

i.p.o a sole sister, i.a.o half brother, fathers or son of son

One third a. Mother i.a.o any offspring, brothers and/or sisters (two or more)
(1/3) b. Uterine bothers i.a.o any ascendants or descendants (the so-called Kalalah)
and/or sisters i.p.o brothers /sisters (the GF may rather share with them)

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 c. Grand father

1/3 of the a. Mother i.p.o father and the spouse (e.g 1/4 to wife, 1/3 of rest to
residue mother and the residue to father or 1/2 to husband, 1/3 of rest
to mother and the residue to father)

Two third a. Two or more i.a.o. any other son

(2/3) daughters i.a.o. any other son or grand son
b. Two or more i.a.o. any other brother or sister or father or any child
daughters of son
i.a.o. any brother or full sister or father or son or daughter
c. Two or more full
sisters
d. Two or more half
sisters

There are occasions when these fractions/shares are modified because of the presence of another
heir. For instance, a wife who is ordinarily qualified for 1/4 of the whole estate, now get 1/8
because of the presence of a child of the deceased.

GENERAL REMARKS. The theory of succession, briefly stated, is: start with the owners of the
fixed shares (zuu fara'd) as laid down by the Quran (all zuu faraid are females except husband
and father), the residue is the shared between the male heirs, known as agnates or residuary in
accordance with their closeness to the intestate. The priority position thus taken by women in
the law of succession is one of the principal reform introduced by Noble Sharia. This is because
the females are more vulnerable and were more cheated in mater of inheritance outside Islam.

Thuluth-al baqi is a special condition that applies when:

(a) a deceased Muslim man is survived only his wife, mother and father who are
ordinarily qualified for 1 4 , 1 3 , 2 3 of the estate, respectively. The wife is given 1 4
while the mother is given 1 3 of the remainder.
(b) a deceased muslim woman is survived by husband, father and mother only. The hsband
is given 1 2 of the estate while the mother gets 1 3 of the remainder (thuluth-al-
baqi). The two special cases are called the Umariyatani cases because they were first
decided by Khalifah Umar bn Al-khatab (RA).

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AI-Ta'sib. Asaba is a practice in the distribution of estate in which a sole heir inherits the
whole estate or takes the residue when other heirs, ifthere are, have taken their fixed
shares as stipulated by die Qur'an. There are two classes of the residuary (agnates) in
Islamic law depending on the basis of their right to the residue. The right of ownership
which the master of a late freed slaves enjoys on the late former slave bestows the right
of residue on him over the estate of his slave who had no heirs or whose heirs do not
qualify to enjoy the right of Asabah. This is called circumstantial right of residue. The
second type is the right of residue on the basis of blood relation. They include the son,
grandson, father, grand father, full/half brother, the son of full/half brother, paternal uncle
and the son of paternal uncle. In each case the residuary should directly be related to the
deceased person without the interruption of a female person. They are of three categories:
a) Those who qualify for the right of residue in their own right (A'sab bi nafsihi). They
are the male ascendants and descendants, the brothers and uncles or their sons when they
take their places.
b.) Those female heirs whose share of the estate is half as sole heirs in their class when they have
no rival heirs and joined on 2/3 when they are more than one. Such people are agnatised by their
male counterpart. They are daughters or daughters of the son, full sisters or half sister. They are
called agnates by another (A'sab bi gayrihi)
c.) Those females who have to join other female heirs to become residuary. They are called
agnates with others. (A'sab ma'a gayrihi). They include the sisters (half & full) with the
daughter(s) or the daughter(s) of the son. Obviously in the absence of the son. The priority of the
right of residue goes to the children, next are the male parents. it is in the absence of the two
classes that the brothers come in and followed by the uncles of all categories.

AL-HUJBU: This is principle of Islamic law of inheritance whereby the share normally due to
an heir is reduced or eliminated because of the presence of a closer heir who takes precedence
over him. The exclusion may be partial ( Hujb Nuqsan) where the share of the affected heir is
not eliminated but reduced . Example is a husband who is ordinarily entitle to half of his decease
wife‟s estate suffers hujb nuqsan by his share being reduced to one-quarter due to the presence
of any of her offspring. The second type of Hujb is total exclusion(Hujb isqat) which leads to
total exclusion of an heir from sharing in the estate. Example is a grandfather who completed
excluded from the estate of his grandchild by the presence of the father of the intestate, since the
father and grandfather share under the title “father” but the father is closer to the intestate than
the grandfather hence he takes precedence thus excluding the grandfather. Below are tables of
partial and full exclusion .

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Priority Heirs Partially excluded heir from To
Child Husband 12 14
Wife/wives 14 18
Mother 13 16
Father/Grand Father Residue 16
Daughters, full sister As sole heirs in the class 12 2 3 (shared)
daughters of son
The sole full sister Sole half sister 12 16
Sole half sisters 23 16
Any combination of two or Mother 13 16
more brothers

The total exclusion table:

Priority Heirs Totally excluded heir
Father Grandfather, brothers & sisters(as group), uncle, sons of uncle
son All offspring below him, all brothers/sister, all uncles and their sons
Mother Grand mother
Daughter Uterine brothers/sisters
Daughter (2 or more) Uterine brothers/sisters, daughter(s) of son except accompanied by
agnatize her
Full brother Half-brother, any uncle
Son of full brother Any uncle, son of half-brother, son of son of brother
Half brother All uncles, sons of uncle, son of any brother (any nephew)
Son of half brother All uncles, all sons of sons of brother (son of nephew)
Full uncle Half uncle
A full sister + a daughter Half brother

Two or more full sisters Half sister

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Day 4

Case studies

Example 1:
A woman was survived by husband, a full uncle, 2 sons and a daughter and estate
worth N24,000.00

The presence of a son has turned the daughter to be an agnate( residue sharer) along with her
brother hence they will fully exclude the uncle who also a residue sharer but more distant.
The presence of children also "partially exclude" the husband by reducing his share from 1
2 to 1 4 .
Hence the husband will take 1 4 while the children takes the remaining ( 3 4 ) and shares it
in ratio male : female = 2: 1; (liz-zakari mithli hazi-l-nthayaiyni)

Husband Daughter 2 Sons

1 4 of 24,000 = 6,000 Residue = 3/4 of 24,000 = 18,000
6000 3,600 2x7,200

Let share of daughter = x

Share of each son = 2x

Hence the shares of two sons and a daughter is represented by

2(2x) + x= 5x

5x = 18000

x = 18000/5 = 3,600

The daughter takes N3,600 and each son takes N 7,200

Day 5

Example 2:

A man was survived by wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters and estate of 80,000

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Wife 2 I 2 Sons
1/8 of 80,000 = 10,000 residue = 70,000
6000 2 I

Let share of each daughter = x Share of

each son = 2x
Hence 2(2x)+2x = 70000
6x=70000
x = 70000/6 = 11,666.67
Each daughter takes N ll,666.67 Each son
takes N 23,333.33

Day 6

Example 3:
Consider a man survived by 4 wives, 3 daughters and 2 full sister and an estate valued
at N288000
The wives are joined on a share of 1/8 since the deceased was survived by children. To the
sole daughters is a share of 2/3 while the full sisters takes the residues (being agnates due to
presence of others, aasab ma 'a gayrihi)

Hence each wife takes 1 4 of 1/8 of the estate = 1 4 of 36000 = N9000

Each daughter takes 1/3 of 2/3 of the estate= 1/3 of 192000= N 64000
Each sister takes 1 2 of the residue [288000-(36000+192000)], i.e 1 2 of 60000= N 30000

Example 4:

A woman was survived by husband, a full uncle, 2 sons and a daughter and estate
worth N24,000.00

The presence of a son has turned the daughter to be an agnate( residue sharer) along with her
brother hence they will fully exclude the uncle who also a residue sharer but more distant. The
presence of children also "partially exclude" the husband by reducing his share from 1 2 to 1 4 .

Hence the husband will take 1 4 while the children takes the remaining (3/4) and shares it in
ratio male:female = 2:1; (liz-zakari mithli hazi-l-nthayaiyni)

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Husband Daughter 2 Sons
1 4 of 24,000 = 6,000 Residue = % of 24,000 = 18,000
6000 3,600 2x7,200

Let share of daughter = x then the share of each son = 2x

Hence 2(2x)+x= 18000 5x=18000

x= 18000/5 = 3,600

Each daughter takes N 3,600 Each son takes N 7,200

Day 7

Example 5:

A man was survived by wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters and estate of 80,000

Wife 2 Daughters 2 Sons

1/8 of 80,000 = 10,000 residue = 70,000

6000 2 (11,666.67) 2(23,333.33)

Let the share of each daughter = x

Share of each son = 2x
Hence 2x + 2(2x) = 70000
6x=70000
x = 70000/6 = 11,666.67
Each daughter takes Nll,666.67 Each
son takes N 23,333.33

Example 7:

Consider a man survived by 4 wives, 3 daughters and 2 full sister and an estate valued
at N288000

To the wives is a share of 1/8 since the deceased was survived by children, to the sole
daughters is a share of 2/3 while the full sisters takes the residues (being agnates due
to others, aasab ma 'a gayrihi)

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 Hence each wife takes1 4 of 1/8 of the estate = 1 4 of 36000 = W9000 Each
daughter takes 1/3 of 2/3 of the estate= 1/3 of 192000= W64000
Each sister takes 1 2 of the residue [288000-(36000+ 192000)], i.e 1 2 of 60000= W30000

Day 8

The Principle of I'wal

The principle of 'Iwal - The word 'Iwal means absence of precision or justice as used in Surah
Nisah 4:3. "This will make it more likely that you will not deviate from the right course."

But in the science of estate distribution it is used to describe increase in the denominator and
decrease in the shares the heirs would have otherwise received. It is applied in occasions when
the addition of the basic entitlement (fractional shares of the eligible heirs) is more than a whole
number which represents the estate.

A deceased Muslim woman was survived by her husband and two full sisters who qualify
34
respectively for 1 2 and 2/3. The sum of these fractions is greater than 1, i.e 6

Hence we apply the principle of I'wal by increasing the denominator to 7 (the sum of the
numerators in the above case)

34 3 4
 so that the heirs receive 3 7 and 4 7 instead of
6 7

A deceased Muslim woman was survived by her husband, a full sister and her mother who
qualify respectively for 1/2, 1/2 and 1/6. The sum of these fractions is greater than 1, i.e

3  3 1
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Hence we apply the principle of I'wal by increasing the denominator to 7 (the sum of the

numerators in the above case) 3  3 1  3  3 1 so that the heirs receive 3 7 , 3 7 and

6 7
1 7 instead of 3 6 , 3 6 and 1 6 respectively.

A deceased muslim man was survived by his wife, two daughters, her father and her mother.
Their respective share are 1/8, 2/3, 1/6, 1/6.

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But following the principle of „iwal, the shares are modified from 3 16  4  4 to
24
3 16  4  4
27

Generally the theory of 'Iwal. affects only cases of estates whose denominators of the fractional
shares of the heirs are 6, 12 and 24 respectively. The denominator 6 changes to 7, 8 or 10, while
denominator 12 changes to 13 and denominator 24 changes to 27.

Day 9

AR-RADDU:- Ar-Raddu in language means to return and in Islamic law of inheritance it

means to return the remainder of an estate to the heirs when they had been given their due
share(s). For example a woman who dies and leaves only her husband, is only qualified for half
of the estate. Or a man who dies and leaves two full sisters or two daughters. They are entitled
to only 2/3. The question is what happens to the remainder 1/2 in the first instance, and 1/3 in
the second example. This kind of problem prompted the theory of Ar-Raddu . The two most
authoritative sources of Islamic law are silent over such problem. Hence like the problem of
'Iwal, the jurists thought of answers to them on the basis of Ijtihad. Imam Malik and Shafei,
following the theory of Zaid b. Thabit, hold that the remainder should go to the public treasury.
But Imams Hanafi and Ahmad bn. Hambali followed the view of Caliphs Uthman and Ali b.
Abutalib that principle of Ar-Raddu should apply.
An example of the case where the wife/husband shares in the repeated distribution is where a
man dies and leaves a wife, mother qualifying for 1/4 and 1/3 respectively. Assuming that the
estate is N12,000. The wife takes N3,000 while the mother takes N4,000 on the basis of the
primary distribution. This leaves N5,000 as remainder.
May Allah accept our good work and forgive our shortcomings for sake of His beloved prophet
(SA W)

Compiled by Abdussalam Yusuf

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