Question 1

What is Faraid?

Accepted Answer

Faraid (or 'ilm al-mawārīth) is the Islamic science of inheritance — the rules by which a deceased Muslim's estate is divided among their heirs. The shares are not chosen by the deceased; they are fixed by the Qur'an (chiefly Surah an-Nisā', verses 11, 12 and 176), the Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Learn the laws of inheritance and teach them to people, for they are half of useful knowledge.'

Question 2

What are the four steps before distribution?

Accepted Answer

Before any share is distributed, four claims are settled in order from the gross estate: (1) funeral and burial expenses, (2) outstanding debts owed by the deceased — both to people and to Allah (such as unpaid Zakat or Hajj dues), (3) the wasiyyah (bequest) up to a maximum of one-third of what remains, and only to non-heirs. Whatever remains is the distributable estate that gets divided according to Faraid.

Question 3

Why is the wasiyyah limited to one-third?

Accepted Answer

When Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ asked the Prophet ﷺ if he could leave two-thirds of his wealth in charity, the Prophet refused. He asked about half — refused. About a third — and the Prophet said: 'A third, and a third is much. It is better for you to leave your heirs rich than to leave them poor, begging from people.' (Bukhārī & Muslim). So a Muslim may freely will up to one-third to non-heirs (or to charity), but the remaining two-thirds must go to the Faraid heirs in their fixed shares.

Question 4

Who are the fixed-share (dhawu'l-furūḍ) heirs?

Accepted Answer

Twelve heirs are named with fixed shares in the Qur'an: the husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the daughter, the son's daughter, the full sister, the paternal half-sister, the maternal half-sibling, the paternal grandfather (in absence of the father), the paternal grandmother (in absence of the mother), and the maternal grandmother. Their shares are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, or 1/6 — depending on who else is alive.

Question 5

What is ʿasabah (residuary heirs)?

Accepted Answer

After the fixed shares are paid, what remains goes to the male agnatic heirs — sons, son's sons, the father (in some cases), the paternal grandfather, brothers, paternal nephews, and so on, in a strict order of priority. They take whatever is left; if the fixed shares used the entire estate, ʿasabah heirs take nothing. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Give the appointed shares to those entitled to them, and whatever remains is for the closest male relative.' (Bukhārī)

Question 6

What is ʿawl?

Accepted Answer

ʿAwl ('proportional reduction') happens when the fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate — for example, when a husband (1/2) and two full sisters (2/3) together claim 7/6 of the estate. The denominator is raised so every heir's share is reduced proportionally. The classical example: husband + mother + two full sisters → denominator goes from 6 to 8, and each heir's numerator stays the same.

Question 7

What is radd?

Accepted Answer

Radd ('return') is the opposite of ʿawl — when the fixed shares add up to less than the whole estate and there is no ʿasabah heir to take the residue. The leftover is returned proportionally to the fixed-share heirs (except spouses, who do not receive radd). For example, a deceased survived only by one daughter takes 1/2 by Qur'an, plus the remaining 1/2 by radd — so the daughter inherits the entire estate.

Question 8

What about the spouse — does the share change with children?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A husband inherits 1/2 if his wife left no descendants (children or son's children), and 1/4 if she did. A wife (or wives, sharing equally) inherits 1/4 if her husband left no descendants, and 1/8 if he did. This is from Surah an-Nisā', verse 12.

Question 9

How are sons and daughters treated?

Accepted Answer

Sons inherit as ʿasabah — they take what remains after fixed shares. When sons and daughters inherit together, the share-rule from Surah an-Nisā' verse 11 applies: 'For the male is the share of two females.' This is not because daughters are valued less — it is because Islamic law obliges the male to financially maintain his wife, his children, and often his sisters and mother, while the female's wealth is hers alone. A daughter alone takes 1/2; two or more daughters share 2/3 between them.

Question 10

Does the Hanafi school treat the paternal grandfather like the father?

Accepted Answer

Yes — in the absence of the father, the Hanafi position is that the paternal grandfather (jadd ṣaḥīḥ) takes the father's share and blocks the same heirs the father would block (chiefly the brothers and sisters of the deceased). The Mālikī, Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools generally hold that the grandfather competes with full and paternal siblings rather than blocking them. This calculator follows the Hanafi view by default, since it is the most widely applied across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Asia.

Question 11

What about adopted children, step-children, and non-Muslim relatives?

Accepted Answer

Faraid is based on blood lineage and marriage. Adopted children do not inherit by Faraid (though the deceased may leave them up to one-third by wasiyyah). Step-children do not inherit unless they are biological descendants. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'A Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, and a non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim.' (Bukhārī & Muslim) — so a non-Muslim spouse, parent or child does not take a Faraid share, though again the deceased may bequeath to them within the one-third limit.

Question 12

Is this calculator a fatwa?

Accepted Answer

No. This is a planning aid that implements the standard Sunni Faraid rules for the most common cases. It does not handle every edge case — Khuntha (intersex heirs), missing heirs (mafqūd), simultaneous death (al-gharqā), or the specific Mālikī, Shāfiʿī or Ḥanbalī positions on grandfather + siblings. For complex estates, blended families, business interests, cross-border assets, or any case you are unsure about, consult a qualified scholar or your local Islamic religious authority (such as Syariah Court in Singapore, Mahkamah Syariah in Malaysia, or BAZNAS in Indonesia).

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