The Islamic inheritance system (Ilm al-Fara'id) balances individual rights with social equity by automatically distributing a deceased person's estate among multiple family members.
1. Core Principles
Wealth Redistribution: Prevents the concentration of wealth in a single individual or eldest son (abolishing the law of primogeniture).
Guaranteed Rights for Women: Elevated women from being treated as property to becoming legal co-sharers.
Divine Mandate: Replaces personal whims with fixed, legally defined shares for family members.
2. Order of Distribution (Before Heirs Inherit)
An estate can only be divided after settling these four obligations in order:
Funeral Expenses (Burial costs)
Debts (Including any unpaid Mahr / dower to the wife)
Bequests (Wasiyyah) (Voluntary wills up to a maximum of 1/3 of remaining assets; cannot go to an existing legal heir)
🚫 Disqualifications: A person cannot inherit if they committed murder of their predecessor (intentional or unintentional), are non-Muslim, or reside across a hostile geopolitical border (Dar-ul-Harb vs. Dar-ul-Islam).
3. The Three Classes of Heirs
Class A: The Sharers (Dhaw-u'l-Fara'id)
Twelve specific relatives (4 male, 8 female) entitled to fixed fractional shares depending on family structure:
Spouses: Husband gets 1/2 (if childless) or 1/4 (with children). Wife gets 1/4 (if childless) or 1/8 (with children).
Parents: Father gets 1/6 if there are children. Mother gets 1/6 if there are children/multiple siblings, otherwise 1/3.
Children: An only daughter gets 1/2; multiple daughters share 2/3. If a son is present, they move to Class B.
Others: Grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings inherit fixed fractions under specific conditions when closer relatives are absent.
Class B: The Residuaries ('Asabat)
Male-line relatives who receive whatever remains of the estate after the Sharers take their portions.
The Order: Sons, Grandsons, Father, Grandfather, Full Brothers Consanguine Brothers $\rightarrow$ Paternal Uncles.
The 2:1 Rule: When daughters inherit alongside sons (or sisters alongside brothers), they become residuaries, with males receiving double the share of females.
Class C: Distant Kindred (Dhaw-u'l Arham)
Relatives connected through a female line (e.g., daughter’s children, maternal grandfather). They only inherit in extremely rare cases if no heirs from Class A or B exist.
In Conclusion
Kitab Al-Fara'id turns inheritance into a tool for social welfare and family solidarity, replacing arbitrary favoritism with an objective, structured system of justice.
