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.
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.
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).
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.
