When the subject is examined in detail, the male heirs are found to be fifteen in number, while the female heirs are ten. This can be verified through careful study and by returning to the authoritative sources. And Allah knows best.
Categories of heirs with respect to the manner of inheritance:
Viewed from this angle, heirs fall into three categories:
- A group that inherits by farḍ (a fixed share),
- A group that inherits by taʿṣīb (agnatic succession),
- A group that inherits because they belong to the dhawū’l-arḥām (uterine relatives).
A ṣāḥib al-farḍ (sharer) is one whose share is precisely set by the Sacred Law; it may increase only through radd (return of residue) and may decrease only through ʿawl (proportional reduction).
The ʿaṣaba (agnates) are those who inherit without a fixed quota.
The dhawū’l-arḥām (uterine relatives) inherit only when no sharers remain except the spouses and no agnates are present.
There are ten classes of sharers: the spouses, the two parents, the grandfather, the daughters, the granddaughters through a son, the sisters of every type, and the uterine brothers and sisters, male and female.
We shall now discuss each of these classes in some detail: