one-sixth of the estate, one-third of what remains after the fixed shares, or participation with them in equal shares. It can happen that nothing at all is left—for example, when the heirs are two daughters, the mother, and the husband—so the grandfather is allotted one-sixth and the shares are adjusted by ʿawl (proportional reduction). At other times less than a sixth is left, as with two daughters and the husband; he is still assigned his share and the estate is likewise subjected to ʿawl. On occasion a full sixth does remain, as with two daughters and the mother; here the grandfather takes that sixth and, in all such cases, the brothers are excluded.
If, together with the grandfather, there are brothers and sisters—whether full or consanguine—the grandfather’s entitlement is as just described, and for the purpose of dividing the residue the children of the full brothers are treated vis-à-vis him like the children of the consanguine brothers. After the grandfather has received his portion, if among the children of the full brothers there is a male, the remainder goes to them and the children of the consanguine brothers are barred. If no male is present, a single female receives one-half, while two or more receive two-thirds; nothing may exceed two-thirds, but a surplus may remain after the one-half, in which case it passes to the children of the consanguine brothers.
When a grandfather is joined by sisters he is regarded as a brother, so no fixed share is allotted to those sisters alongside him except in the case called al-Akdariyya: the heirs are a husband, mother, grandfather, and a sister—whether full or consanguine. The husband then takes one-half, the mother one-third, the grandfather one-sixth, and the sister one-half, whereupon the estate is subjected to ʿawl. Thereafter the grandfather and the sister divide their combined portion into thirds, two of which go to the grandfather.
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A Muslim and a non-Muslim do not inherit from one another. An apostate neither inherits nor is inherited from. One non-Muslim may inherit from another even when their religions differ, although the prevalent view is that no inheritance passes between a ḥarbī and a dhimmī. A person in a state of slavery does not inherit, whereas the later opinion holds that someone who is partly free does. A killer may not inherit, although some say that if he is not liable for compensation he may do so.
If two people who could inherit from one another die together—by drowning, the collapse of a building, or while travelling—and it is unknown which of them died first, they do not inherit from each other; each estate devolves upon that person’s own surviving heirs. As for one who is captured or goes missing and whose whereabouts are unknown, his property is left untouched until either proof of his death is produced or a period passes after which it is overwhelmingly presumed that he could not still be alive. The judge then exercises ijtihād, declares him dead, and distributes his estate to those who are his heirs at the time of that ruling. If anyone who would have inherited from the missing person dies before the ruling, that prospective share is held in abeyance.