56. The Book of the Fixed Inheritance Shares (al-Farāʾiḍ)

Agreed-upon male heirs
There are ten male relatives whose entitlement to inherit is unanimously accepted:

1. the son,
2. the son’s son, no matter how far down the line,
3. the father,
4. the grandfather—the father’s father—however high,
5. the brother,
6. the brother’s son,
7. the paternal uncle,
8. the paternal uncle’s son,
9. the husband, and
10. the emancipator (the patron who manumitted the deceased).

Agreed-upon female heirs
Seven female relatives are likewise certain to inherit:

1. the daughter,
2. the son’s daughter,
3. the mother,
4. the grandmother,
5. the sister,
6. the wife, and
7. the emancipatrix (the patroness who freed the deceased).

Those who do not inherit
Four categories are altogether excluded from inheritance:

1. the slave,
2. the killer of the deceased,
3. the apostate, and
4. relatives who belong to two different religions.

The Qur’ānically prescribed shares
The fixed shares named in the Book of Allah are six: one-half, one-quarter, one-eighth, two-thirds, one-third, and one-sixth.

One-half is due to the daughter, the son’s daughter (if no daughter is present), the full sister, the consanguine sister when there is no full sister, and to the husband when the deceased leaves neither child nor grandchild through a son.

One-quarter is the husband’s share when the deceased leaves a child or a son’s child, and it is the collective share of the wives when the deceased leaves no child and no grandchild through a son.

One-eighth is the collective share of the wives when the deceased leaves a child or a son’s child.

Two-thirds belong to two or more of any heirs who would take one-half—except the husband.

One-third belongs to the mother when the deceased leaves neither child, nor grandchild through a son, nor two or more brothers or sisters. In the two well-known problems—namely, “Husband plus both parents,” and “Wife plus both parents”—the mother is assigned one-third of what remains after the husband or wife has received his or her portion. One-third is also the share of two or more maternal siblings, male and female alike, who take it equally.

One-sixth is prescribed for seven categories:

1. each parent when there is a child or grandchild through a son;
2. the mother when she inherits alongside any kind of siblings;
3. the grandmothers;
4. the grandfather when there is a child or a son’s child;
5. the son’s daughters when there is also a (full) daughter;
6. consanguine sisters when there is a full sister; and
7. a single maternal sibling.

The grandmothers are excluded by the mother and by the grandfather, while brothers and sisters are excluded by the father. Maternal siblings are barred by any one of four relatives: a child, a son’s child, the father, or the grandfather.

When daughters have already received the full two-thirds, the son’s daughters are excluded—unless a son’s son, on their own level or lower, is present to make them agnatic heirs. Likewise, when the full sisters obtain the complete two-thirds, the consanguine sisters are excluded unless a full brother accompanies them and renders them agnatic.

1. Chapter: The Nearest Agnatic Heirs (al-ʿAṣabah)

The order of priority among agnatic heirs is as follows: first come the sons, then their sons; next the father, then the grandfather; after that the father’s sons—the brothers—followed by the grandfather’s sons, namely the paternal uncles, and then the sons of those uncles.