Al-Faraid — Rawzat

Conditions for Inheritance

Three conditions must be met for inheritance to transfer:

Death of the deceased (muwarith): Confirmed death. A missing person may be treated as legally alive for a period; a person on life support has a complex ruling.
The heir being alive: The heir must be alive at the moment of the testator’s death. If an heir dies before or simultaneously with the testator, they inherit nothing.
No barrier to inheritance: Three barriers prevent inheritance:
- Different religion (ikhtilaf al-din): A non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim, nor a Muslim from a non-Muslim — by the majority position (based on “A Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, and a non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim” — Bukhari, Muslim)
- Killing the testator (qatl): One who intentionally killed the testator cannot inherit from them
- Slavery (riqq): A slave (in historical Islamic law) could not inherit

The Categories of Heirs

Islamic inheritance divides heirs into three groups:

1. Ashab al-Furud (Heirs with Fixed Shares)

Heirs whose Quranic share is explicitly stated. Their fractions:

1/2: One daughter (alone), wife’s share if husband has no children, husband’s share if wife has children
1/4: Husband (when wife has children), wife (when husband has no children, and multiple wives share this)
1/8: Wife/wives (when husband has children)
2/3: Two or more daughters (alone, no sons)
1/3: Mother (in specific circumstances), two or more siblings in the maternal line
1/6: Father (when the deceased has children), mother (when the deceased has children or more than one sibling), maternal sibling (one alone)

2. ‘Asabah (Residuary Heirs)

After the fixed-share heirs take their portions, the remainder goes to the ‘asabah — generally the male agnatic relatives in order: son, son’s son (descending), father, grandfather, brothers, uncle, etc.

The principle: “Give the fixed shares to their rightful owners; what remains goes to the nearest male agnatic heir.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

3. Dhaw al-Arham (Extended Kin)

If no ashab al-furud or ‘asabah exist, the estate passes to more distant relatives.

The Key Quranic Verses (4:11-12, 4:176)

“Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.” (4:11)

The 2:1 male-to-female ratio: a son receives twice what a daughter receives. This is often misunderstood as inequity — but classical Islamic law must be understood in its integrated context: a man is obligated to provide full nafaqa (financial maintenance) for his wife, his children, and sometimes his parents, while a woman’s inheritance is entirely her own with no obligation to spend on anyone else. The inheritance difference was designed to offset the obligation difference. In contemporary contexts, scholars debate whether changing financial obligations should affect this ruling; the classical position maintains the Quranic shares as fixed divine legislation.

“And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt.” (4:12)

The reference to debts is significant: debts and bequests are settled before distribution among heirs. The Prophet (SAW) confirmed that a deceased person’s debts take priority over inheritance.

The One-Third Limit on Bequests

“It is decreed upon you, when death approaches one of you, if he leaves wealth, [that he should make] a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable — a duty upon the righteous.” (2:180) — later superseded in some respects by 4:11-12.

The hadith rule: “A bequest (wasiyyah) may not exceed one-third [of the estate].” (Bukhari, Muslim) — A Muslim may direct up to 1/3 of their estate to non-heirs (charity, institutions, non-Muslim relatives) through bequest. More than 1/3 requires consent of the heirs.

The Quranic principle: “There is no bequest for an heir” — meaning a Muslim cannot use a bequest to effectively give more than the Quran’s assigned share to an heir who already receives a Quranic portion.

Faraid in the Bohra Tradition

The Dawoodi Bohra community applies inheritance law according to Ismaili fiqh, which may differ in specific details from the Sunni madhabs. The Da’a’im al-Islam of al-Qadi al-Nu’man (the foundational Ismaili legal text) contains detailed faraid provisions. Community members should consult their local jamaat or the scholarly guidance of the Dai al-Mutlaq for contemporary application. See [[dai-al-mutlaq-institution]].

Al-Faraid — Islamic Inheritance Law: The Quranic System of Estate Distribution