Understand Your Family's Shares
A simple guide to faraid, how the shares are worked out, and what this calculator covers.
What is Islamic inheritance?
Islamic inheritance law, known as faraid or mirath, sets out who inherits from a Muslim and how much each heir receives. The main shares are given in Surah An-Nisa, and scholars have worked out how they apply when different relatives survive together.
Before anything is shared, the estate pays for the funeral, then any debts. Up to one third of what remains can be given as a bequest (wasiyyah) to people who are not heirs. The rest is divided between the heirs.
How the shares work
Some relatives, such as a spouse, parents and daughters, receive a fixed fraction. Others, such as sons, take whatever remains after the fixed shares are paid. A daughter's share is half of a son's share when they inherit together.
A closer relative can block a more distant one. For example, a son blocks brothers and sisters, and a father blocks his own father. When the fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate, each share is reduced in proportion. When they add up to less and there is no residuary heir, the remainder is returned to the heirs.
What this calculator covers
- Husband or wives, sons and daughters, and the children of a son.
- Father, mother and grandparents.
- Full brothers and sisters, and half-siblings from the same father or the same mother.
- Funeral costs, debts and a bequest of up to one third.
- Exact fractions, percentages and amounts in pounds, dollars, euros or rupees.
Inheritance and the law in the UK
In the UK, a Muslim's estate is shared under the law of the country unless there is a valid will. To have your estate follow Islamic shares, you need a will that sets this out. A solicitor can help you write one, and a qualified scholar can confirm the shares for your family.