MIRAATH - The Islamic Law of Succession: A Practical Guide by Dr. Sowed J. Mayanja

Al-MIRAATH
THE ISLAMIC LAW OF

SUCCESSION
A PRACTICAL GUIDE
DR. SOWED JUMA MAYANJA
April 2012
1
© Copyright 2012 by Dr. Sowed Juma Mayanja
ISBN: 978-9987-499-26-7
First Edition, 1433AH/2012
First Print 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any language, stored in a retrieval system or
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ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
All thanks and appreciation are due to The Al-Mighty Allah,

who gave me life and bestowed on me His favuors which
enabled me to accomplish this work.
I am indebted to Professor Mustafa Roshash, the Vice-

Chancellor of Zanzibar University, who encouraged me to write
this book and publish it.
I am also indebted to the Colleagues; Dr. Haroonah Nsubuga,

Dr. Hassan Nandwa and Counsel Farook Kiyalo, who reviewed
the manuscript.
My sincere thanks and gratitude should also be registered to my

family; my wives, Joweria Kawala and Sophia Namaluga, my
children; Abdu-Rahmaan Mayanja, Hana Nampeera, Taiba
Nakigudde, Nasiiba Babirye, Nusaiba Nakato, Bushra
Nantongo, Huda Nakaliiri, Abdu-Shakuur Mayanja and
Muhammad Mayanja, who endured the pain of my absence
from them while writing this book.
May Allah reward all abundantly.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface:……………………………………………………….vi
Chapter One: Meaning, Importance and Scope of Al-Miraath..1

1.1 Definition and importance of Al-Miraath……………..…2
1.2 Verses of inheritance and general lessons from them….5
1.3 Mathematics for succession………………………...…11
Chapter Two: General Principles of Al-Miraath……….…17

2.1 Liabilities on the deceased’s Estate……………...……18
2.2 Conditions, grounds and impediments for succession..21
2.3 Male and female heirs……………………………...…26
2.4 Shares in Succession and heirs entitled to receive
them……………………………………………………….30
2.5 Aswabah (Residuaries)………………………..………56
Chapter Three: Exclusion and Distribution of Estate…….64

3.1 Al-Hajb (Exclusion) and its rules…………………...…65
3.2 Miraath Al-Jadd Wal-Ikh’wah (Inheritance of
Grandfather with Brothers of the deceased)……….….71
3.3 Distribution of the Estate……………………………...75
Chapter Four: Miscellaneus Topics of Al-Miraath………..88

4.1 Ar-rad Wal-Awul Surplus and deficiency of the Estat.89
4.2 Miraath Al-Janiin Wal-Mafquud (Succession of unborn
child and a lost person)………………………………110
4.3 Assulhu (Agreement among heirs to forfeit their
shares)………………………………………………..116
4.4 Al-munaasakhaat (Transfer of vested inheritance)…..121
Chapter Five: Al-Waswiyyah, The Islamic Will……….....129
iv
5.1 Importance of Al-Waswiyyah……………………….…..130
5.2 Pillars and conditions of an Islamic Will………...…..131
5.3 Circumstances for execution of a Will whose value is
more than One-third…………………………….……134
5.4 Al-Mu’swi (The Testator)………………………….....135
5.5 Al-Mu’swa Lahu (The Legatee)…………………..….136
5.6 Al-Mu’swa Bihi (The thing which is bequeathed)…...138
Conclusion:…………………………………………..……..139
Bibliography:……………………………………………….141
Appendix 1: Qur’anic Verses mentioned in this Book…….143
Appendix 2: Ahadiith (Sayings of the Prophet) mentioned in

this book………………………………………….…………146
v
PREFACE
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST

MERCIFUL
All praises are due to Allah the Cherisher and Sustainer of the
worlds.
May the blessings of Allah and His peace be showered upon
His beloved Prophet, Muhammad Bin Abdillah, and upon his
relatives and companions, and all those who follow his
guidance until the Day of Judgment.
When the Islamic University in Uganda started the Faculty of

law, I was tasked to make course outlines, prepare teaching
materials and teach Islamic law units. This was not an easy job,
as I had to spend a lot of time in the library searching for
relevant books and materials for these courses. I found that
there was scarcity of Islamic law books, and the few, which
were there, were very voluminous and could hardly be found in
the market. I therefore had to rely very much on Islamic law
books written in Arabic and translate the content into English. It
was from this time that I felt the need to write books on Islamic
law in English to enable students who undertake comparative
law have easy access to the required materials.
Islamic Family law at the Islamic University in Uganda is

taught as a unit composed of two parts, the first part dealing
with marriage related issues, divorce and parentage, the second
part dealing with succession. My initial idea therefore was to
write a book on Islamic Family Law basing on the curriculum. I
started working on it but as I had a lot of responsibility coupled
with teaching in two other branches of the University, my pace
in writing was extremely affected.
vi
When I joined the Faculty of Law and Shariah at Zanzibar
University, I found Islamic Law of Succession taught as an
independent course, however I noticed the same problem of
scarcity of reading material. I changed my initial idea and
decided to write a book on Islamic Law of Succession.
Although this book was originally written for students of law

who undertake a comparative study between common law and
Islamic law, it has been written in such a way that it can benefit
any average reader, Muslim and non-Muslim, with little or no
prior knowledge of the subject.
I have included in this book many worked examples and tables

with explanation, in order to simplify the understanding of the
subject matter of Miraath.
I have also avoided writing the Qur’anic verses and sayings of

the Prophet (S.A.W) in Arabic in order not to discourage non-
Muslims from reading the book as the major purpose is to avail
this knowledge to all people Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
A Topic on Mathematics for succession is included in order to

assist those readers who do not have a strong background in
mathematics to grasp easily the calculations concerned with Al-
Miraath.
Generally, the book is divided into five Chapters, each chapter

is composed of a number of sub-topics for easy
conceptualization and understanding, and I have named it “Al-
Miraath, The Islamic Law of Succession, A Practicle Guide”.
vii
I pray to The Al-Mighty Allah to bless this humble effort, make
it beneficial to whoever reads it and add it to my scale of good
deeds on the Day of Judgment.
Ameen.
Dr. Sowed Juma Mayanja

Zanzibar,
1st April 2012.
viii
CHAPTER ONE:
MEANING, IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE OF

AL-MIRAATH
1
1.1 DEFINITION OF AL-MIRAATH
Al-Miraath is an Arabic word, derived from Al-Irith, which

literally means heritage or the remains of anything1.
In the Qur’an Allah says: (To Allah belongs the Miraath of the
Heavens and Earth)2, that is, the Heritage of the Heavens and
the Earth.
In legal terminology, Al-Miraath refers to the process through

which the Estate of the deceased is distributed among his
successors3.
The science of Al-Miraath in Sharia gives rules, which guide as

to who inherits and who is to be inherited, and what shares go
to the heirs4.
1.2 IMPORTANCE OF AL-MIRAATH FROM THE

QUR’AN AND THE SUNNAH
a) Its importance from the Qur’an:
In the Qur’an, most of the legal rulings are general and
need to be explained by the Sunnah. For example, with
regard to establishing regular prayers and payment of
zakah Allah says: (And establish regular prayer and pay
Zakah)5, without explaining how Swalah is performed
and at what times. The same applies to zakah as He did
not explain the types of wealth from which zakah is paid,
1
Ibn Manzhuur, M. Lisaan Al-Arab, Beirut, Daar Swadir, 1st Edn. Vol. 2, pg. 111
2
Suraat Al-Imraan (2: 180)
3
Asswabuuni, M., Al-Mawaarith Fi Shariat Al-Islamiyyah, Beirut, A’lam Al-
Kutub, 3rd edn, 1985, pg32
4
Doi,A., Sharia, the Islamic law, London, Ta-ha publishers Ltd, 1984, pg.271.
5
Surat Al-Baqarah (2:43)
2
what is the minimum amount from which zakah is due,
and how much is paid.
When it comes to performing of Hajj Allah says: (Hajj is

a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who have the
ability)6. He did not explain the types of Hajj, nor gave
details on how Hajj is performed. However, the legal
rulings regarding inheritance have been clearly
expounded and explained by Allah Himself in Qur’an.
He explained the shares, that is to say one-half, one-
quarter, one-eighth, two-thirds, one-third, and one-sixth,
and those entitled to receive them, and under what
conditions. He also explained those who get the
remainder after the legal sharers have taken their shares,
leaving very little to be added by the Sunnah7.
b) Its importance from the Sunnah:

The Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Give the Fara’idh (shares
prescribed in the Qur’an) to those entitled to receive
them, then whatever remains, should be given to the
closest male relative of the deceased”8.
The injunction in this Hadith cannot be implemented
without one having the knowledge Miraath. This
therefore, shows the importance of having the
knowledge of Miraath.
The death of a person brings about the transfer of most of his
rights and obligations to persons who survive him and are
called Wuratha that is to say heirs.
6
Surat A’l-Imraan (3:97)
7
Al-Fauzaan, S., Attahqiiqaat Al-Mardhiyyah Fil-Mabaahith Al- Faradhiyyah,
Madina, Islamic University, 1407H, pg.12
8
Bukhari, Swahiih, vol.6, pg 2476, Hadith no.6351 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3, pg
1233, Hadith no.1615
3
The rules and customs of Arabia on succession before the
advent of Islam were similar to the pagan African customs
prevalent even at the contemporary level in some countries.
These rules and customs excluded both women and children
from inheriting from the estate left by their deceased relative.
According to these rules, the elder son used to inherit all the
property and the young sons and daughter plus the wives of the
deceased ended up getting nothing from the estate of the
deceased person.
As far as the wife of the deceased was concerned, she was

considered a property of her husband’s family and she was to be
included in the estate immediately after the death of her
husband9.
The Islamic Law of Succession abrogated or modified these

rules, and introduced the principle of equity among the heirs in
accordance with their natural position and their proximity to the
deceased person.
The rules regulating inheritance in Sharia are based on the

principle that property that belonged to the deceased should
devolve on those who, because of consanguinity (Relationship
by blood or birth) or marital relations, have the strongest claim
to be benefited by it and in proportion to the strength of such a
claim10.
9
Doi, A. Sharia the Islamic law, pg.272.
10
Ibid
4
1.3 VERSES OF INHERITANCE AND GENERAL
LESSONS FROM THEM
a) Verses of inheritance:
The following verses are the basis of legislation of succession
in Islam.
Allah says;
(Allah commands you as regards your children’s inheritance: to
the male a portion equal to that of two females; if there are only
daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the
inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth
share of inheritance to each if the deceased left children, if no
children and the parents are the only heirs, the mother has a
third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a
sixth. The distribution in all cases is after the payment of
legacies he may have bequeathed or debts. You know not
whether your parents or your children, are nearest to you in
benefit. These fixed shares are ordained by Allah, And Allah is
Ever All knower, All-wise)11.
He further says;
(In that which your wives leave, your share is a half if they have
no child, but if they leave a child, you get a fourth of that which
they leave after payment of legacies that they may have
bequeathed or debts. In that which you leave, your wife’s share
is a fourth if you leave no child, but if you leave a child, they
get an eighth of that which you leave after payment of legacies
that you may have bequeathed or debts. If the man or woman
whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor
descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the
two gets a sixth, but if more than two, they share in a third, after
11
Surat Annisaa (4:11)
5
payment of legacies he or she may have bequeathed or debts so
that no loss is caused to anyone. This is a commandment from
Allah, and Allah is Ever All-knowing, Most- Forbearing)12.
In another verse, Allah says:

(They ask you for a legal verdict; say: Allah directs thus about
Kalaalah (Those who leave neither descendants nor ascendants
as heirs). If it is a man that dies leaving a sister, but no child,
she shall have half the inheritance. If (such a deceased was) a
woman, who left no child, her brother takes her inheritance. If
there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the
inheritance, if there are brothers and sisters, the male will have
twice the share of the female. Thus does Allah make clear to
you His laws lest you go astray. And Allah is the All-knower
of everything)13.
b) General lessons from the verses:
A) In verse 4:11, Allah says: (Allah commands you as

regards to your children’s inheritance…) then He says
(These fixed shares are ordained by Allah and Allah is
Ever All knower, All wise)
In verse 4:12, Allah says: (This is a commandment from
Allah, and Allah is Ever All knowing, Most- Forbearing)
In verse 4:176, Allah says: (Thus does Allah make clear
to you His laws lest you go astray, and Allah is All
knower of everything)
The first lesson is that the laws concerning inheritance

are Allah’s laws and commandments ordained by Him
and nobody has a right to change them or tamper with
12
13
6
them. Therefore, a Muslim who believes in Allah and
His book must abide by them whole-heartedly, whether
he/she understands the logic behind them or not.
The second lesson is that Allah is All knower All wise,

He knows everything because He is The Creator of
everything, and He knows why He gave such a share to
so and so, His commandments are based on knowledge
and wisdom, and therefore a Muslim has to submit
totally to the will of Allah.
B) Verse 4:11 deals with the inheritance of Descendants and

Ascendant that is to say children and parents
Verse 4:12 deals with the inheritance of the two spouses,
that is to say, husband and wife, and the inheritance of
uterine brothers and sisters, that is to say, from the
mother’s side
Verse 4:176 deals with the inheritance of Full brothers
and sisters, and consanguine brothers and sisters.
C) Descendants (children)
With regard to inheritance of descendants, two shares for
female descendants were mentioned in the verse, that is
to say, ½ and 2/3, and that the male gets twice as much
as the share of the female when they are together. No
specific shares were mentioned for the male descendants.
This therefore, means that descendants are of three
categories:
1- males only; in this case they do not have stipulated
shares, but take all the property and share it equally
amongst themselves if there are no people with
stipulated shares. If there are people with stipulated
7
shares, then the male descendants take the remainder and
share it equally amongst themselves.
2- Females only: In this case if she is alone she takes ½ of
the property, but if they are more than one, they take 2/3
of the property and share it equally amongst themselves.
3- A mixture of males and females: They take all the
property if there are no people with stipulated shares and
share it amongst themselves but the male takes twice as
much as the share of the female.
D) Ascendants (parents)
Ascendants have two situations:
1- If the deceased left children, males or females, each one
of the parents gets 1/6, and the remainder is for the
children if they are males, or males and females, but if
they are only females, they get their stipulated shares and
the remainder, if any, is taken by the father.
2- If the deceased left no child, the mother gets 1/3, but if
the deceased left brothers, two or more, then the mother
gets 1/6 and the remainder in either case, will be for the
father.
E) Spouses:
Spouses have two situations:
1- If the wife left no child, male or female, the husband gets
½ of the property, but if she left any child, then the
husband gets ¼ of the property.
2- If the husband left no child, male or female, the
wife/wives takes ¼ of the property, but if he left any
child, then the wife or wives takes 1/8 of the property.
8
F) Uterine brothers and sisters:
The uterine brothers and sisters inherit if the deceased
has neither ascendants nor descendants, and have two
situations:
1- If he or she is one; he or she takes 1/6 of the property.
2- If they are two or more they take 1/3 of the property and
share it equally males and females without any
preference of males to females.
G) Full and consanguine brothers and sisters:

The full and consanguine brothers and sisters inherit
when there are no offspring and no father or grandfather.
They are of three categories:
1- Males only; in this case they do not have stipulated
shares, but take all the property and share it equally
amongst themselves.
2- Females only: In this case if she is alone she takes ½ of
the property, but if they are two and above they take 2/3
of the property and share it equally amongst themselves.
3- A mixture of males and females: They take all the
property and share it amongst themselves but the male
takes twice as much as the share of the female.
H) With the exception of uterine brothers and sisters, the

general rule is that whenever a female inherits with a
male of the same degree, the share of the male is
twice as much as the share of the female. This is so
because under normal circumstances, the financial
obligation of the male is greater than that of the female.
In Sharia, a woman is not obliged to spend on anybody,
instead, she is supposed to be catered for either by her
father, her brother, her husband, or her son. An easy
example is when a man dies and is survived by a son and
9
a daughter and each of them is about to get married. The
son inherits twice as much as what the daughter inherits.
However, the son has to prepare a house to live in with
his wife, to furnish it with the necessary items, to give
Mahar to his wife and meet all the financial obligations
of a husband. As for the daughter, she does not have to
think about all that, instead, she waits to be given mahar
and to find the house and its requirements ready for her.
I) The distribution in all cases is after the payment of

legacies (Wills) and debts. This is mentioned in verse
(4:11) in which Allah says: (The distribution in all cases
is after the payment of legacies he may have bequeathed
or debts). It is further repeated in verse (4:12) to
emphasize its importance.
10
1.3 MATHEMATICS FOR SUCCESSION
This Topic is intended to give the reader a background on the

mathematics required for Islamic inheritance Miraath.
For purposes of distribution of inheritance, Miraath, one should
be proficient in dealing with fractions. The mathematics
therefore, required for Miraath deals mainly with fractions.
Definition of a fraction
When an object is divided into a number of equal parts, each
part is called a fraction of the whole.
A fraction generally denotes a part of a whole and consists of
two numbers one at the bottom and another at the top, for
example, 2/3. The bottom number is called the denominator and
it tells us how many parts the whole has been divided into. The
top number is called the numerator and tells us how many parts
are being considered out of the whole14.
1/6 means that the whole is divided into 6 equal parts and we
are considering only one part out of the 6.
¼ means that the whole is divided into 4 equal parts and we are
considering only one part out of the 4.
½ means that the whole is divided into 2 equal parts and we are
considering only one part out of the 2.
2/3 means that the whole is divided into 3 equal parts and we
are considering only 2 parts out of the 3.
Proper and improper fraction

A proper fraction is one in which the numerator is less than the
denominator, for example, 1/8, 2/3, 5/6. The value of such
fraction is less than one (1).
14
www.bacsoftware.co.uk/fcalc1/w1, accessed on 22/10/2011
11
An improper fraction is one in which the numerator is equal to
or bigger than the denominator.
-If the numerator is equal to the denominator, the value of the
fraction is one, for example 2/2, 4/4, 6/6.
-If the numerator is bigger than the denominator, the value of
the fraction is greater than one, for example 4/3=1 and 1/3,
7/4=1 and 3/4, 3/2=1 and 1/2.
Equivalent fractions
If both the denominator and numerator of a fraction are divided
or multiplied by the same number, the actual value of the
fraction does not change.
These fractions are called equivalent fractions because their
value is the same.
Thus, 1/2 = 2/4 = 3/6 = 4/8 =8/16.
¾ = 6/8 = 9/12 = 12/16 = 15/20.
Fraction in its lowest form

When the numerator and denominator have a common divisor
the fraction is said to be reduced to its lowest form. Thus:
3/15 reduced to its lowest form is 1/5
15/120 reduced to its lowest form is 1/8
16/24 reduced to its lowest for is 2/3.
Lowest Common Multiple (L.C.M)

Before addition or subtraction of fractions is undertaken, we
must find the lowest common multiple (L.C.M) for the
denominator.
The lowest common multiple of two or more non-zero whole
numbers is the smallest whole number that is divisible by each
of the numbers without having a remainder. For example, the
lowest common multiple of 5 and 6 is 30 because it is divisible
by both 5 and 6 without having a remainder.
12
How to find the (L.C.M) of two or more numbers
There are a number of methods, but the most common are the
following:
Method 1
Simply list the multiples of each number (multiply by 2, 3, 4,
etc.) then look for the smallest number that appears in each list.
Example: Find the lowest common multiple for 4 and 6.

First, we list the multiples of each number.
Multiples of 4 are:
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72,
76….
Multiples of 6 are:
6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, 72, ...
Common multiples of 4 and 6 are simply the numbers that are

in both lists:
12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, ....
Therefore, the lowest common multiple of 4 and 6 is the

smallest one of those which is 12.
Method 2 (Using a table)
Example: Find the L.C.M of 4, 7, 12, 21, and 42
First, we begin by listing all of the numbers vertically in a table

as shown in the following table:
13
4
7
12
21
42
Then we divide all of the factors by 2. If any of them divides

evenly, we write 2 at the top of the table and the result of
division by 2 of each factor in the space to the right of each
factor and below the 2. If they do not divide evenly, we just
rewrite the number again. If 2 does not divide evenly into any
of the numbers, we try 3
X 2
4 2
7 7
12 6
21 21
42 21
We divide again, whatever is divisible by 2

X 2 2
4 2 1
7 7 7
12 6 3
21 21 21
42 21 21
Once 2 no longer divides, we divide by 3. If 3 no longer

divides, we try 5 and 7. We keep going until all of the numbers
have been reduced to 1.
14
X 2 2 3 7
4 2 1 1 1
7 7 7 7 1
12 6 3 1 1
21 21 21 7 1
42 21 21 7 1
Now, we multiply the numbers on the top and we get the LCM.
In this case, it is 2 × 2 × 3 × 7 = 84.
Ratios
A Ratio is a relationship between two numbers or objects of the
same kind, which explicitly indicates the number of times the
first number contains the second or vice versa15. It can be
written as 2 out of 3, 2 to 3, 2:3, or as a fraction.
In Al-Miraath ,it is very important to understand the concept of

ratios especially when dealing with the general rule that
whenever a female inherits with a male of the same degree, the
share of the male is twice as much as the share of the female.
In order to clarify this point, let us look at an example where a

man dies and is survived by two (2) sons and three (3)
daughters. The concept of ratio will be very useful in
calculating the share of each one of the sons and daughters.
Let denote each son with letter S and each daughter with letter
D as follows;
S1, S2, D1, D2, D3. The distribution of the property will be in
the ratio:
2: 2: 1: 1: 1. We now change the ratios into fractions in order to
get the share of each individual, by making his or her ratio the
15
See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratio, accessed on 22/10/2011
15
numerator and the totalsum of the ratios the denominator.
Therefore, the share of S1= 2/7, S2=2/7, D1=1/7, D2= 1/7, D3=
1/7.
This means that if the whole estate is divided into 7 equal parts,
each son will get 2 parts out of seven and each daughter will get
1 part out of seven, thereby implementing the rule that the male
takes twice as much as the share of the female.
Another example is where a man dies and is survived by 3 sons

and 2 daughters and the total sum of his property is shs.40
Million. We are supposed to distribute his property to his
children but the male takes twice as much as the share of the
female. Using ratios in this example will easily lead us to the
correct distribution. We can use the same letters as in the
foregoing example. Therefore the children are S1,S2,S3,D1 and
D2. The ratios will be: 2: 2: 2: 1: 1. The fraction of each boy is
2/8 and the fraction of each girl is 1/8. This means that each boy
will get 2/8x40= 10Million, and each girl will get 1/8x40=
5Million.
16
CHAPTER TWO:
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF AL-MIRAATH
17
2.1 LIABILITIES ON THE DECEASED’S ESTATE
Before distributing the Estate of the deceased among various

heirs, it is required first to settle liabilities in the following
order16:
a) Funeral expenses:
These are expenses incurred in preparing for and
carrying out burial rituals. For example, transporting the
body, washing it, purchase of burial shrouds, preparing
the grave and so on. Since Islam teaches simplicity in
everything, such expenses should be simple but
appropriate to the social and economic status of the
deceased17.
These expenses are deducted from the estate/property of
the deceased before anything else.
b) Debts attached to a specific property or part of the estate:

Examples of such debts are mortgage (Rahan) and alms
giving (Zakaat). If the deceased had before his death
concluded a mortgage deal or if the payment of Zakaat
was due at the time of death but payment was not
effected, the inheritors cannot share the property before
these liabilities are settled.
c) Debts which are not specifically attached to the estate:

These are unsettled debts at the time of his death. For
example, loans.
16
Al-Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-Faraidh, Dammam, Daar Ibn Al-Jauzi, 1st edn, 1424H,
pg.11, & Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, Riyadh, Darussalam, 2005,
pg. 45.
17
Mutyaba, A, Inheritance in Buganda: Traditional and Islamic perspective, M.A
Dissertation, 2005, pg. 59.
18
Abu-Hurairah narrated that Prophet (S.A.W) said: “A
believer’s soul remains in suspense until all his debts are
paid off”18.
Note should be taken, however, that a debt remains a
debt whether it is owed to a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
d) Wills or Legacies:
Wills include gifts or anything the deceased wished
during his lifetime to be given to the needy, poor or
charitable organization after his death.
It should be noted however, that the Will must not

exceed one-third (1/3) of the deceased’s total estate.
This is based on the prophetic Hadith reported by Saad
bin Abi Waqqaas. He said:
“I was stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of
death. The Prophet (S.A.W) came to pay me a visit. I
said to him: Oh messenger of Allah, I own a lot of
property and I have no heir except my single daughter.
So, should I give two-thirds of my property in charity?
The prophet replied “No”. I said: half of it? He replied
“No”. I said: one-third of it? The prophet replied “one-
third, but still one-third is too much, for it is better to
leave your heirs wealthy than leaving them poor, asking
others for help”19
It should also be noted that the Will must not be made

for any eligible heir. This is also based on Hadith of the
prophet, which says:
18
Tirimizhi, Sunan, Vol.3, pg.389, Hadith no.1078 & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
pg.807, Hadith no.2413
19
Bukhari, Swahiih, vol.3, pg 1431, Hadith no.3721 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3, pg
1250, Hadith no.1628
19
“Verily Allah has given every eligible heir his/her share,
therefore no will should be made for a heir”20.
However if all the heirs consent to a will for one of the

heir, then it can be executed. This is also based on the
Hadith of the prophet, which says:
“A will should not be made for one of the heirs except if
all the heirs consent to it”21.
e) Inheritance:
What is left from the property of the deceased after
deducting the above-mentioned items is to be divided
amongst the heirs of the deceased in accordance with the
prescription of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
It should be noted, however, that in the distribution of

the property, the people with stipulated shares are given
their shares first and the remainder is given to people
with no stipulated shares (Aswaba), because the prophet
said:
“Give the shares to whom they are due and whatever
remains should be given to the nearest male to the
deceased”.
20
Abu- Daud, Sunan, Vol.3, pg.73, Hadith no.2872 & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
21
Adaar-qutni, Sunan, Vol.4, pg.97. Hadith no.89
20
2.2 CONDITIONS, GROUNDS AND IMPEDIMENTS
FOR SUCCESSION
Conditions for inheritance
There are three (3) conditions that must be fulfilled before

inheritance takes place22:
.
a) Ascertainment of death of the deceased
The death of the deceased must be established beyond
doubt, either by real death or by decree of the court in
case of a missing person. It is illegal to start distributing
the property of a seriously ill man on the assumption that
he will soon die.
b) Establishment of the life of the heir at the time of death

of the deceased
It must be established that the heir was alive after the
death of the deceased. This should be beyond any doubt.
In a case where all the people died at the same time and
there is no way to determine who died first and who died
later, then their estate should be inherited by their
relatives who are surviving23.
c) Establishment of the relationship, which qualifies one to

inherit.
The heir’s qualification for inheritance must also be
established beyond doubt. Inheritance cannot take place
in cases of doubtful relationship.
22
Aswabuuni, Al- Mawaariith Fi Shariat Al-Islamiyyah, pg.37
23
Doi, Sharia The Islamic Law pg.273.
21
Grounds for inheritance
Inheritance prescribed by Sharia comes into operation on three

grounds or qualifications, namely: Nasab, Nikah and Walaa.
a) Nasab means relationship by blood or birth, such as

relationship between father, children and brothers.
b) Nikah is relationship by marriage. It refers to a valid

marriage recognized by Islamic law by virtue of which
any of the two partners (husband and wife) can inherit
the legacy of the other.
It is not a necessity that the two met for sexual

intercourse before death; because a marriage contract is
valid under Islamic law when there has been consent of
the contracting parties, consent of the girl’s Guardian
and presence of two male witnesses24.
Inheritance of a divorcee
Divorce is of two types, namely: Rujiah and Baain.
Rujiah occurs when a man divorces his wife once or twice, and
the husband has the right to revocation/re-union with his wife
during the period of Iddah.
If during the time of Iddah one of them dies, the other will
inherit from him or her as the case may be.
Thus a divorced woman in this type of Talaaq, that is to say,

Rujia, has the right of inheritance from her husband as long as
she is still in the period of Iddah. However, if the man dies
24
Al- Uthaimiin, ASherh Al-Mumti’e Alaa Zaad Al-Mustaqn’a, Daar Ibn Al-
Jawzi, 1st Edn. 1428H, Vol.12, pg.48
22
after the expiration of Iddah before re-union, then the woman
has no right of inheritance from the deceased man.
Baain occurs when the husband pronounces the third divorce.

In this type of divorce; the woman has no right of inheritance,
whether she is still in the time of Iddah or afterwards since
there is no longer any relationship between them, except when
it is found that he divorced her in death sickness and he
intended to deprive her of her right of inheritance. In this case
her right of inheritance remains even after the expiration of
Iddah as long as she has not married or changed her religion25.
c) Walah is the relationship that exists between an

emancipated slave and his emancipator. A person who
freed a slave qualifies to be his heir if the latter dies and
leaves no heir behind.
Impediments of inheritance
There are three reasons, which exclude a person from

inheritance, although he/she was eligible, and these reasons are:
a) Slavery
All Muslim jurists agree that slavery is a bar to
inheritance. They do not inherit because whatever they
possess belongs to their master, and are not inherited
since they do not own anything. However, there are no
slaves today; hence, the problem does not arise.
It should be noted, however, that Islam made it a great

reward to free slaves as an act of worship and included it
25
Al- Fauzaan, Attahqiiqaat Al- Mardhiyyah Fil- Mabaahith Al- Faradhiyyah,
pg.33.
23
in expiation and atonement for sins committed. Here are
some of these examples:
1) Allah says:
(It is not befitting for a believer to kill a believer
except that it be by mistake, and whosoever kills a
believer by mistake it is ordained that he must set
free a believing slave and compensation be given to
the deceased’s family…)26.
2) Allah says:
(Allah will not punish you for what is unintentional
in your oaths, but He will punish you for your
deliberate oaths, and for its expiation feed ten needy
people on a scale of the average of that with which
you feed your own families or cloth them or free a
slave..)27.
3) Allah says :
(And what will make you know the path that is steep
[that is to say which will lead you to goodness and
success] It is freeing of a slave)28.
b) Homicide
All Muslim jurists agree that a murderer of his relative
does not inherit from him. This is based on the Prophetic
tradition.
“A murderer does not inherit”29.
The reason for this lies in the fact that if the murderer is
permitted to inherit, the heirs would accelerate the death
of the persons whose heirs they are.
26
Surat An-Nisaa (4: 92)
27
Surat Al-Ma’idah (5: 89)
28
Surat Al-Balad (90: 11-13)
29
Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2, pg.913, Hadith no.2735
24
Also it would seem as if the offender (convicted) is
allowed to benefit from the crime he has committed.
c) Difference in religion
Change of religion will immediately prevent inheritance
to occur, basing on the Prophetic tradition.
“A Muslim cannot inherit a non-Muslim and a non-
Muslim cannot inherit a Muslim”30.
He further said:
“There will be no inheritance between two different
religions”31.
Thus, a Christian or Jewish wife cannot inherit from her
Muslim husband, but she can be mentioned in the will
(Waswiyyah)32.
30
Abu Daud, Sunan, Vol.3, pg.84, Hadith no.2911 & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
31
32
Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, pg. 59
25
2.3 MALE AND FEMALE HEIRS AND SHARES IN
INHERITANCE
a) The male heirs
The male heirs are TEN (10) in summary but FIFTEEN (15) in
details. Table 1 below shows how they differ both in summary
and in details.
TABLE 1: The Male Heirs in both summary & details

No. Summary Details
1 Son 1. Son
2 Son of son however low 2. Son of son however low he
he is is
3 Father of the deceased 3. Father of the deceased
4 Grandfather of deceased 4.Grandfather of deceased
however high he is however high he is
5 Brother of the deceased 5. Full brother
6. Consanguine Brother
7. Uterine Brother
6 Son of brother of 8. Son of full brother
deceased 9. Son of consanguine
Brother
7 Uncle-(Brother of father 10.Full brother of father of
of the deceased) deceased
11.Consanguine brother of
father of deceased
8 Son of uncle (Son of 12. Son of full brother of
brother of father of father of deceased
deceased) 13.Son of Consanguine
Brother of father of deceased
9 Husband 14. Husband
10 Emancipator (Master 15.Emancipator
who freed his slave)
26
b) The female heirs
The female heirs are SEVEN (7) in summary but TEN (10) in
details. Table 2 below shows how they differ both in summary
and in details.
TABLE 2: The Female Heirs both summary & details

No. Summary Details
1 Daughter of deceased 1- Daughter of deceased
2 Daughter of son of 2- Daughter of son of
deceased deceased
3 Mother of deceased 3- Mother of deceased
4 Grand mother 4- - Mother of father
5- - Mother of mother
5 Sister 6- Full sister
7- Consanguine sister
8- Uterine sister
6 Wife of deceased 9- Wife of deceased
7 Emancipator (Mistress 10- Emancipator (Mistress
who freed a slave) who freed a slave)
Remarks33:
a) If all the male heirs are present, only three of them
inherit. They are:
1- The father
2- The son
3- The husband
The remaining heirs are completely excluded from
inheritance by the son and the father.
b) If all the female heirs are present, only five of them will
inherit. They are:
1- The daughter
33
Al-Fauzaan, S., Attahqiiqaat Al-Mardhiyyah, pg 69
27
2- Daughter of son
3- The mother
4- The wife
5- The full sister
c) If all the male and female heirs are present, only five of
them will inherit. They are:
1- The father
2- The mother
3- The son
4- The daughter
5- The husband if the deceased is a wife or the
wife if the deceased is a husband.
Types of brothers and sisters

There are three types of brothers and sisters, namely:
1. Full brothers and sisters:
These are brothers and sisters who share both the mother
and father with the deceased.
2. Consanguine brothers and sisters:
These are brothers and sisters who share only the father
with the deceased, that is to say their mother is not the
same as the mother of the deceased.
3. Uterine brothers and sisters:
These are brothers and sisters who share only the mother
with the deceased, that is to say their father is not the
same as the father of the deceased.
Types of heirs:
There are two types of heirs:
1- As’haab Faraidh:
This refers to those heirs who have specific shares
mentioned in the Qur’an, like mother, daughter, uterine
brothers and sisters, full sister.
28
2- Aswabah:
This refers to those heirs who are entitled to the
remainders of the shares, that is to say after the people of
shares have taken their shares. They are called
Residuaries. These include son, son of son, full brother,
consanguine brother etc.
Faraidh (shares) mentioned in the Qur’an

There are six shares mentioned in the Qur’an and they are as
follows:
One-half (½), one-quarter (¼), one-eighth (⅛), two-thirds (2/3),
one-third (1/3),one-sixth (1/6) [1/2, ¼, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, 1/6].
However, there is one share which was established by Ijtihaad,
which is one-third of the remainder (1/3R).
29
2.4 SHARES AND THOSE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE
THEM
Muslim scholars have two different methods of dealing with

shares and those entitled to receive them. The first method is to
deal with each individual heir, for example Father, or mother, or
daughter and what he/she is entitled to get of the shares and the
conditions which qualify him/her to get a particular share.
The second method is to deal with each particular share, for

example ½, or ¼, or 1/3, and the heirs entitled to receive that
particular share and the conditions which qualify them for that
given share.
In this book, both methods are used to give the reader a choice
of choosing the method he/she feels is better for him/her.
The first method:
1. HUSBAND:
The husband is entitled to one of two shares:
a) One-half (1/2)
He is entitled to one-half (1/2) of the total estate
of his wife when she dies and leaves no offspring
of hers.
b) One-quarter (1/4)
He is entitled to one-quarter (1/4) of the total
estate of his wife when she dies and leaves behind
any offspring (child) of hers, whether from him or
from another man.
Allah says:
30
(In that which your wives leave, your share is a
half if they have no child, but if they have a child,
you get a fourth of that which they leave…)34.
The word offspring (child) here covers both males
and females, that is to say sons and daughters,
sons of sons (grand- sons) and daughters of sons
(grand- daughters) of the same lineage.
2. WIFE:
The wife is entitled to one of two shares:
a) One-quarter (1/4)
She is entitled to one-quarter (1/4) of the total
estate of her husband when he dies and leaves no
offspring of his.
b) One-eighth (1/8)
She is entitled to one-eighth of the total estate of
her husband when he dies and leaves behind an
offspring (child), whether from her or from
another wife.
Allah says:
(In that which you leave your wife’s share is a
fourth if you leave no child, but if you leave a
child, they get an eighth of that which you
leave..)35.
3. MOTHER:
The mother of the deceased is entitled to one of three
shares, namely: one-third (1/3), one-sixth (1/6), one-
third of the remainder (1/3R).
34
Surat Annisaa, (4:12)
35
Surat Annisaa, (4:12).
31
a) One-third (1/3)
She gets one-third (1/3) of the total estate of her
deceased son or daughter on three conditions,
namely:
1- When the deceased, son or daughter, left no
offspring
2- When the deceased son or daughter did not
have more than one brother or sister.
3- When the issue is not one of the umariatan
b) One-sixth (1/6)
She gets one-sixth (1/6) of the total estate of her
deceased son or daughter when the deceased left
an offspring, or had more than one brother or
sister.
Allah says:
(As for parents, a sixth share of inheritance to
each if the deceased left children, if no children
and the parents are the only heirs, the mother has
a third, if the deceased left brothers or sisters, the
mother has a sixth)36.
The word brothers or sisters here is general and

therefore it includes the full brothers and sisters,
the consanguine brothers and sisters and the
uterine brothers and sisters37.
c) One-third of the remainder (1/3R)

She gets one-third of the remainder (1/3R) in two
situations known as Umariatan:
36
Surat Annisaa (4:11).
37
Al-Uthaimiin, Tas’hiil Al-Faraidh, pg 36.
32
1- When her daughter dies and is survived
by Husband, mother and father.
2- When her son dies and is survived by
wife, mother and father.
Illustration of the two situations known as Umariatan
Situation no. 1
In normal circumstances, the shares of the mother
are either one-third (1/3) or one-sixth (1/6) of the
total estate.
However, when we apply this rule in the case of

mother, father and husband, the mother’s share
will be more than that of the father. This can be
illustrated as in the table 3 below:
TABLE 3: The mother’s share is bigger than the father’s

share
HEIR SHARE ASLUL- MAS’ALA
(L.C.M) 6
Husband ½ 3
Mother 1/3 2
Father Remainder 1
This means that if the estate is divided into six
equal portions, the husband gets three (3) portions
out of the six (3/6), the mother gets two portion
out of the six(2/6) and the father gets the
remainder, which is one-sixth (1/6) of the total
estate. This is two times less than that of the
mother.
However, according to the normal rule, when a
female inherits with a male of the same degree,
the share of the male is twice as much as the share
33
of the female, as in the case of sons and
daughters, full sister and full brother. OR, the
shares of the male and the female are equal, as is
the case of a father and a mother in the presence
of children.
This therefore called for the mother to get 1/3 of

the remainder in order not to contradict with the
above mentioned rule, as in the table4
TABLE 4: The mother inherits 1/3 of the remainder in the

presence of the father and the Husband
(L.C.M) 6
Husband ½ 3
Mother 1/3 of Remainder 1
Father Remainder 2
Situation no. 2
In a situation where there is wife, mother and
father, if the mother is given one-third (1/3) of the
total estate, the distribution is not in compliance
with the above mentioned rule, since the share of
the father is just slightly above that of the mother,
but not twice as much. This can be illustrated by
the table 5 below:
TABLE 5: The mother’s share is slightly less than the
father’s share
(L.C.M) 12
Wife ¼ 3
Mother 1/3 4
Father Remainder 5
34
Thus, the father’s share (5/12) is just slightly
above the mother’s share (4/12), but not twice as
much. This called for the mother to get one-third
of the remainder (1/3R) in order to comply with
the law, as shown in the table 6.
TABLE 6: The mother inherits 1/3 of the remainder in the

presence of the father and the wife
HEIR SHARE ASLUL-MAS’ALA
(L.C.M) 12
Wife ¼ 3
Father Remainder 6
4. FATHER:
The father can inherit either by a stipulated share
(Fardh), or by residuary (Ta’swib) or by both (Fardh
and Ta’swib).
a) He inherits a stipulated share (Fardh) when his
deceased son or daughter left a male offspring. In this
case the father’s share is one-sixth (1/6) of the total
estate.
Thus, Allah says:
(For parents, a sixth share of inheritance to each if the
deceased left a child)38.
See table 7.
TABLE 7: The father inherits a stipulated share

(L.C.M) 6
Father 1/6 1
Son Remainder 5
38
35
b) He inherits by residuary (Ta’swib) when his deceased
son or daughter did not leave any offspring. Allah
says:
(If the deceased left no offspring and the parents are
the only heirs, the mother takes a third)39.
The mother in this case has a stipulated share, but the
law is silent about the father; implying that the father
takes the remainder.
See table 8
TABLE 8: The father inherits by Residuary (Ta’swib)

(L.C.M) 3
Mother 1/3 1
Father Remainder 2
c) He inherits by both Fardh and Ta’swib when his

deceased son or daughter left only female offspring.
In this case the father gets 1/6, the daughter, if one,
gets ½, and if more than one, they get 2/3. The
remainder is taken by the father.
See tables 9 and 10.
TABLE 9: The father inherits by both Fardh and Ta’swib

with a single daughter of the deceased
(L.C.M) 6
Daughter ½ 3
Father 1/6 + Remainder 1+2= 3
39
36
TABLE 10: The father inherits by both Fardh and Ta’swib
with more than one daughter of the deceased
(L.C.M) 6
Daughters 2/3 4
Father 1/6 + Remainder 1+1= 2
5. GRANDFATHER:
The succession of the grandfather is like that of the
father in his absence, except in two situations:
a) In the umariatan cases, the mother takes one-third
(1/3) of the property when she is with the
grandfather40, yet when she is with the father she
takes one-third of the remainder (1/3R), as seen
before41.
This is because the mother and the grandfather are

not of the same degree, that is to say the
proximity of the mother to the deceased is not the
same as that of the grandfather.
See tables 11 and 12.
TABLE 11: The inheritance of the grandfather in the first

case of Umariyatan
(L.C.M) 6
Husband ½ 3
Mother 1/3 2
Grandfather Remainder 1
40
Al-Uthaimiin, Tas’hiil Al-Faraidh, pg 40.
41
See pg 33,34& 35
37
TABLE 12: The inheritance of the grandfather in the
second case of Umariyatan
(L.C.M) 12
Wife ¼ 3
Mother 1/3 4
Grandfather Remainder 5
b) The father excludes the brothers to the deceased,

that is to say full, consanguine and uterine
brothers, from inheritance. However, scholars
differ in opinion with regard to the exclusion of
the brothers by the grandfather.
The soundest opinion is that he excludes them as

the father excludes them, and this was the opinion
of Abu-Bakr, Aisha, Abu Musa, Ibn Abbas, Ibn
Umar, Ibn Azzubair and many companions of
the prophet42 (S.A.W).
This therefore means that the grandfather is like

the father in his absence, except in the
Umariyatan.
6. GRANDMOTHER:
This includes grandmother from the mother’s side,
that is to say mother of mother, and the grandmother
from the father’s side, that is to say mother of father.
The share of grandmother does not change, whether
she is one or they are two and above.
42
See details on pg 71
38
The grandmother inherits one-sixth (1/6) of the total
estate in the absence of the mother. This is based on a
Hadith narrated by Qabiswa Bin Abi- Zhuaib, he said:
“ A grandmother of a deceased person came to Abu-
Bakr requesting for her inheritance. Abu-Bakr said to
her: I do not find any share for you in the Qur’an,
nor do I remember any Sunnah from the Prophet
(S.A.W) concerning your share, so go back until I ask
the people about your share. Abu-Bakr went and
asked the people. One called Mugiira Bin Shu’bah
stood up and said: I witnessed the prophet giving her
a sixth. Abu-Bakr asked: was there anybody else who
witnessed the incident? Muhammad Bin Maslama
stood up and said as Mugiira had said”43.
The mother to the deceased excludes all

grandmothers, whether from her side, that is to say
mother of mother, or from the father’s side, that is to
say mother of father. However, the father excludes
only the grandmother from his side, that is to say
mother of father, and does not exclude the one from
the mother’s side, that is to say mother of mother44.
When there is more than one grandmother of the

same proximity to the deceased, they share the one-
sixth among them, but if their proximity differs, the
nearer excludes the distant one45.
43
44
Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jaamie Li Ahkaam Al-Qur’an, Vol.5, pg.70, Al-Amiin, Al-Yasiir
Fi Ahkaam Al-Faraaidh, Cairo, Daru Swafwa, 1st ed.,pg.93
45
Al-Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-Faraaidh, pg.48
39
Example 1:
A man dies and is survived by a mother of mother, a
mother of father, and an uncle (brother of father).
The two grandmothers share one-sixth (1/6) equally,
as their proximity to the deceased is the same, and the
uncle takes the remainder.
Example 2:
A man dies and is survived by a mother of mother of
mother, a mother of father, and an uncle.
The mother of father, due to her proximity to the
deceased, excludes the mother of mother of mother.
The one-sixth is inherited by the mother of father,
and the uncle takes the remainder.
7. DAUGHTERS:
Daughters inherit either by shares (Fardh) or by
residuary by others (Aswaba bil- Gair).
a) They inherit by shares when they do not have a

brother with them.
 If they are two or more, they take two-
thirds (2/3) of the property of their father
 If she is alone, she takes one-half (1/2) of
the property.
Allah says:
(If they are only daughters, two or more, their
share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if she is
only one, her share is a half)46.
46
Surat Annisa (4:11).
40
Jabir Bin Abdillah narrated that the Prophet
(S.A.W) gave the two daughters of Sa’d Bin Ar-
Rubayie two-thirds of the inheritance”47.
b) They inherit as residuary by others when they are

with their brothers, that is to say sons.
Thus, Allah says:
(Allah commands you as regards your children’s
inheritance to the male a portion equal to that of
two females)48.
TABLE 13: The daughter inherits as a Residuary by her

brother
(L.C.M) 3
Daughter Residuary 1/3 1
son Residuary 2/3 2
The daughter and son are residuary but they share the
estate in the ratio 1:2, that is to say, the male takes
two times the share of the female. Thus, the daughter
takes one-third (1/3) and the son takes two-thirds
(2/3) of the estate.
8. DAUGHTERS OF SON:
The inheritance of daughters of son rotates on two
circumstances, (a) absence of an offspring higher in
rank than they are, and (b) presence of an offspring
higher in rank than they are.
47
Tirmithi, Sunan, Vol.4, pg.414, Hadith no. 2092, & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
pg.908, Hadith no.2720.
48
Surat Annisa (4:11).
41
a) In the absence of an offspring higher in rank than
they are, their inheritance is like that of the
daughters.
 They inherit by shares (fardh) when they
do not have a brother with them, that is to
say son of son.
If she is one, she takes one-half, and if they
are more than one, they take two-thirds of
the total estate.
 They inherit as residuary by others
(Aswaba bil Gair) if they have a brother
with them, that is to say, son of son.
b) In the presence of an offspring higher in rank than
they are; that offspring can either be a male, that
is to say, son of the deceased, or a female, that is
to say, daughters of the deceased, two or more, or
a single daughter.
 If the offspring is a male, that is to say a
son, the daughters of son are completely
excluded from inheritance
See table 14
TABLE 14: Daughters of son are excluded by the son

HEIR SHARE
Daughters of son Excluded
Son Takes all the estate
 If they are females, two or more, that is to

say, two or more daughters of the
deceased, with no brother with them, they
get two-thirds (2/3) and the daughters of
son drop from inheritance because the
share of the females is exhausted, except if
42
they are with son of son and they become
(Aswabah Bil Gair).
See illustration in table 15
TABLE 15: Daughter of Son is a residuary by her brother,

son of son (Aswabah Bil Gair)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 3 3x3 9
Daughters 2/3 2 2x3 6
Daughter of 1/3R 1/3x1 1/3x3 1
son
Son of son 2/3R 2/3x1 2/3x3 2
In this case the daughters take two-thirds (2/3) and

the daughter of son and son of son are residuary,
taking the remainder after the daughters have taken
their share. However, they share the remainder in the
ratio 1:2, that is to say, the daughter of son takes 1/3
of the remainder and the son of son takes 2/3 of the
remainder.
The L.C.M is 3 and 2/3 of 3equals 2. The remainder

is one (1) and is shared between the daughter of son
and the son of son in the ratio 1:2.
In the fourth column, we multiply all the digits by 3
in order to remove the fractions.
 If she is only one female, that is to say one

daughter of the deceased, she gets her
share, which is one-half, and the daughters
of son get one-sixth (1/6) to complete the
two-thirds, (2/3) which is the share of two
or more females. There is no difference
whether the daughter of son is one or more,
43
what they take remains the same, that is to
say one-sixth (1/6).
It is narrated that Ibn Masu’d gave a verdict in a case

of a daughter, daughter of son, and a sister to the
deceased, that daughter receives ½, and the daughter
of son receives 1/6, and the remainder is for the
sister, then he said: I have judged according to the
judgment of the prophet”49.
9. FULL SISTERS:
Full sisters inherit either by shares, or as residauries
by others, or as residuaries with others.
a) They inherit by shares on three conditions:

1) Absence of an offspring for the deceased
2) Absence of a male heir from the ascendants,
that is to say father or grandfather
3) Absence of a full brother
If the full sister is one, her share is one-half (1/2),

and if they are two or more their share is two-
thirds (2/3). Allah says:
(They ask you for a legal verdict, say: Allah
directs you thus about those who leave neither
descendants nor ascendants [Al- Kala’la], if it is a
man that dies leaving a sister but no child, she
shall have half the inheritance. If such a deceased
was a woman who left no child, her brother takes
her inheritance. If there are two sisters, they shall
have two- thirds of the inheritance)50.
49
Bukhari, Swahiih, Vol.6, pg.2477, Hadith no. 6355
50
44
b) They inherit as residuaries by others in the
presence of their brother, that is to say, a full
brother. In this case, the male takes twice as much
as the female. Allah says:
(If there are brothers and sisters, the male will
have twice the share of the female)51.
c) They inherit as residuaries with others in the

presence of female offspring only, that is to say,
Daughter of the deceased, one or two and above.
In this case, the daughter or daughters will take
her/their share, (½ or 2/3) and the remainder will
be taken by the full sister.
See tables 16 and 17
TABLE 16: Full Sister inherits as Residuary with one

Daughter of the deceased
(L.C.M) 2
Daughter ½ 1
Full sister Remainder 1
TABLE 17: Full Sister inherits as Residuary with more

than one Daughter of the deceased
(L.C.M) 3
2 Daughters 2/3 2
51
45
NOTE: if there is a male from the descendants
(offspring), that is to say, son or son of son, or
there is a male from the ascendants, that is to say
father or grandfather, the full sister will be
excluded from inheritance52.
10. CONSANGUINE SISTERS:

The succession of consanguine sisters is like the
inheritance of the full sisters, on condition that there
is no full brother or full sister present.
 If there is a full brother to the deceased, the
consanguine sister is excluded from
inheritance.
 If there is one full sister, she will get one-half

(1/2) of the inheritance, and the consanguine
sister will get a sixth (1/6).
 If there are two or more full sisters, the

consanguine sister will drop from inheritance,
as the full sisters will have exhausted the share
of the females, that is to say the two-thirds
(2/3).
11. UTERINE BROTHERS AND SISTERS:

The uterine brothers and sisters are entitled to
inheritance on two conditions:
1) Absence of an offspring for the deceased
2) Absence of a male ascendant, that is to say
father or grandfather
52
See rules of exclusion on pgs 66- 69
46
If there is any offspring for the deceased, or there
is a male ascendant, the uterine brothers and/or
sisters will be excluded from inheritance53.
The inheritance of one of the uterine brother or

sister is a one-sixth (1/6), and if they are two or
more, their inheritance is one-third (1/3) and they
share it equally, without the male taking twice as
much as the share of the female. Allah says: (If
the man or woman whose inheritance is in
question has left neither ascendants nor
descendants, but has left a [uterine] brother or a
[uterine] sister, each one of the two gets a sixth,
but if they are more than two, they share in a
third)54.
Note:
The uterine brothers and sisters alternate with the
mother in inheriting 1/3 and 1/6, that is to say if
the uterine brother or sister is only one with the
mother, he or she will inherit 1/6 and the mother
will inherit 1/3. However, if the uterine brothers
or sisters are two or more, they will inherit 1/3
and the mother 1/655.
The Second Method

The second method which deals with each
particular share, for example ½, or ¼, or 1/3, and
the heirs entitled to receive that share and the
conditions which qualify them for that given share
is as follows:
53
Al- Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-Faraidh, pg 55.
54
55
Al-Amiin., Al-Yasiir Fi Ahkaam Al-Fara’idh, pg 84
47
A) ONE-HALF (½)
It is received by the following:
1- Husband
The husband receives (½) on condition that the wife has
left no offspring.
2- Daughter
She is entitled to a half when she is the only offspring of
the deceased.
3- Daughter of son
She is entitled to a half when she is alone and there is no
offspring of the deceased higher in rank than she is.
4- Full sister
She is entitled to (½) on the following conditions:
a) When she is alone
b) When the deceased has no offspring
c) When the deceased has left no father or
grandfather
She is entitled to (½) after fulfilling the afore mentioned
conditions on the full sister, plus another condition
which is the absence of full brothers or sisters.
NOTE:
1. It is not possible for the people entitled to (½) to be
together in one case except:
a) Husband and full sister
b) Husband and consanguine sister
48
2. The nearer relative excludes or bars the distant
relative from inheritance.
Example:
A man died and is survived by the following:
a) Daughter, b) Daughter of a son c) Full sister. Who of them
gets (½)?
Answer:
The daughter in this case is the only person who gets ½, as the
daughter of son gets 1/6 and the Full sister takes the remainder.
See table 18
TABLE 18: Full sister is a residuary in the presence of
Daughter and Daughter of son
(L.C.M) 6
Daughter ½ 3
Daughter of son 1/6 1
Example:
A woman died and is survived by the following:
a) Husband b) Daughter c) Son. Who of them gets (½)?
Answer:
No one in this case gets ½; because the daughter is not alone,
she is with her brother, and therefore she becomes a residuary
by him.
See table 19
TABLE 19: The Daughter is a residuary by her brother
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
4 4
Husband ¼ 1 1
Daughter R 1/3 x3 1
Son R 2/3 x3 2
49
The husband gets ¼ because of the presence of the offspring.
The daughter and son take the remainder, but share it in the
ratio 1:2, such that the son takes twice as much as the daughter.
Thus, the daughter takes 1/3 of Remainder, and the son takes
2/3 of Remainder.
The L.C.M is 4, the husband takes ¼ of 4 which is 1 and the

remainder 3, is divided between daughter and son according to
the above ratio. Thus the daughter gets 1/3x3= 1and the son
gets 2/3 x3 = 2.
B) ONE-QUARTER (¼):
There are two types of people who are entitled to one-
quarter (¼)
1- Husband
He is entitled to (¼) when the wife has left an offspring.
2- Wife or wives
She/They are entitled to (¼) when the husband has left
no offspring.
C) ONE-EIGHTH (⅛)
There is only one type of people entitled to (⅛) and it is
the wife / wives when the husband has left an offspring.
D) TWO-THIRDS (2/3)
The following are the ones entitled to two-thirds (2/3) in
succession.
1- Daughters
They are entitled to two-thirds (2/3) when they are two
and above, and do not have a brother with them.
50
2- Daughters of a son
They are entitled to two-thirds (2/3) when:
i) They are 2 and above
ii) They do not have a brother
iii) There is no offspring higher in rank than
they are.
3- Full sisters
i) They are 2 and above
ii) They do not have a brother with them
iii) There is no offspring for the deceased
iv) There is no father or grandfather of
deceased.
4- Consanguine sisters
i) There are no full brothers or sisters
ii) They are 2 and above
iii) They do not have a brother with them
iv) There is no offspring for the deceased
v) There is no father or grandfather of
deceased.
E) ONE-THIRD (1/3)
The following are the people who are entitled to one-
third (1/3) of the estate:
1- Mother
She is entitled to one-third (1/3) of the estate when:
i) There is no offspring for the deceased
ii) There are no brothers or sisters for the
deceased, two and above.
iii) The issue is not one of Umariyatan
51
2- Uterine brothers and sisters
They are entitled to one-third (1/3) of the estate when:
i) There is no offspring for the deceased
ii) They are two (2) and above
iii) There is no father or grandfather for the
deceased.
F) ONE-SIXTH (1/6)
The following are the people who are entitled to one-
sixth (1/6) of the estate:
1- Father
He is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate when the
deceased has left an offspring.
2- Mother
She is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate when there
is either an offspring for the deceased or a group of
brothers or sisters that is to say 2 and above.
3- Grandfather
He is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate when:
i) There is no father of the deceased
ii) There is an offspring for the deceased.
4- Daughter/s of son
She is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate when:
i) There is no brother with her
ii) The deceased has left only one daughter. In
this case, the daughter of the deceased gets
½, and the daughter of son gets 1/6 to
complete 2/3 of the estate.
52
She is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate when:
i) She does not have a brother
ii) There is one full sister for the deceased
who is entitled to one-half (1/2)
iii) There is no offspring for the deceased.
6- Grandmother
This includes both mother of father and mother of
mother of the deceased.
She is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate in the
absence of mother of the deceased. If they are two, they
share 1/6 equally.
If they are of different proximity to the deceased, the
nearer excludes the distant one56.
7- Uterine brother or sister

He or She is entitled to one-sixth (1/6) of the estate
when:
i) He or She is alone
ii) There is no offspring for the deceased
iii) There is no father or grandfather.
Example:
A woman died and is survived by mother, daughter, daughter of
son and full sister.
The mother gets 1/6, the daughter ½, the daughter of son 1/6,
and the full sister gets the remainder. Table 20 shows the
distribution of her estate.
56
See details on pg38&39
53
TABLE 20: Distribution of the Estate of a woman who died
and is survived by mother, daughter, daughter of son and
full sister.
HEIR SHARES ASLUL- MAS’ALA
(L.C.M) 6
Mother 1/6 1
Daughter ½ 3
G) ONE-THIRD OF THE REMAINDER

The mother is the only person entitled to one-third of the
remainder in two cases only57 knowns as Umariatan:
1- When a wife dies and is survived by a husband,
mother and father
See table 21
TABLE 21: The mother inherits 1/3 of remainder in the

presence of husband and father of the
deceased.
(L.C.M) 6
Husband ½ 3
Mother 1/3 of 1
Remainder
Father Remainder 2
2- When a husband dies and leaves a wife, mother and

father.
See table 22
57
See details on pg 33,34&35
54
TABLE 22: The mother inherits 1/3 of remainder in the
presence of wife and father of the deceased
(L.C.M) 4
Wife ¼ 1
Father Remainder 2
55
2.5 ASWABAH [THE RESIDUARIES]
In common speech, the Aswabah of a man denotes his relatives

on the father’s side.
In the language of the law, the word Aswabah comprises
everyone who takes the remainder after the legal sharers have
taken their shares58.
Aswabah (Residuaries) are divided into 3 classes, namely59:
(i) Aswabah Bi-Nnafsi (Residuaries by themselves)
(ii) Aswabah Bil-Ghair (Residuaries by others)
(iii) Aswabah Ma’l-Ghair (Residuaries with others)
A- RESIDUARIES BY THEMSELVES
They are every male heir except the husband and the
uterine brother. (For male heirs, see table 1, page 26)
The Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Give the shares Faraaidh to
those who are entitled to receive them, then, whatever
remains should be given to the closest male relative of
the deceased.”
Rules governing Residuaries by themselves60

1- If there is only one residuary and the deceased has left no
other heirs, he obtains the whole property.
2- If he is with legal sharers, he takes the remainder after
the legal sharers have taken their shares.
3- If the legal shares finish all the property, he ends up with
nothing.
58
Al-Amiin, M., Al-yasiir Fi Ahkaam Al-Fara’idh, pg. 118
59
Ibid pg. 119
60
Al-Fauzaan, Attahqiiqaat Al-Mardhiyyah, pg113
56
If there is more than one residuary with different degrees of
relationship to the deceased the order of inheritance is as
follows:
1) Son ship (son hood)
This comprises of the sons of the deceased and their
sons.
2) Fatherhood
This comprises of the father of the deceased and the
grandfather.
.
3) Brotherhood
This comprises of the full brother, the consanguine
brother, then the son of a full brother, then the son of a
consanguine brother.
The uterine brothers are not included since they have
specified shares.
4) Uncle hood (Uncle ship)

This comprises of full brother of father of the deceased,
consanguine brother of father of the deceased, son of full
brother of father of deceased and son of consanguine
brother of father of deceased.
NOTE:
1- If we have two or more residuaries, their succession will
be according to the order mentioned, that is to say, one
whose degree is greater supersedes one whose degree is
less. For example, if we have a son and a father of the
deceased, the son’s degree supersedes the father’s
degree, and if it were not that the father of the deceased
has a specified share in the presence of an offspring, he
would have received nothing.
57
2- If they are in the same degree, for example, brother
hood, they inherit according to the strength of their
relationship to the deceased.
Thus, one who is related to the deceased by two sides is
more entitled to inheritance than one who is related by
one side, that is to say if we have a full brother and a
consanguine brother, the full brother supersedes the
Examples on residuaries by themselves:
Example 1:
A woman dies and is survived by husband, father, and son.
The husband gets ¼ because of the presence of a son, the father
gets 1/6 because of the presence of a son, and the son gets the
remainder.
See table 23
TABLE 23: The son is a residuary in the presence a

Husband and father of the deceased.
(L.C.M) 12
Husband ¼ 3
Father 1/6 2
Son Remainder 7
Example 2:
A man dies and is survived by a mother, 2 consanguine
brothers, and a father.
The mother gets 1/6 because of the presence of two
consanguine brothers, the two brothers are excluded from
inheritance by the father, and the father takes the remainder.
See table 24
58
TABLE 24: The father is a residuary in the presence of a
mother and brothers of the deceased.
(L.C.M) 6
Mother 1/6 1
2consanguine Excluded by father -
brothers
Father Remainder 5
Example 3:
A man dies and is survived by a mother, a uterine brother, a
uterine sister, and a full brother.
The mother gets 1/6 because the presence of a group of brothers
to the deceased, the uterine brother and sister get 1/3 and share
it equally between them, meaning that each gets 1/6, the full
brother takes the remainder.
See table 25
TABLE 25: The Full brother is a residuary in the presence

of a mother and uterine brothers and sisters of the deceased.
(L.C.M) 6
Mother 1/6 1
Uterine brother 1/6 1
Uterine sister 1/6 1
Full brother Remainder 3
B- RESIDUARIES BY OTHERS
Residuaries by others are four (4) women, namely:
i) Daughter/s, one or more
ii) Daughter/s of the son, one or more
iii) Full sister/s, one or more
iv) Consanguine sister/s, one or more
59
They become residuaries by their brothers, each one of
them taking half of what her brother takes, and in this
case, they have no fixed shares.
Thus, the daughter becomes a residuary by son, the

daughter of son by son of son, the full sister by full
brother, and the consanguine sister by consanguine
brother.
Examples on residuaries by others
Example 1:
A man dies and is survived by a wife, a full sister, a
consanguine sister, and a consanguine brother.
In this case, the consanguine sister is a residuary by her brother,
and both will share the remainder in the ratio 1:2, that is to say,
the consanguine sister will take 1/3 of the remainder, and the
consanguine brother will take 2/3 of the remainder. See table
26.
TABLE 26: The consanguine sister is a residuary by her

brother
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 4 4X3 12
Wife ¼ 1 1x3 3
Full sister ½ 2 2x3 6
Cons. Sister R 1/3 x 1 1/3 x 3 1
Cons. Bro R 2/3 x 1 2/3 x 3 2
Note: In column four (4), all numbers are multiplied by three

(3) in order to remove the fractions and remain with only whole
numbers, as is seen in the last column.
60
Example 2:
A man dies and is survived by a daughter, 2 full sisters, and 1
full brother.
The daughter gets ½ and the two full sisters are residuaries by
their brother, and share the remainder, in the ration 1:1:2, that is
to say, each full sister takes ¼ of the remainder and the full
brother takes 2/4 of the remainder.
See table 27
TABLE 27: The full sisters are residuaries by their brother

HEIR SHARE L.C.M 2 2X4 8
Daughter ½ 1 1x4 4
Full sister R ¼x1 ¼x1x4 1
Full sister R ¼x1 ¼x1x4 1
Full Bro. R 2/4 x 1 2/4 x 1 x 4 2
Note: In column four (4), all numbers are multiplied by four (4)
in order to remove the fractions and remain with only whole
numbers, as is seen in the last column.
C- RESIDUARIES WITH OTHERS

Residuaries with others are only two women, namely:
i) Full sister/s, one or more
ii) Consanguine sister/s one or more
They are residuaries with daughter/s or daughter/s of
son, one or more.
The full sister assumes the position of a full brother, and
the consanguine sister assumes the position of a
61
Examples on residuaries with others
Example 1:
A man dies and is survived by 2 daughters and a
consanguine sister. The consanguine sister will be a
residuary with the two daughters.
See the table 28.
TABLE 28: The consanguine sister becomes a residuary

with the daughters of the deceased.
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 3
2 Daughters 2/3 2
1 Consanguine Sister R 1
Example 2:
A man dies and is survived by a daughter, a full sister and a
In this case, the full sister is a residuary with the daughter and
excludes the consanguine brother.
See table 29.
TABLE 29: The full sister is a residuary with the daughter

and excludes the consanguine brother
L.C.M 2
Daughter ½ 1
Consanguine bro. Excluded by full -
sister
62
CLASSIFICATION OF HEIRS61
From the foregoing discussion on the types of heirs, that is to
say, As’haab Fara’idh and Aswbah, heirs can be classified into
the following classes:
1- Those who inherit stipulated shares only. This class

includes; the spouses, uterine brothers and sisters, female
ascendants, for example, mother and grandmother.
2- Those who inherit as residuaries by themselves only.

This class includes; sons and their sons, full and
consanguine brothers and their sons, uncles and their
sons.
3- Those who inherit sometimes with stipulated shares, and

sometimes as residuaries by themselves, yet at other
times combine between the two. This class includes the
father and grandfather.
4- Those who inherit either by stipulated shares, or as

residuaries by others, but do not combine between the
two. This class includes the daughters and daughters of
son.
5- Those who inherit sometimes with stipulated shares, and

sometimes as residuaries by others, and sometimes as
residuaries with others, but cannot combine between the
different types of inheritance. They are the full and
consanguine sisters.
61
Al- Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-fara’idh, pg 66
63
CHAPTER THREE:
AL-HAJB (EXCLUSION) AND DISTRIBUTION

OF ESTATE
64
3.1 AL-HAJB (EXCLUSION) AND ITS RULES
Exclusion:
Exclusion from inheritance is the prevention or denying an
eligible inheritor to inherit the whole or part of his/her share
because of the presence of another inheritor.
Types of exclusion:
There are two types of exclusion:
a) Total exclusion:
It refers to complete exclusion of heirs from inheritance
because of the intermediary of other heirs closer to the
deceased.
This type of exclusion can affect all the heirs except
those who are related to the deceased with no
intermediary, and they are six:
1) Mother
2) Father
3) Daughter
4) Son
5) Wife
6) husband62.
Example:
A man dies and is survived by a father, 2 full brothers
and a mother.
The two full brothers will not receive anything because
they are excluded completely from inheritance by the
father.
See table 30:
62
Al-Uthaimiin, Tashiilul- Faraidh, pg.69.
65
TABLE 30: The father excludes the brothers from
inheritance
L.C.M 6
Mother 1/6 1
2 Full brothers Excluded -
Father Remainder 5
b) Partial exclusion:
It refers to partial exclusion of heirs from inheritance on
account of other beneficiaries.
This type of exclusion can affect all the heirs with no
exception.
Example:
The deceased left a husband and a son.
The son partially excludes his father from getting one-
half (1/2) to getting one-quarter (1/4).
See table 31.
TABLE 31: The son partially excludes his father from

getting one-half (1/2) to getting one-quarter
(1/4).
L.C.M 4
Husband ¼ 1
Son Remainder 3
Rules governing total exclusion:

1- Every heir from ascendants excludes one who is above
him/her if he/she is in his or her category. The father
excludes a grandfather because he is in his category but
66
does not exclude a grandmother (mother of mother)
because she is not in his category.
Likewise, the mother excludes a grandmother (mother of

mother) because she is in her category but does not
exclude a grandfather because he is not in her category.
Example:
A man dies and is survived by a son, a father, a
grandfather and a grandmother (mother of mother).
In this case, the father excludes the grandfather but not
the grandmother. See table 32.
TABLE 32: The father excludes the grandfather but

not the grandmother
L.C.M 6
Grandfather Excluded -
Grandmother (MoM) 1/6 1
Father 1/6 1
Son Remainder 4
2- Every male heir from the descendants excludes whoever

is below him, whether he/she is in his category or not,
for example the son excludes son of son and daughter of
son.
As for the female heir from the descendants, she does not
exclude whoever is below her. However, if the female
heirs exhaust the two-thirds (2/3), the female heirs below
them drop from inheritance except if they become
residuaries (Aswaba) by their brothers, for example
Daughter of son and son of son.
67
Examples on this rule
Example 1:
A man dies and is survived by a daughter, a daughter of
son, and a father.
The daughter gets ½, the daughter of son gets 1/6, and
the father gets 1/6 plus the remainder.
See table 33 below:
TABLE 33: The daughter does not exclude the

daughter of son from inheritance.
L.C.M 6
Daughter ½ 3
Father 1/6 + Remainder 1+1=2
Example 2:
A man dies and is survived by 2 daughters, a daughter of
son, and a father.
The daughter of son in this case will drop from
inheritance since the two daughters have exhausted the
share of female heirs which is 2/3.
See table 34 below:
TABLE 34: The daughter of son drops from inheritance as
the two daughters have exhausted the share of
the female heirs.
L.C.M 6
2 Daughters 2/3 4
Daughter of son Drops -
Father 1/6 + 1+1=2
Remainder
68
Example 3:
A man dies and is survived by 2 daughters, a father, a
daughter of son, and a son of son.
In this case, the daughter of son will not drop, but will
become a residuary by her brother who is son of son.
See table 35.
TABLE 35: The daughter of son does not drop but becomes
a residuary by her brother.
L.C.M 6x3 = 18
2 Daughters 2/3 4x3 = 12
Father 1/6 1x3= 3
Daughter of son 1/3 of the Remainder 1/3x1x3 = 1
Son of son 2/3 of the Remainder 2/3x1x3 = 2
Note: in column three, we have multiplied all numbers

by 3 to get rid of fractions and remain with only whole
numbers.
3- A person who is related to the deceased through another

person is excluded by the presence of the latter, for
example, a brother or sister of the deceased is excluded
by the father, because he/she is related to the deceased
through him. A grandmother (mother of father) is
excluded by the father. However, the uterine brothers
and sisters are excluded from this rule because they are
related to the deceased through the mother, but they
inherit with her63.
63
Ibid
69
4- Full blood excludes half blood, for example, a full
brother excludes a consanguine brother. However,
uterine relations are not excluded on this ground64.
64
Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, Riyadh, Darussalam, 2005, pg 53
70
3.2 MIRAATH AL-JADD WAL-IKH’WAH
(SUCCESSION OF GRANDFATHER WITH
BROTHERS)
This issue is part of exclusion, but due to its complications,

scholars usually separate it from exclusion.
The inheritance of a paternal grandfather (father of father) in

the presence of brothers and sisters (full and consanguine) to
the deceased is one of the most complicated issues in Miraath.
There are two different of opinions amongst Muslim scholars

regarding this issue from the time of Swahaabahs Companions
of the Prophet (S.A.W) to the present day65.
The first opinion is that the grandfather, in the absence of the

father, does not exclude the full and consanguine brothers and
sisters from inheritance as does the father, instead he inherits
jointly with them the estate of the deceased.
This was the opinion of Ali Bin Abitwaalib, Zaid Bin Thaabit,
Ibn Masoud, and many companions of the Prophet (S.A.W). It
is also the opinion of the three Imaams, that is to say Maalik,
Ashafi’e, and Ahmad Bin Hambali.
This opinion is based on the following:
1- The inheritance of the brothers and sisters was stipulated
by the Qur’an. Therefore, they cannot be excluded from
65
For details see: Ibn Al-Qayyim, M., I’laam Al-Muwaqi’in, Cairo, Maktabat Al-
Kuliyyaat Al-Azhariyyah, 1968, Vol.1, pg.444, Al-Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-Faraaidh,
pg.40, Aswabuuni, Al-Mawaariith Fi Ashariat Al-Islamiyyah, pg.91, Al-Fauzaan,
Attahqiiqaat Al-Mardhiyyah, pg.133, Al-Amiin, Al-Yasiir Fi Ahkaam Al-
Faraaidh, pg.101.
71
inheritance except by Qur’an or Sunnah or Ijmaa or
Qiyaas.
2- Both the grandfather and the brothers and sisters are of

the same degree to the deceased. This because the
grandfather is related to the deceased through the father,
and the brothers and sisters are also related to the
deceased through the same father. This therefore means
that grandfather cannot exclude the brothers and sisters
to the deceased.
3- The need of brothers and sisters of the deceased for

property is greater than that of the grandfather since in
most cases he is of old age, and if he dies after the
inheritance all what he inherited goes to his children and
the brothers and sisters get nothing.
The second opinion is that the grandfather, in the absence of

the father, excludes all the brothers and sisters (full,
consanguine, and uterine) from inheritance, as does the
father in his presence.
This was the opinion of Abu Bakr, Aisha, Ibn Umar, Ibn
Azzubair, Ibn Abbaas, and Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, among
the companions of the Prophet (S.A.W).
This opinion is the one, which was adopted by Imaam Abu

Haneefah, Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Sheikh Ibn
Baaz, and Sheikh Al-Uthaimiin, among the Hanaabilah.
The opinion is based on the following:
1- A grandfather is a father in his absence, and therefore
inherits in the same way the father does except in the
Umariyataan. This is evidenced by the Qur’an in which
72
Allah has referred to the grandfather as father in many
verses, for example:
a) (And I followed the religion of my fathers; Ibrahiim,
Ishaaq, and Ya’quub)66.
Prophet Yusuf called Ibrahiim and Ishaaq his fathers,
yet the former was his grand-grandfather, and the
latter was his grandfather.
b) (It is the religion of your father Ibrahiim)67.

In this verse Allah refers to Prophet Ibrahiim as our
father.
2- As the son of son is a son in his absence and inherits in

the same way as the son does without any difference in
opinion among all Muslim scholars, the father of father
(grandfather) should be a father in his absence.
That is why Ibn Abbaas blamed Zaid Bin Thaabit and
said: “Doesn’t Zaid fear Allah! How dare does he
presume a son of son to be a son and he does not
presume a father of father to be a father?”68
Concluding remarks:
The difference of opinion among Muslim scholars regarding the
inheritance of the grandfather in the presence of full and
consanguine brothers and sisters is a result of absence of a
specific text from the Qur’an or Sunnah regarding this issue.
This led Muslim scholars resort to Ijtihaad in solving this issue
and came up with different solutions.
66
Surat Yusuf (12:38)
67
Surat Al-Hajj (22:78)
68
Ibn Battaal, A., Sherh Swahiih Al-Bukhari, (Riyadh, Maktabat Ar-Rushid, 2nd
Edn 2003) Vol 10, pg 362.
73
The second opinion, however, is more appropriate than the first
one due to the following:
1- Arguments of this opinion are stronger than arguments
of the first opinion.
2- The grandfather’s degree to the deceased (fatherhood) is
stronger and over rules the brothers and sisters’ degree to
the deceased (brotherhood). Therefore the grandfather
excludes the brothers and sisters.
3- There are a lot of complications and contradictions in
implementing the first opinion.
74
3.3 DISTRIBUTION OF THE ESTATE
One executing the law of inheritance has to be very careful in

any decision that he makes because misunderstandings and
conflicts can arise very easily among the inheritors. Strict
adherence to the provision of the law is very important, as it
will remove any thinking that justice has not been done.
Therefore, in order to arrive at positive ends, the law should be
handled appropriately.
For easy and proper execution of the provisions of the law, the
following procedure should be followed69:
1. The Deceased
The following issues must be established about the
deceased without any doubt:
a) Identity: name, address, date of birth, place of birth
and any other relevant information which concerns
identity
b) Place, time and date of death
c) Cause of death and the circumstances that surround
it. The death must be actual and clear beyond any
reasonable doubt, except in the case of a missing
person
d) Place, time and date of burial
e) Any other information which seems to be relevant.
2. Funeral expenses:
The following information about funeral expenses must
be obtained:
69
See: Mutyaba, inheritance in Buganda: Tradition and Islamic perspective, M.A
Dissertation, 2005, unpublished, pg. 87.
75
a) Amount spent on, for example, washing the body,
transporting it, purchase of burial shrouds, preparing
the grave and so on.
b) Who paid for the funeral expenses? Was the money
from the deceased’s legacy or not? Was this amount
reasonable if at all it was from the deceased’s legacy
or not?
3. Debts:
There is need to establish whether the deceased left any
debt unsettled or not, and if it is there, its authenticity
should be proved and the debt settled from the legacy of
the deceased.
4. Wills:
There is need to establish whether the deceased left any
will pertaining to his property or not.
If there is any will, the following should be ascertained:
a) Is it authentic and acceptable or not?
b) Does it contain anything that contradicts the law of
inheritance or not?
c) Did the deceased will any of his property to any
person? If so, how much did he will?
d) Is the beneficiary of the will among the heirs or not?
It should be noted that the deceased is not allowed to will
more than one-third of his total estate and none of the
eligible heirs can be a beneficiary of a will unless all the
heirs agree in both circumstances70.
70
For details on the Will refer to chapter five, pg129
76
5. The Estate
a) A list of all the deceased’s property should be made.
Care should be taken not to leave out anything.
b) Each item is valued in terms of money.
c) The liabilities on the legacy, for example, funeral
expenses, debts, wills and others are listed, and have
to be settled before proceeding to the distribution of
the estate.
d) The net value of the legacy is got by subtracting
liabilities from the gross value of the legacy and it is
this net value which is distributed among the eligible
heirs.
6. The Heirs:
a) A list of all relatives, far and near is made. It must be
exhaustive and care must be exercised in its
compilation. Only genuine relatives should be
included.
b) The relationship of each relative to the deceased
which justifies inheritance should be established. Any
means should be used in cases of doubt or dispute.
For example, documentary proof or reliable witnesses
c) The religion of each relative must be established.
This is because difference in religion disqualifies the
inheritor.
d) Each relative is scrutinized in view of having any
involvement in the death of the inheritee. If there is
any involvement, its nature and extent must be
established.
e) After getting these facts, the heirs are screened and a
short list is then compiled, containing only those
relatives who are eligible to inherit and leaving out
all those who are disqualified from inheriting by one
77
reason or another, that is to say by impediments of
inheritance or by exclusion as discussed before71.
After establishing all the above mentioned issues, the

distribution of the property of the deceased takes place.
The net value of the property is divided into a number of

UNITS or PORTIONS the total of which is equal to ASLUL-
MAS’ALA, that is to say, L.C.M (Lowest Common Multiple) of
the case and each heir is allocated his/her share.
The following examples illustrate the above mentioned

procedure:
Example 1:
Kabanda Musa, a 50 year old man died after a long sickness in
Jiinja hospital on 15th Jan 2008. He was transported to his home
in Masaka where he was buried on 16th Jan 2008. The cost of
transporting his body was shs. 400,000/= (four hundred
thousand shillings).
Kabanda was survived by the following relatives:
Ahmada Mayombo (Grand- father), Kitaamirike Karim
(Father), Namusisi Zaharah (Mother), Namuleme Rehema (Full
Sister), Nannono Zubeda (Consanguine Sister), Senfuka Juma
(Full brother).
Kabanda had married Nantume Madina who bore him one son
Semakula Abdu and two daughters Nakabugo Shamiim and
Nassaza Christine. Nassaza became a born again Christian.
Kabanda later divorced Nantume Madiina ( through Talaaq)
71
See pg23 and pg65 respectively.
78
and married Aisha Nakkazi whom he stayed with for 10 years
but never bore him any child.
Kabanda’s Estate was composed of the following property:
A Residential house worth shs.30,000,000/= (Thirty million),
House furniture worth shs.2,000,000/= (Two million), a Lorry
worth shs.8,000,000/= (Eight million), a piece of land worth
shs.10,000,000/= (Ten million).
He had borrowed shs.1,000,000/= (One million) from Nathan
Sekamaanya which he had not paid back.
He willed shs.500,000/= (Five hundred thousand) to his close
friend Sebandeke Abdu who had helped him so much during
the time of his sickness. He also willed shs.100,000/= (one
hundred thousand) to buy cement for a mosque at his village
and another shs.200,000/= (Two hundred thousand) for his
daughter Nakabugo Shamiim.
Distribute Kabanda’s Estate according to Islamic law of
succession.
Following the procedure outlined above, we proceed as follows:
1. There is enough information to establish the identity
of the inheritee and no suspicious circumstances
surrounding his death.
2. Funeral expenses amounted to shs. 400,000/= paid

out of the deceased’s legacy.
3. Debts: The deceased left unsettled debt of

Shs.1,000,000 owed to Nathan Sekamaanya.
79
4. Wills:
a) He willed shs.500,000/= (Five hundred thousand)
to his close friend Sebandeke Abdu who had
helped him so much during the time of his
sickness.
b) He willed shs.100,000/= (one hundred thousand)
to buy cement for a mosque at his village.
c) He also willed shs.200,000/= (Two hundred
thousand) for his daughter Nakabugo Shamiim.
The first two wills will be executed, but the last
one, that is to say the will to his daughter
Nakabugo shamiim will be disregarded because
the Islamic law of inheritance does not permit a
heir to be a beneficiary of a will.
Therefore, the total amount of will to be executed
from the legacy is Shs.500,000 + Shs.100,000 =
Shs.600,000
5. List of property of the deceased.
Property value in shillings

Residential house 30,000,000/=
House furniture 2,000,000/=
Lorry 8,000,000/=
Land 10,000,000/=
-----------------
Total 50,000,000/=
============
The gross value of the total legacy is
Shs.50,000,000/=
80
6. List of liabilities:
Item: Amount in Shs.
Funeral expenses 400,000/=
Debts 1,000,000/=
Wills 600,000/=
----------------------
Total 2,000,000/=
===========
The net value = Gross value – Liabilities
Net value = 50,000,000 – 2,000,000 = 48,000,000/=
7. List of relatives:
Name Relationship
Ahmada Mayombo Grandfather
Kitaamirike Karim Father
Namusisi Zaharah Mother
Namuleme Rehema Full sister
Nannono Zubeda Consanguine Sister
Senfuka Juma Full brother
Nantume Madina Wife (divorced)
Semakula Abdu Son
Nakabugo shamiim Daughter
Nassaza Christine Daughter (Christian)
Aisha Nakkazi Wife
8. Screening of the relatives:

a) The Grandfather is excluded by the father
b) Full sister, consanguine sister, full brother are all
excluded from inheritance by the father and the
son.
81
c) Nantume Madina, the divorced wife, is not
entitled to any inheritance as there is no longer
any relationship between her and the deceased.
d) The daughter Nassaza Christine is not entitled to
any inheritance because of the difference in
religion.
9. List of eligible heirs:
Name Relationship
Kitaamirike Karim Father
Namusisi zahara Mother
Aisha Nakkazi Wife
Semakula Abdu Son
Nakabugo Shamiim Daughter
10. Distribution of the Estate:

See table 35
TABLE 35: Distribution of the deceased’s Estate
HEIR SHARE ASLUL-MAS’ALA ATTARIKAH
(L.C.M) (LEGACY)
24 48,000,000/=
Father 1/6 4 (portion) 8,000,000/=
Mother 1/6 4 (portion) 8,000,000/=
Wife 1/8 3 (portion) 6,000,000/=
Son& Remainder 13 (portion) 26,000,000/=
Daughter (R)
Explanation:
a) The L.C.M of 6 & 8 = 24.
b) 1/6 x 24 = 4
c) 1/8 x 24 = 3
d) R = 24 – (4+4+3) = 13
82
e) Amount of property for each = portion/LCM x
legacy
Father: 4 x 48,000,000 = 8,000,000/=

-----
24
Mother: 4 x 48,000,000 = 8,000,000/=

-----
24
Wife: 3 x 48,000,000 = 6,000,000/=

-----
24
Son & Daughter: 13 x 48,000,000 = 26,000,000/=

------
24
NOTE:
Son and Daughter share Shs.26,000,000/= in a way that the son
takes two times the share of the Daughter, that is to say if the
share of the girl is 1, then the share of the boy is 2.
In other words, son and daughter will share according to the

ratio: 2 : 1, that is to say 2/3 & 1/3.
Son: 2 x 26,000,000 = 17,300,000/=
----
3
Daughter: 1 x 26,000,000 = 8,700,000/=

----
3
83
After getting the value each heir gets, it is possible for the
inheritors to take the actual assets if they are interested as long
as there is consent from other heirs.
For example, if the father wants to take the lorry, we look at the
value of the lorry and the total amount the father got. In the
above example, the value of the lorry was Shs.8,000,000/= and
the total amount due to the father is Shs.8,000,000/= therefore,
the father is free to take the lorry instead of the money since the
lorry is equivalent to his share.
However if he wants to take the piece of land, he will have to

pay Shs.2,000,000/=, because the value of land is
Shs.10,000,000/= yet his share is Shs.8,000,000/=, that is to say
less by Shs.2,000,000/=
If the son, for example wants to take the residential house

whose value is Shs.30,000,000/=, then he will have to pay
(30,000,000 – 17,300,000) = shs.12,700,000/= because his
share is less the value of the house by that amount.
However, if he wants to take the lorry, he has to be paid
(17,300,000 – 8,000,000) = Shs.9,300,000/= because his share
is above the value of the lorry by that amount.
Example 2:
Mbaruku Makame, a 60 year old man was shot by his son
Khamis Makame who wanted to own his father’s car. Mbaruku
was taken to Munazimoja Hospital where he died. He was taken
to his home town Chukwani, where he was buried on 15th Oct
2011 in makaburini. The cost of transporting the body from
Mnazimoja hospital to Chukwani was shs. 200,000 (two
hundred thousand shillings) and burial expenses were shs.
200,000 (two hundred thousand shillings)
84
Mbaruku was survived by the following relatives:
Mwajina Ali (Grandmother), Mwanakombo Ramadhan
(mother), Lutfiya Mbaruku (Daughter), Bwanakheir Juma
(Daughter of son), Rauhiya Makame (Full sister), Mwajuma
Shaban (Wife), and Khamis Mbaruku (Son who shot him).
Mbaruku’s Estate was composed of the following property:
A residential house worth shs. 25,000,000/= (Twenty five
Million), a motor car worth shs. 10,000,000/= (Ten Million),
House furniture worth shs. 2,000,000/= (Two Million), a piece
of land worth shs. 8,000,000/= (Eight Million), Cash on his
bank account amounting to shs. 5,000,000/= (Five Million).
He had borrowed Shs. 1,600,000/= (One Million and six

hundred) from Bakari Juma which he had not paid back.
Distribute Mbaruku’s property according to Islamic law of

succession.
1. List of liabilities:
Item Amount in shillings
1) Transporting the body 200,000/=
2) Burial expenses 200,000/=
3) Debts 1,600,000/=
Total 2,000,000/=
2. List of property
Item Amount in shillings
1) Residential house 25,000,000/=
2) Motor car 10,000,000/=
3) Piece of land 8,000,000/=
4) House furniture 2,000,000/=
5) Money on account 5,000,000/=
------------------
Total 50,000,000/=
===============
85
Net value of property = total amount of property-
total liability
50,000,000 – 2,000,000 = 48,000,000/=
3. List of relatives
Name Relationship
1) Mwajina Ali Grandmother
2) Mwanakombo Ramadhan Mother
3) Lutfiya Mbaruku Daughter
4) Bwanakheri Juma Daughter of son
5) Rauhiya Makame Full sister
6) Mwajuma Shaban Wife
7) Khamis Mbaruku Son who shot the father
4. Screening
1) Grandmother is excluded from inheritance by the
mother
2) The son who shot his father is barred from
inheritance
5. List of eligible heirs
Name Relationship
1) Mwanakombo Ramadhan Mother
2) Lutfiya Mbaruku Daughter
3) Bwanakheri Juma Daughter of son
4) Rauhiya Makame Full sister
5) Mwajuma Shaban Wife
86
6. Distribution of property
See table 36
TABLE 36: Distribution of property of the deceased

L.C.M 24 24x2 = 48
Wife 1/8 3 3x2 = 6
Mother 1/6 4 4x2 = 8
Daughter ½ 12 12x2 = 24
Daughter of son 1/6 4 4x2 = 8
Full sister Remainder 1 1x2 = 2
Note: when we multiply the L.C.M (24) by 2 we get 48.

Since the net value of property is 48 Million, we
multiply all the portions of the heirs by 2 to get the value
of each heir in terms of shillings. See the last column in
the table above.
It should be noted that:

1) The daughter in this case inherits with the daughter of
son because the daughter is alone.
2) The full sister is a residuary with the daughter, and
therefore, she takes the remainder.
The wife, therefore, gets 6 million, the Mother gets 8
million, the daughter gets 24 million, the daughter of son
gets 8 million, and the full sister gets 2 million.
87
CHAPTER FOUR:
MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS OF AL-MIRAATH
88
4.1 AR-RAD WA AL-AWUL
(SURPLUS AND DEFICIENCY OF THE ESTATE)
Sometimes, it so happens that after allocation of the estate

among all the heirs with fixed shares, there is a surplus
(balance) left over but there are no residuaries (Aswabah). In
other words, the shares of the heirs are less than Aslul- Mas’sla
(L.C.M). This residue is returned to those sharers who are
entitled to it in proportion to their original shares. This process
is called Ar-Rad72.
Yet other times the total sum of the assigned shares of the heirs
with fixed shares is greater than the estate. In other words, the
shares of the heirs are more than Aslul- Mas’sla (L.C.M). This,
therefore, requires that the share of each individual be reduced
in proportion to the deficiency of the estate. This process is
called Al-Awul.
Although many writers on inheritance have regarded each of

these topics independent from the other, by discussing one of
them at one point and discussing the other after a number of
inheritance topics, in this book, they are regarded as related
topics since one is the opposite of the other. However, we shall
start with Al-Awul, then discuss Ar-Rad.
AL- AWUL:
As discussed above, Awul is a situation where you have the
portions more than Aslul- Mas’sla L.C.M, that is to say, the
shares are more than the estate.
An example to clarify this is where a woman dies and is
survived by a husband and two full sisters.
72
Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, pg 348
89
See table 37.
TABLE 37: Total shares are more than the L.C.M

(L.C.M) 6 “Original” 7 “Awul”
Husband ½ 3 3
2 Full sisters 2/3 4 4
In the original distribution, the husband’s share was (3/6) and

the full sisters’ share was (4/6), but as the total of the shares
was more than the L.C.M, it shot up to (7) by Awul.
This means that the portions of the heirs are more than the
original estate, and therefore they have to be reduced in order to
accommodate all the heirs.
This therefore means that the share of the husband is reduced
from 3/6 (1/2) to 3/7, and that of the full sisters from 4/6 (2/3)
to 4/7.
To clarify this further, let us assume that the total estate of the
deceased was 12 Million shillings. If the case is taken as it was
originally, the husband would take 3/6 x 12 = 6 Million.
However, the remainder (6 Million) out of 12 Million, will not
be equal to 4/6 (2/3) which is the share of the sisters. It will
only be ½ of 12, yet the sisters were entitled to 4/6 x 12 = 8 M
The way out of this all is to reduce the portions of each heir
through the process of Awul:
Thus, the Husband’s share now becomes 3/7 x 12 = 5.14
Million.
The Sisters’ share becomes 4/7 x 12 = 6.86 Million.
90
Categories of Usuulul- Massa’il (L.C.Ms) which shoot up
There are three categories of L.C.Ms which shoot up73, and
these are: 6, 12, and 24.
The (6) shoots up to 7, 8, 9, and 10.
The (12) shoots up to 13, 15, and 17.
The (24) shots up to only 27
Here are examples of the above mentioned categories:

1. Category of L.C.M (6)
a) Shooting up to (7)
TABLE 38: The table shows how the L.C.M of (6) shoots up to (7)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(6) (7)
Husband ½ 3 3
2 cons. Sisters 2/3 4 4
In the original distribution, the L.C.M is (6), but the

total shares are more than (6) and therefore it shoots
up to (7).
b) Shooting up to (8)
TABLE 39: The table shows how the L.C.M of (6) shoots up to (8)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(6) (8)
Husband ½ 3 3
Mother 1/6 1 1
73
Aswabuuni, Al- Mawaariith Fi- Ashariatil- Islamiyyah, pg. 111.
91
total shares add up to (8).
c) Shooting up to (9)
TABLE 40: The table shows how the L.C.M of (6) shoots
up to (9)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(6) (9)
Husband ½ 3 3
Mother 1/6 1 1
Uterine sister 1/6 1 1

total shares adds up to (9).
d) Shooting up to (10)
up to (10)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(6) (10)
Husband ½ 3 3
Mother 1/6 1 1
2 uterine sisters 1/3 2 2

total shares adds up to (10)
92
a) Shooting up to (13)
up to (13)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(12) (13)
Wife ¼ 3 3
Mother 1/6 2 2
b) Shooting up to (15)
up to (15)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(12) (15)
Wife ¼ 3 3
Mother 1/6 2 2
Uterine sister 1/6 2 2

93
c) Shooting up to (17)
up to (17)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(12) (17)
Wife ¼ 3 3
Mother 1/6 2 2
2 Uterine sisters 1/3 4 4

This category only shoots up to (27)
up to (27)
HEIR SHARE L.C.M
(24) (27)
Wife 1/8 3 3
2 Daughters 2/3 16 16
Mother 1/6 4 4
Father 1/6 4 4

94
AR- RAD
Ar-Rad is a situation where, after giving away the shares to the
legal sharers, there is a surplus left and there is no residuary
heir. The surplus, therefore, reverts to the legal sharers in
proportion to their shares.
The situation of Ar-Rad arises where the shares are less than the
estate, thereby creating a remainder (surplus) after the legal
sharers have taken their shares.
Opinions of Muslim scholars with regard to Ar-Rad

Muslim scholars are of different opinions regarding the issue of
Ar-Rad74:
a) Majority of scholars are of the opinion that the remainder
(residue) is given to the legal sharers on top of what was
stipulated for them. They base their opinion on the
following:
1- Hadith narrated by a companion of the Prophet
called Saad bin Abi Waqqaas. He said: “I was
stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of
property and I have no heir except my single
daughter. So, should I give two-thirds of my property
in charity? The prophet replied “No”. I said: half of
it? He replied “No”. I said: one-third of it? The
prophet replied “one- third, but still one-third is too
much, for it is better to leave your heirs wealthy than
leaving them poor, asking others for help”.
They argue that the Prophet (S.A.W) approved the
daughter of Saad to get 2/3 of the inheritance of her
74
Al- Fauzan, Attahkiikatul- mardhiyyah Fil- mabaahithul- Fardhiyyah, pg. 249.
95
father even when she is alone, because he allowed
Saad to put 1/3 of his property to religious and
charitable programmes, leaving 2/3 for his daughter.
Moreover, the 2/3 is automatically bigger than one-
half (1/2) which is the share of a single daughter.
This shows that a legal sharer can get more than
his/her share if there is a remainder in the absence of
a residuary heir.
2- Hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W) which says: “whoever

leaves property, it should be distributed to his
heirs”75.
They argue that the Hadith gave all the property to
the heirs, regardless of there being a remainder or
not.
b) Other scholars are of the opinion that the legal sharers

are not entitled to any extra above their stipulated shares,
and if there is any remainder it should be put into Baitul
Maal (Public treasury for Muslims).
They argue that Allah has specified for every heir his/her
specific share in the Qur’an, and therefore, any addition
to it is exceeding the limits of Allah76.
c) Yet others are of the opinion that the remainder is put

into Baitul Maal if it is organized, but if it is not, then it
should revert to the legal sharers.
75
Bukhari, Swahiih, Vol.2, pg.805, Hadith no.2176 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
76
Doi, A. Sharia, The Islamic law, pg. 322.
96
The soundest opinion is the first one as it is based on stronger
authorities compared to the rest of the opinions.
Conditions for Ar-Rad:

For Ar-Rad to take place the following conditions must be
fulfilled77:
1) Presence of a remainder (residue) after the legal sharers
have taken their shares
2) Absence of a residuary heir; because if he is present, he
takes the remainder
3) Absence of a father or a grandfather; because in the
presence of one of them, although as a legal sharer, he
will take the remainder Ta’swiban as a residuary
Heirs who are entitled to Ar-Rad:

The following are the people who are entitled to the scheme of
Ar-Rad:
1. Mother
2. Grandmother
3. Daughter, one or more
4. Daughter of son, one or more
5. Full sister, one or more
6. Consanguine sister, one or more
7. Uterine brother or sister, one or more
However, there is a controversy of opinion as to whether the

spouses (husband and wife) are among the people entitled to the
scheme of Ar-Rad or not78:
77
Aswabuuni, Al- Mawaariith Fi Ashariat Al-Islamiyyah, pg.117.
78
Al- Fawuzaan, Attahqiiqaat Al- Mardhiyah, pg. 252.
97
a) Majority of scholars are of the opinion that the spouses
are excluded from the scheme of Ar-Rad. They base their
opinion on the Qur’anic verse which says:
(But kindred by blood are nearer to one another
[regarding inheritance] in the decree ordained by Allah.
Verily, Allah is All- Knower of everything)79.
They argue that the verse is general in excluding from

inheritance all those who are not related to the deceased
by blood including the spouses, and had it not that verse
(4:12) gave them a share of the inheritance they would
not have inherited from the deceased, since the marriage
relationship between them ended by death.
b) Some Muslim scholars are of the opinion that the

spouses are among the people entitled to Ar-Rad.
They argue that there is no authority from either the

Qur’an or Sunnah, which excludes the spouses from the
scheme of Ar-Rad, and therefore, they benefit from the
scheme like any other legal sharer. As for the above
verse, which is the basis of the first opinion, it neither
specifies that the kindred by blood are the only heirs
entitled to inherit the deceased, nor does it specify that
they are the only people who should benefit from the
scheme of Ar-Rad.
They go on to say that in the process of Al-Awul, all the

legal sharers are affected including the spouses, then
79
Surat Al- Anfaal (8: 75)
98
why is it not the case with Ar-Rad, which is its
opposite80.
Of the two opinions, the second is the best for the

following reasons:
1- Strength of the arguments of its followers
2- Absence of a clear authority excluding the spouses
from the scheme of Ar-Rad
3- It makes the computation and distribution of the
shares easy and accurate
4- The contribution of one of the spouses towards the
financial status of the other cannot be under looked.
In this book, however, the three opinions are catered for, that is
to say, those who reject the scheme of Ar-Rad, those who
accept the scheme and include the spouses and those who
accept the scheme but exclude the spouses.
This is done in order to give a chance to the reader to choose
the opinion he/she is more comfortable with.
Examples to explain the scheme of Ar-Rad

Example 1:
If a man died and was survived by only one daughter, she takes
one-half (1/2) as her share and takes the other half (1/2) by way
of Ar-Rad.
Example 2:
Where there is more than one legal sharer of the same
category
If a man died leaving 3 daughters, they take the two- thirds
(2/3) as their share and take the remaining one-third (1/3) by
way of Ar-Rad.
80
ASsa’dy, A. Taisiir Al- Kariim AR-Rahmaan, Mussasat AR-isaalat, 1st ed., 2000,
Vol.1, pg.168
99
Tables 46 and 47 show the computation:
a) Without Ar-Rad
TABLE 46 shows the shares of the 3 Daughters without Ar-
Rad.
(L.C.M) 3
3 Daughters 2/3 2
Remainder 1
In this case, the three daughters will get two-thirds (2/3),

leaving one-third (1/3) as the remainder. This means that
each daughter will get 2/3x1/3 = 2/9.
b) With Ar-Rad
TABLE 47 shows the shares of the 3 daughters when the
scheme of Ar-Rad is applied.
HEIR ASLUL – MAS’ALA
3
Daughter 1
Daughter 1
Daughter 1
In this case, the three Daughters share the estate equally,

leaving no remainder. This means that each daughter will
get 1/3 instead of 2/9.
Example 3:
Where there is more than one legal sharer but of different
categories
A man died and is survived by a grandmother and one uterine
brother.
100
a) Without Ar-Rad
TABLE 48 shows the distribution of the estate without Ar-Rad

HEIR SHARE ASLUL – MAS’ALA
(L.C.M) 6
Grandmother 1/6 1
Uterine brother 1/6 1
Remainder 4
In this case, each of the Grandmother and Uterine
Brother gets one-sixth (1/6), leaving a remainder of
(4/6), which is (2/3).
b) With Ar-Rad
TABLE 49 shows the distribution of the Estate before and

after the scheme of Ar-Rad is applied
(L.C.M)
(6) ‘original’ (2) ‘Ar-Rad’
Grandmother 1/6 1 1
Uterine brother 1/6 1 1
Remainder 4 -
We get the L.C.M of Ar-Rad by changing the shares in

the original distribution into ratios, that is, the
Grandmother’s share, 1/6: Uterine’s share, 1/6, because
the remainder is distributed to the heirs in proportion to
their shares. This is to say, 1/6: 1/6 = 1:1. When we add
1+1= 2. 2 is now the L.C.M of Ar-Rad.
In this case, each of the Grandmother and the Uterine

brother gets ½ instead of 1/6. This means that the Estate
101
is divided equally between the Grandmother and the
Uterine Brother, without leaving any remainder.
Example 4:
Where there is more than one person with different shares
A man died and is survived by a mother and a daughter.
a) Without Ar-Rad

(L.C.M) 6
Mother 1/6 1
Daughter ½ 3
Remainder 2
In this case, the mother gets one-sixth (1/6) and the

daughter gets one-half (1/2), leaving a remainder of 2/6,
which is 1/3.
b) With Ar-Rad

(L.C.M)
Mother 1/6 1 1
Daughter ½ 3 3
Remainder 2 -
We get the L.C.M of Ar-Rad by changing the shares in

the original distribution into ratios, that is, the mother’s
102
share, 1/6: the Daughter’s share, 3/6, (1/2), that is, 1/6:
½.
We then multiply both ratios by 6 to remove the
fractions, that is, 1/6x6: 1/2x6 = 1:3.
We then add 1+3 = 4. 4 now becomes the L.C.M of Ar-
Rad.
This means that the mother gets ¼ instead of 1/6, and the
daughter gets ¾ instead of ½.
Example 5:
Where there is one of the spouses (Husband)
A woman died and is survived by a husband, a daughter and
daughter of son.
a) Without Ar-Rad

(L.C.M) 12
Husband ¼ 3
Daughter ½ 6
Remainder 1
In this case, the husband gets ¼, the daughter gets ½ and

the daughter of son gets 1/6, leaving a remainder of 1/12.
b) With Ar-Rad
1. On the opinion of including the spouses
103
(L.C.M)
(12) ‘original’ (11)‘Ar-Rad’
Husband ¼ 3 3
Daughter ½ 6 6
D. of son 1/6 2 2
Remainder 1 -
This means that the husband gets 3/11 instead of 3/12,

the daughter gets 6/11 instead of 6/12, and daughter of
son gets 2/11 instead of 2/12.
Note: We arrive at 11 by changing the shares into ratios,

that is to say 3/12:6/12: 2/12 = 3:6:2, when we add all
the ratios, we get 11.
2. On the opinion of excluding the spouses

after the scheme of Ar-Rad is applied excluding
the spouses
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 4 SHARE L.C.M 4x4 = 16
6 (4)
Husband ¼ 1 1x4 = 4
Daughter R R (3) ½ 3 3 3x3 = 9
D. of Son R 1/6 1 1 1x3 = 3
Remainder 2 -
104
Explanation:
Here there is need to make two distributions; because
there are two types of heirs, those entitled to the
scheme of Ar-Rad and those who are not entitled.
In the first distribution, the husband is given his share

without Ar-Rad. In this case, the L.C.M is 4, as the
share of the husband is ¼, and the remainder is 3.
In the second distribution, each of the heirs gets

his/her share plus a portion of the remainder, which
should be proportion to his/her share.
In this case, the L.C.M is 6, the daughter gets 3/6
(1/2), the daughter of son gets 1/6 and the remainder
is 2/6 (1/3).
This remainder, that is 1/3, should be distributed to
the daughter and daughter of son in proportion to
their shares.
In order to do the distribution of the remainder, we

get the ratio of the share of the daughter to that of the
daughter of son, that is, ½: 1/6.
We now multiply both ratios by 6 in order to remove
the fraction, that is, 1/2x6: 1/6x6 = 3: 1.
This means that the L.C.M changes to 4, the Daughter

getting ¾ and the Daughter of son getting ¼.
We now need to combine both cases by getting a

common L.C.M for both.
So we multiply the old L.C.M by the new L.C.M, that
is, 4 by 4 to get the common L.C.M, which equals to 16.
Then multiply the portion of the husband by 4, (1x4) =4
105
We then multiply each of the portions of the daughter
and daughter of son by the remainder in the first case,
(3), which was distributed between the Daughter and
Daughter of son, that is to say, (3x3= 9) (1x3=3).
This means that the husband gets 4/16, which is ¼,

his original share with no increment, the daughter
gets 9/16, which is more than ½, her original share,
and the daughter of son gets 3/16 which is more than
1/6, her original share.
Example 6:
Where there is one of the spouses (wife);
A man dies and is survived by wife, daughter and daughter of
son.
a) Without Ar-Rad
(L.C.M) 24
Wife 1/8 3
Daughter ½ 12
Remainder 5
b) With Ar-Rad
1. On the opinion of including the spouses
106
(L.C.M)
Wife 1/8 3 3
Daughter ½ 12 12
Daughter of son 1/6 4 4
R 5 -
We get the L.C.M of Ar-Rad by changing the shares

into ratios, that is, 3:12:4. When we add all the ratios,
that is, 3+12+4 = 19
This means that the wife gets 3/19 instead of 3/24,

the daughter gets 12/19 instead of 12/24, and the
daughter of son gets 4/19 instead of 4/24.
2. On the opinion of excluding the spouses

after the scheme of Ar-Rad is applied excluding
the spouses
HEIR SHARE L.C.M SHARE L.C.M
8 6 (4) 8 x4 = 32
Wife 1/8 1 1 x4 = 4
Daughter R (7) ½ 3 3 3 x7 = 21
D. of Son R 1/6 1 1 1 x7 = 7
R 2 -
107
Explanation:
there are two types of heirs, those entitled to the
scheme of Ar-Rad and those who are not entitled.
In the first distribution, the wife is given her share

without Ar-Rad. In this case, the L.C.M is 8, as the
share of the wife is 1/8, and the remainder is 7.
In the second distribution, each of the heirs gets

his/her share plus a portion of the remainder, which
should be proportion to his/her share.
In this case, the L.C.M is 6, the daughter gets 3/6
(1/2), the daughter of son gets 1/6 and the remainder
is 2/6 (1/3).
This remainder, that is 1/3, should be distributed to
the daughter and daughter of son in proportion to
their shares.
In order to do the distribution of the remainder, we

get the ratio of the share of the daughter to that of the
daughter of son, that is, ½: 1/6.
We now multiply both ratios by 6 in order to remove
the fraction, that is, 1/2x6: 1/6x6 = 3: 1.
This means that the L.C.M changes to 4, the Daughter

getting ¾ and the Daughter of son getting ¼.
We now need to combine both cases by getting a

common L.C.M for both.
So we multiply the old L.C.M by the new L.C.M, that
is, 8 by 4 to get the common L.C.M, which equals to 32.
Then multiply the portion of the wife by 4, (1x4) =4
108
We then multiply each of the portions of the daughter
and daughter of son by the remainder in the first case,
(7), which was distributed between the Daughter and
Daughter of son, that is to say, (3x7= 21) (1x7=7).
This means that the wife gets 4/32, which is 1/8, her
original share with no increment, the daughter gets
21/32, which is more than ½, her original share, and
the daughter of son gets 7/32, which is more than 1/6,
her original share.
109
4.2 MIRAATH AL-JANIIN WAL-MAFQUUD
SUCCESSION OF UNBORN CHILD AND A LOST
PERSON
SUCCESSION OF UNBORN CHILD (JANIIN)

If a person died and left behind unborn child, that is to say,
pregnancy, which if delivered will have a right to inherit, it
would be better to postpone the distribution of the estate until
the child is born. This is because of the ambiguity surrounding
the pregnancy in terms of whether the child will be born alive
or dead, or whether it will be a male or female, or whether it be
twins or not81.
However, there might be circumstances in which we might be

compelled to distribute the estate before the child is born, such
as when the heirs are impatient to wait for the delivery of the
child. In such a case, we distribute the estate taking into account
the possibility of the child being born alive, male or female.
This means that the share of the child is preserved with all the
precautionary measures put under consideration until the child
is born.
If the child is born alive, he or she receives his/her share that

was preserved.
Evidence of being born alive is crying, sneezing, sucking or
movement of the child82.
If the child is born alive and dies subsequently, then it inherits

and its own heirs inherit from it.
81
Aswabuuni, Al-Mawariith Fi Ashariat Al-Islamiyyah, pg. 184
82
Al-Uthaimiin, Tashiil Al-Faraidh, pg.124
110
If the child is born dead, he/she does not inherit and therefore
the share which was preserved is distributed to those entitled to
it.
Conditions for succession of unborn child

There are two conditions, which must be fulfilled for the
succession of unborn child83:
1- The child should be presumed to be in existence at the
time of death of the deceased. The child must have been
conceived prior to death of the deceased.
2- The child should be born alive.
Effect of modern technology on the succession of unborn

child
With the development of modern technology, the issue of
inheritance of unborn child has become easy; as it is now
possible to scan the pregnancy and establish the content of the
womb, whether the unborn child is a boy or a girl, whether they
are two or more.
We can now distribute the estate depending upon the

information from the scan and suspend the share of the unborn
child until when it is born alive.
Example:
A man died and left a father and a pregnant wife. The
information from the scan is that the baby is a boy.
In this case, the father will get 1/6, the pregnant wife will get
1/8 and the remainder is preserved for the baby boy.
83
Ibid
111
If the child is born alive, he takes his share which was preserved
for him.
See table 58
TABLE 58 shows the inheritance of unborn baby boy

HEIR SHARE L.C.M 24
Father 1/6 4
Wife 1/8 3
Pregnancy (son) R (preserved) 17
If he is born dead, the wife will take ¼ and the father takes the
remainder
See table 59
TABLE 59 shows what happens when the baby is born dead

HEIR SHARE L.C.M 4
Wife ¼ 1
Father Remainder 3
SUCCESSION OF A MISSING, KIDNAPPED OR LOST

PERSON
A person is presumed lost when nothing has been heard about
him or her for a reasonably long time. This includes a soldier
reported missing in operation, a traveler who does not come
back, a victim of an air accident whose body was not identified
and it is not known whether he survived or died, a person who
was kidnapped and his whereabouts are not known84.
84
Mutyaba, A., inheritance in Buganda, traditional and Islamic perspectives,
pg.100
112
Such a person cannot be presumed dead until his real death is
established, or a court passes a ruling to that effect.
In making a ruling whether the person can be presumed dead or

not, the court bases its decision on passage of a period of time
beyond which a person is not expected to be still living. For
example, if a person aged 70 years old went missing or was
kidnapped and there is no information of his whereabouts, it can
be presumed 40 years later that he is dead since very few people
live beyond the age of 100 years.
The status of a missing person can be looked at from two

perspectives:
1- How does he inherit from a deceased relative
2- How is he inherited
How does he inherit from a deceased relative?

The death of a relative to whom the missing person is a heir can
either be after a ruling of his death has been passed by court or
before.
If it occurs after the ruling has been passed, then the missing
person is presumed dead, and therefore he is not entitled to
inherit from the deceased relative.
However, if it occurs before the ruling of his death has been

passed, then he is presumed alive, and therefore he is entitled to
inherit.
In this case, his share is reserved until he appears, or his death is
established, or the court passes a ruling of his death85.
85
Al-Uthaimiin, Tshiil Al-Fara’idh, pg 126
113
Example:
A man dies and leaves a wife, a grandmother, a paternal uncle,
and a missing son.
In this example, the missing son is presumed alive and

therefore, his share is to be preserved. Thus, the wife gets one-
eighth (1/8), the grandmother gets one-sixth (1/6), the paternal
uncle is excluded by the son, and the remainder is reserved for
the missing son since he is a residuary in this case.
See table 60.
TABLE 60 shows the inheritance of a missing son

HEIR SHARE L.C.M 24
Wife 1/8 3
Grandmother 1/6 4
Paternal uncle Excluded -
Missing son Remainder 17
(reserved)
If the missing son appears alive, then he takes his reserved

share.
If it is established that he died after the death of his father, then
the reserved share is distributed among his own heirs.
If it is established that he died before the death of his father,

then the reserved share is transferred to the heirs of his father.
If it is established that he died, but there is no indication

whether he died before or after the death of his father. In this
case, the reserved share is distributed among his own heir;
because the principle is the continuity of a legally established
fact until the contrary is established. So he is presumed to be
114
alive at the time of death of his father until the contrary is
established86.
How is he inherited?
The property of such a person cannot be inherited until his
death is established or a court makes a ruling to that effect.
If court makes a ruling that someone who went missing can be

presumed dead, then his property can be distributed.
86
Ibid, pg. 127
115
4.3 ASSULHU (SETTLEMENT)
AGREEMENT AMONG THE HEIRS TO FORFEIT
THEIR SHARES
Every child of the deceased be him male or female, young or

old, is entitled to a share from the property of his or her
deceased parent. Thus, Allah says:
(There is a share for men and a share for women from what is
left by parents and those nearest related, whether the property
be small or large, a stipulated legal share)87.
However, it is allowed for some heirs to forfeit and sacrifice

their shares to other heirs especially when the estate left by the
deceased is little.
This can also happen when, for example, the deceased left a
number of offspring, some of whom are already mature and
have their own wealth, while others are still very young. Those
who are already well off can forfeit and sacrifice their shares to
those who are still young.
This is very much recommended in Islam as it falls under

Swadaqah.
Allah has commended the Answar for such kind of swadaqah
and said:
(And they give [the muhajiroon] preference over themselves
even though they were in need of that which they give them)88.
87
Surat Annisa (4: 7)
88
Surat Al-Hashri (59:9)
116
It also falls under the act of joining and strengthening the bond
of kinship, which was commanded and emphasized by Islam.
Allah said:
(And those who join that which Allah has commanded to be
joined [that is to say they are good to their relatives and do not
sever the bond of kinship])89.
The Prophet (S.A.W) said:

“whoever wants his Rizq to be increased and his lifespan to be
prolonged, let him join and strengthen the bond of his
kinship”90.
Types of forfeiture of shares

There are two types of forfeiture of shares91:
1- Full forfeiture of the share:
This is when one of the heirs forfeits the whole of his
share to the rest of the heirs.
In this case, his share is distributed to the rest of the heirs

in proportion to their original shares.
Example:
A man dies and is survived by a mother, two sons and a
daughter.
The mother gets one-sixth (1/6) and the remainder is

divided among the sons and daughter in such a way that
a son gets twice as much as the share of the daughter.
See the distribution in table 61.
89
Surat Ar-Ra’d (13:21)
90
Bukhari, Swahiih, Vol.5, pg 2232, Hadith 5640 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.4, pg.
1982, Hadith No.2557
91
Al-Amiin, M., Al-yasiir Fi Ahkaam Al-Fara’idh, pg. 215
117
TABLE 61 shows the distribution of the estate to mother,
two sons and a daughter.
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 6
Mother 1/6 1
Son 1 R 2
Son 2 R 2
Daughter R 1
If son 1 forfeits his entire share, that share shall be

distributed among the mother, son 2 and the daughter in
proportion to their original shares, that is to say 1/6, 2/6
and 1/6.
This means that Son 1’s share will be distributed in the

ratio 1:2:1, the mother getting ¼ instead of 1/6, son 2
getting 2/4 instead of 2/6, and the daughter getting ¼
instead of 1/6.
See table 62 below:
TABLE 62 shows the distribution of the estate when one of

the sons forfeits his entire share
HEIR SHARE L.C.M 4
Mother ¼ 1
Son 2 2/4 2
Daughter ¼ 1
2- Partial forfeiture of the share:

This is when one of the heirs forfeits part of his share,
like one-half (1/2) or one-quarter (1/4), to the rest of the
heirs.
In this case, that part of his share is distributed to the rest

of the heirs in proportion to their original shares.
118
If in the above example, son 1 forfeits one-half of his
share, then that share is distributed among the mother,
son 2 and the daughter in the ratio, 1:2:1 that is to say
1/6:2/6:1/6.
This means that son 1’s share will be 1/6 (2/6x1/2= 2/12
= 1/6) instead of 2/6 which was his original share. This
can be represented diagrammatically as the case of Ar-
Rad excluding the spouses.
See table 63 below:
TABLE 63 shows the distribution of the Estate with partial

forfeiture of shares
HEIR SHARE L.C.M SHARE L.C.M
6 6 (4) 6x4= 24
Son 1 1/6 1(R= 5) 1x4= 4
Mother 1/6 1 1 1x5= 5
Son 2 2/6 2 2 2x5= 10
Daughter 1/6 1 1 1x5= 5
Explanation:
there are two types of heirs, those entitled to the scheme
of Ar-Rad and those who are not entitled.
In the first distribution, Son 1 gets 1/6, that is, half of his
share, since he forfeited the other half.
In this case, the L.C.M is 6 and the remainder is 5.
In the second distribution, the L.C.M is 6 which changes

to 4 because of Ar-Rad.
119
We multiply the first L.C.M, 6 by the second L.C.M, 4 to
get a common L.C.M for both cases = 24
Then multiply the portion of son 1 by 4, (1x4) =4
We then multiply each of the portions of the mother, son

2 and the daughter by the remainder (5) that is to say
(1x5= 5) (2x5=10) (1x5=5).
This can be understood better if we assume that the total

estate was 24 Million. If son 1 was getting his full share,
then he would get 8 million, son 2 also gets 8 Million,
the daughter gets 4 Million and the mother gets 4
Million.
When son 1 forfeits one-half of his share to other heirs,

he gets 4 million instead of 8 million, and the 4 million is
distributed among the others in proportion to their
shares.
This means that son 2 gets 10 million instead of 8, the

daughter gets 5 million instead of 4, and the mother also
gets 5 million instead of 4.
Note:
As it is allowed for some of the heirs to forfeit their
shares, it is also allowed for all the heirs to agree that a
particular item should not be included in the distribution,
but remains for them all. For example, they can agree
that the house of their deceased father be not distributed
but remains owned by them all.
This is because, that property is their right and if they
agree not to distribute it, they are at liberty to do so.
120
4.4 AL-MUNAASAKHAAT
TRANSFER OF VESTED INHERITANCE
Al-Munaasakhaat refers to a situation where one of the heirs of

the deceased person dies before the distribution of the property.
In this situation, the portion of inheritance vested in him is
transferred to his own heirs92.
Situations of Munaasakhaat
Munaasakhaat has got three situations93:
Situation 1:
This happens when the heirs of the second deceased person are
the same heirs of the first deceased person.
In this situation, the property is distributed to the remaining

heirs and the deceased heir is considered as if he had not been
alive at the time of death of the first person.
Example:
If a person dies and leaves five sons, then one of the sons dies
and does not have any other heirs except his brothers.
In this case, the property is distributed among the four

remaining sons and the deceased son is considered as if he had
not been alive at the time of death of his father.
92
Al-Fawzaan, Attahqiiqatul-Mardhiyyat, pg.177
93
Asswbuuni, Al-Mawaariith Fi Shariat Al-Islamiyyah, pg.149
121
Situation 2:
the same heirs of the first deceased person, but their relationship
to the second changes.
In this situation, the distribution of the property changes, and

there is need to make two distributions and finding a Common
L.C.M (Aslul-Mas’ala) for both.
Example:
A man dies leaving two widows. From one of the widows he
has a son, and from the other he has three daughters. Then one
of daughters dies before the distribution of the property of their
father.
In this situation, the heirs of the daughter are the same heirs of
the father. However, their relationship to the deceased daughter
has changed; as the son in the first case changes to a
consanguine brother in the second case, the two daughters in the
first case change to full sisters in the second case, and the wife
in the first case changes to mother in the second case.
Situation 3:
not the same heirs of the first deceased person, or some of them
inherit from both persons.
In this situation also, the distribution of the property changes,

and there is need to make two distributions and finding a
Common L.C.M (Aslul-Mas’ala) for both.
122
Examples on the computation of Al-Munaasakhaat
Example 1:
A man dies and is survived by a wife, a father, a mother, and a
daughter of son. Then, the daughter of son dies leaving a
husband, a mother, 3 daughters and 2 sons.
TABLE 64 shows the distribution of the estate in example 1

HEIR SHARE LCM 1 HEIR SHARE LCM 2 COMMON
24 12 L.C.M
24
Wife 1/8 3 3
Mother 1/6 4 4
Father 1/6 + R 4+1= 5 5
D/of son ½ 12 Dies -
Husband ¼ 3 3
Mother 1/6 2 2
3Daughters R 3 3
2Sons R 4 4
Explanation:
In this example, there is need to make two distributions of the
estate, one for the deceased man and another one for the
deceased daughter of son.
In the first distribution, the L.C.M is 24 and the share of the
deceased daughter of son is equivalent to 12 out of 24.
In the second distribution, the L.C.M (Aslul-Mas’ala) is 12 and
is equivalent to the share of the deceased Daughter of son in
the first distribution.
This is called Tamaathul, and the rule in Tamaathul is that the
L.C.M in the first case (which is 24 in this example) becomes
the Common L.C.M (Al-Jami’a) for both cases. This means
that L.C.M 1 becomes the Common L.C.M for both.
123
This means that the wife of the deceased man gets 3/24, the
father gets 5/24 and the mother gets 4/24.
The husband of the deceased Daughter of son gets 3/24, her

mother gets 2/24, her 3 daughters get 3/24, each one getting
1/24, and her two sons get 4/24, each one getting 2/24.
Example 2:
A woman dies and is survived by a husband, a daughter, a
daughter of son and son of son. Then the husband dies and is
survived by a wife, a mother, two consanguine sisters and one
uterine brother.
HEIR SHARE LCM 1 HEIR SHARE LCM 2 COMMON
12x5 12 (15) LCM 60
Husband ¼ 3 Died --
Daughter ½ 6x5 30
D/of son R 1x5 5
S/of son R 2x5 10
Wife ¼ 3 3
Mother 1/6 2 2
2C/sisters 2/3 8 8
U/brother 1/6 2 2
Explanation:
In this example, there is need to make two distributions of the
estate, one for the deceased woman and another one for the
deceased husband.
In the first distribution, the L.C.M is 12 and the share of the
deceased husband is equivalent to 3 out of 12.
In the second distribution, the L.C.M (Aslul-Mas’ala) is 12 but
it shoots up to 15 by (Al-Awul).
124
Between the share of the deceased husband (3) and the L.C.M 2
(15) is a relationship, that is to say 15 is divisible by 3 and the
result is 5. This is known as Tawaafuk, and the rule is that we
multiply LCM 1 by 5 to get the Common LCM for both cases,
that is to say (12x5 = 60).
We then multiply all the shares in case 1 by the same factor 5 to
get their shares under the Common LCM.
This means that the Daughter of the deceased woman get 30/60,
her daughter of son gets 5/60 and her son of son gets 10/60.
The wife of the deceased husband gets 3/60, his mother gets
2/60, his two consanguine sisters get 8/60, each one of them
getting 4/60, his uterine brother gets 2/60.
Example 3:
A man dies and is survived by his parents, a wife, and five
daughters. Then the father dies and is survived by his wife, a
full sister, a uterine sister and son of full brother.

HEIR SH. LCM1 HEIR SH. LCM 2 C/LCM
24(27) 27x5=135 135x3 12 405
Wife 1/8 3 3x5=15 15x3 45
5Dters 2/3 16 16x5=80 80x3 240
Mother 1/6 4 4x5=20 20x3 60
Father 1/6 4 4x5=20 Died -
Wife ¼ 3x5 15
F/Sister ½ 6x5 30
U/Sister 1/6 2x5 10
S/of FB R 1x5 5
125
Explanation:
In this example, we need to make two distributions of the estate,
one for the deceased man and another one for the deceased
father.
In the first distribution, LCM 1 is 24 and it shoots up to 27 by

Awul. However, there are 5 Daughters and their share (16) is
not divisible by 5. Therefore, we multiply LCM 1 and all the
shares by 5 as shown in column 4.
In the second distribution, LCM is 12.
Between the share of the father (20) and the LCM 2 (12) is
something common to both, that is to say both are divisible by a
factor 4. This is called Tawaafuk. Therefore, 20/4 = 5, and 12/4
= 3.
We now multiply LCM 1 by 3 to get the Common LCM,

(135x3 = 405) and we multiply all the shares in the first
distribution by the same number as shown in column 5.
We then multiply all the shares in the second distribution by 5

as shown in column 8.
Note: The outcome of dividing the share of the deceased person

by the common factor 4 is what is multiplied by the shares in
the second distribution and the outcome of dividing LCM 2 by
the common factor 4 is what is multiplied by LCM1 and all the
shares in the first distribution.
This means that the wife of the deceased man gets 45/405, his
five daughters get 240/405 and his mother gets 60/405.
126
The wife of the deceased father gets 15/405, his full sister gets
30/405, his uterine sister gets 10/405 and the son of full brother
gets 5/405.
Example 4:
A woman died and was survived by a husband, a father, a
mother, and two daughters. Then the husband died and was
survived by a full sister, a mother, a wife and a uterine brother.

HEIR SHARE LCM 1 HEIR SHARE LCM 2 C/LCM
12 12(13) 195
(15)x 13
Father 1/6 2x13 26
2D’ters 2/3 8x13 104
Mother 1/6 2x13 26
Husband ¼ 3 Died -
F/sister ½ 6x3 18
Mother 1/6 2x3 6
Wife ¼ 3x3 9
U/brother 1/6 2x3 6
Explanation:
In this example, there are two cases:
The first case is the distribution of the property of the first
deceased person. In this case, LCM 1 is 12 and it shoots up to
15 by Awul.
The second case is the distribution of the property of the second

deceased person. In this case, LCM 2 is 12 and it shoots up to
13 by Awul.
There is nothing common between the share of the second
deceased person (3) and LCM 2 (13), and this is called
127
Tabaayun. Therefore, we multiply LCM 1 by 13 to get the
Common LCM, (15x 13 = 195) and we multiply all the shares
in the first case by the same number (13) as shown in column 3.
We then multiply all the shares in the second case by 3 as
shown in column 6.
128
CHAPTER FIVE:
AL-WASWIYYAH
THE ISLAMIC WILL
129
5.1 IMPORTANCE OF AL-WASWIYYAH
Al-Waswyyah is an Arabic word which means the Islamic Will.
The importance of making a will (Al-Waswiyyah) in Islam is

manifest in the Sunnah of the prophet (S.A.W) which says:
“It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequest not to
let two nights pass without writing a Will about it.”94
The Will gives the testator an opportunity to help someone, for

example an orphaned grandchild, or a Christian widow who is
not entitled to inherit from him.
The Will also offers an opportunity to the testator to recognize
the service rendered to him by a total stranger whom he wants
to reward by giving him a portion of his property95.
There is no specific wording necessary for making a will. It can

be oral or written; however, writing is very much encouraged,
since it serves as documentary evidence if there is any
misunderstanding.
It is also recommended to have two witnesses while making a

Will96.
It should be noted, however, that a Will is executed after
payment of debts and funeral expenses.
94
Bukhari, Swahiih,Vol.3, pg.1005, Hadith no.2587, & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
95
Doi, A., Sharia the Islamic law, pg. 333
96
Ibn Qudaamah, Al-Mugni, Beirut, Daar Al-Fikr, 1st Ed., 1405H, Vol.6, pg.521
130
5.2 PILLARS AND CONDITIONS OF AN ISLAMIC
WILL
Pillars of a valid Will
In order for a Will to be valid under Islamic law, it must contain
the following pillars97:
1. Al-M’uswi:
This refers to the one who makes a Will, that is to say
the testator
2. Al-M’uswa Lahu:
This refers to the one to whom the Will is made, that is
to say the beneficiary known as the legatee
3. Al-M’uswa Bihi:
This refers to the thing which is the subject of a Will
(legacy)
4. Al-Waswiyyah
This refers to the Will itself
Conditions for a valid Will under Islamic law

There are two conditions for a valid Will under Islamic law:
1. The amount contained in the Will should not exceed one-
third (1/3) of the deceased’s total estate after payment of
debts and funeral expenses, unless consented to by all
the heirs.
This is based on the narration of a companion of the

Prophet called Saad bin Abi Waqqaas. He said:
“I was stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of
97
Ibn Rushdi, Bidaayat Al-Mujtahid Wa Nihaayat Al-Muqtaswid, Cairo, Daar
Assalaam, 1st Ed. 1995, Vol.4, pg.2037
131
property and I have no heir except my single daughter.
So, should I give two-thirds of my property in charity?
The prophet replied “No”. I said: half of it? He replied
“No”. I said: one-third of it? The prophet replied “one-
third, but still one-third is too much, for it is better to
leave your heirs wealthy than leaving them poor, asking
others for help”.
2. The Will should not be made for any eligible heir, that is
to say an eligible heir should not be a beneficiary of a
Will.
This is based on Hadith of the prophet, which says:
“Verily Allah has given every eligible heir his/her share;
therefore no Will should be made for an heir”.
However if all the heirs consent to a Will for one of the

heirs, then it can be executed. This is also based on the
Hadith of the prophet, which says:
“A Will should not be made for one of the heirs except if
all the heirs consent to it”.
Consequence of a Will, which is greater than one-third

If the amount of a Will is greater than one-third of the estate,
but all the heirs consent to it, then it is executed98; because they
have forfeited their right.
However, if the heirs do not consent to it, then the bequests are
reduced proportionally so that the total is up to one-third of the
net estate. This is the view of the majority of Muslim scholars99.
98
Ibn Qudaamah, Al-Mugni, Vol.6, pg.457
99
Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, pg. 394
132
Example:
A man dies leaving behind both parents and a son as his only
heir. In his Will he bequeathed that one-half of his estate be
donated to the local Masjid and one-sixth to his only grandson
of a predeceased son. He leaves behind a gross estate valued at
Shs.10,800,000/=. His funeral expenses totaled to
Shs.100,000/= and he leaves debts of shs. 3,500,000/=.
When we add the two bequests of ½ and 1/6, they are above the
one third (1/3) stipulated by the Sunnah, and all the legal heirs
do not give consent to the bequest.
In this situation, the bequests are reduced proportionally so that
their sum total equals to 1/3 of the estate.
List of liabilities:
1- Funeral expenses----------------------------------------100,000/=
2- debts----------------------------------------------------3,500,000/=
------------------
Total 3,600,000/=
=========
Net value of the estate:
Gross value less total liabilities (10,800,000 – 3,600,000)=
7,200,000/=
Total bequest
The value of the total bequest should be 1/3 of the net value of
the estate
1/3x7,200,000---------------------------------------------2,400,000/=
Estate to be distributed:
Net value of the estate less total bequest
7,200,000 – 2,400,000-----------------------------------4,800,000/=
133
Distribution of the estate:
See table 68
TABLE 68 shows the distribution of the estate in this

example
L.C.M 6
Father 1/6 1
Mother 1/6 1
Son Remainder 4
Father gets 1/6x 4,800,000 = shs. 800,000/=

Mother gets 1/6x 4,800,000 = shs. 800,000/=
Son gets 4/6x 4,800,000 = shs. 3,200,000/=
Distribution of the bequest:

Local masjid’s share is ½
Grandson’s share is 1/6
The ratio of local masjid’s share to grandson’s share is 1/2: 1/6
We can remove the fractions by multiplying by 6 both fractions

1/2x6 : 1/6x6 = 3:1
Local Masjid’s share is 3/4x 2,400,000 = shs. 1,800,000/=
Grandson’s share is 1/4x 2,400,000 = shs. 600,000/=
5.3 CIRCUMSTANCES FOR EXECUTION OF A WILL

WHOSE VALUE IS MORE THAN ONE-THIRD.
The following are the circumstances in which a Will

whose value is more than one-third can be executed
1. If the legal heirs consent to it
134
2. If there are no legal heirs at all; since there are no
individuals whose interests need to be protected. In such
a situation, the whole net estate may be bequeathed
according to majority of scholars100.
3. If the sole surviving heir is a spouse, then the spouse
inherits his/her legal share, and the residue, which is one-
half (1/2) in the case of a husband and three-quarters
(3/4) in the case of a widow, can be bequeathed.
Example:
A man dies leaving behind a wife as the only heir. He
bequests all his property to a friend
If the wife does not assent to the bequest, the friend as a

legatee is first allotted 1/3 of the property, the wife is
then given ¼ of what remains, that is to say ¼ of 2/3
(1/4x2/3= 1/6 of the whole), and the friend as a legatee
takes the remainder.
If he left shs.30,000,000/=, the friend will first get

shs.10,000,000/=, then the wife gets shs.5,000,000/= (1/4
x 20,000,000) and the remaining shs.15,000,000/= is
given to the legatee again. This means that the legatee
will get a total of shs.25,000,000/=, and the wife will get
shs.5,000,000/=.
5.4 AL-M’USWI (THE TESTATOR)
Every adult Muslim with reasoning ability has the legal

capacity to make a Will.
100
Ibn Rushd, Bidaayat Al-Mujtahid, Vol.4, pg.2041, & Hussein, A., The Islamic
law of succession, pg. 396
135
An adult for this purpose is someone who has reached puberty.
Evidence of puberty is menstruation in girls and wet dreams in
boys. In the absence of evidence, puberty is presumed at the
completion of the age of fifteen years.
The testator must own whatever he bequests. He must have the

legal capacity to dispose of whatever he bequests in his Will.
When making a Will, the testator must be of sane mind, must

understand the nature and effect of his testamentary act, and
should not be under compulsion.
The testator can revoke his Will by a subsequent Will, actually

or by implication.
5.5 AL-M’USWA LAHU (THE LEGATEE)
A legatee may be specific or general

A specific legatee includes a named individual or group of
individuals, for example “the daughters of my sister Khadijah”
The legatee must be capable of owning the bequest.
A bequest in favour of an individual who is excluded from

inheritance due to some impediment, as in the case of a
Christian or Jewish wife, is in itself valid.
The time of death of the testator is the determining factor in

deciding if a relative is a legal heir or not. This status once
determined cannot be changed. This can be seen in two
situations:
1- If a person in whose favour a bequest is made is not an
heir at the time the bequest is made, but becomes an heir
136
subsequently and is a legal heir at the time of death of
the testator, the bequest is invalid.
Thus, if a man dies leaving behind a son, a father, a
grandfather and a bequest in favour of a grandfather, the
bequest is valid as the grand father is not a heir at the
time of death of the testator; because he is excluded by
the father.
However, if the father dies before the testator, the

grandfather now becomes a heir and the bequest in his
favour therefore, is no longer valid.
2- If a bequest is made in favour of an individual who is a

heir at the time when the bequest is made, but becomes a
non-heir subsequently and is therefore, not a legal heir at
the time of death of the testator, the bequest is valid.
Thus, if a man makes a will in favour of a grandson

through a predeceased son and his only heirs are a wife
and a daughter, the will as it stands is invalid because the
grandson is a legal heir as he is a residuary.
However, if a son is born to the testator, he will totally

exclude the grandson and the bequest becomes valid.
A specific legatee needs to accept a bequest. If such a legatee is

a sane adult he must accept the bequest personally, otherwise it
is accepted by his guardian.
In the case of a general legatee such as the poor or orphans

acceptance is not necessary. Similarly, for Institutions or
organizations acceptance is not necessary unless they have a
legal representative.
137
If the legatee dies before the testator, the bequest is invalid
since a bequest can only be accepted after the death of the
testator.
5.6 AL-M’USWA BIHI (THE THING WHICH IS

BEQUETHED)
Anything which can be legally owned under Islamic law by the

testator, can be bequeathed. A bequest therefore includes all
types of property that can be legally owned under Sharia.
It is allowed to bequest a usufruct, whereby the legatee has the

right to use and enjoy the fruits or profits of an estate or some
other thing, which he does not own, for example fruits of an
orchard or the rent of a house101.
According to majority of scholars, usufructury right is

inheritable by the legatee’s heirs until the term of bequest
expires.
It is worth noting that certain items can be left for particular

legal heirs provided the value of the item does not exceed the
legal share entitlement of the heir. For example, a man can
specify that he would like to leave his car for a particular son.
This is then given to the son as part of his legal share102.
101
Asharbiini, Mugni Al-Muhtaaj, Beirut, Daar Al-Fikr, Vol.3, pg.45
102
Hussain, A., The Islamic law of succession, pg.393
138
CONCLUSION
All praises are due to Allah, with His grace and blessings good
deeds are accomplished.
May His blessings and peace be showered upon His last
Prophet, Muhammad (S.A.W)
I praise and thank Allah who has enabled me to finish this
humble work.
In this conclusion, I would like to make the following remarks
and recommendations:
1- In the Qur’an, as mentioned in Chapter One of this book,
most of the legal rulings are general and need to be
explained by the Sunnah. However, the legal rulings
regarding succession have been clearly explained by
Allah Himself leaving very little to be added by the
Sunnah. This shows the importance of Al-Miraath to the
Muslim community, and calls for their adherence to it, as
no human being has the authority to change what Allah
has ordained in very clear and explicit terms. (See
Qur’an 4:11, 4:12 and 4:176)
2- Although all the eligible heirs have the right to
inheritance, Islam encourages and recommends its
followers to be mindful of those who are in need. I
therefore urge those who are already well off to forfeit
and sacrifice their shares to those who are still young and
in need, as this is a form of worship, which Allah
rewards in plenty. (See Qur’an 59:9, 13:21)
3- I urge those Muslims who own a joint property or a joint
account to make a Will stating clearly the share of each
partner, which will be transferred to his heir after his
death. As for families in which both husband and wife
contribute financially to the property of the family, it is
advisable that a Will stating the ownership in terms of
139
percentage should be written, to avoid any complications
in the distribution of property after the death of one of
the two; basing on the fact that each one of the two has
his or her respective heirs.
Lastly, I do not claim to have exhausted whatever one would

like to know about Islamic law of succession, but I strongly
believe that this book will acquaint the reader with the
essentials of the subject, and whoever would wish to access
more and detailed information can read those books that are
more detailed after having got the basics.
As no human being is immune to mistakes, I request that

whoever finds any mistake let him/her bring it to my attention.
I will appreciate all the comments intended to promote this

piece of work to a better standard.
All comments should be forwarded to me through the following

e-mail address: abuhudha@yahoo.com
Wassallam
140
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ha Publishers, 1984]
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141
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Maktabat Al-Kuliyyaat Al-Azhariyyah, 1968]
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25- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ration
142
APPENDIX I
VERSES MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK
(And establish regular prayer and pay Zakah)103
(Hajj is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who have the
ability)104
(Allah commands you as regards your children’s inheritance: to

the male a portion equal to that of two females; if there are only
daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the
inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth
share of inheritance to each if the deceased left children, if no
children and the parents are the only heirs, the mother has a
third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a
sixth. The distribution in all cases is after the payment of
legacies he may have bequeathed or debts. You know not
whether your parents or your children, are nearest to you in
benefit. These fixed shares are ordained by Allah, And Allah is
Ever All knower, All-wise)105
(In that which your wives leave, your share is a half if they have
no child, but if they leave a child, you get a fourth of that which
they leave after payment of legacies that they may have
bequeathed or debts. In that which you leave, your wife’s share
is a fourth if you leave no child, but if you leave a child, they
get an eighth of that which you leave after payment of legacies
that you may have bequeathed or debts. If the man or woman
whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor
103
Surat Al-Baqarah (2:43)
104
Surat A’l-Imraan (3:97)
105
143
descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the
two gets a sixth, but if more than two, they share in a third, after
payment of legacies he or she may have bequeathed or debts so
that no loss is caused to anyone. This is a commandment from
Allah, and Allah is Ever All-knowing, Most for bearing)106
(They ask you for a legal verdict; say: Allah directs thus about
Kalaalah (Those who leave neither descendants nor ascendants
as heirs). If it is a man that dies leaving a sister, but no child,
she shall have half the inheritance. If (such a deceased was) a
woman, who left no child, her brother takes her inheritance. If
there are two sisters, they shall have two-thirds of the
inheritance, if there are brothers and sisters, the male will have
twice the share of the female. Thus does Allah make clear to
you His laws lest you go astray. And Allah is the All-knower
of everything)107
(It is not befitting for a believer to kill a believer except that it
be by mistake, and whosoever kills a believer by mistake it is
ordained that he must set free a believing slave and
compensation be given to the deceased’s family…) (4:92).
(Allah will not punish you for what is unintentional in your

oaths, but He will punish you for your deliberate oaths, and for
its expiation feed ten needy people on a scale of the average of
that with which you feed your own families or cloth them or
free a slave..) (5:89)
(And what will make you know the path that is steep [that is to
say which will lead you to goodness and success] It is freeing of
a slave) (90:11-13).
106
107
144
(And I followed the religion of my fathers; Ibrahiim
+, Ishaaq, and Ya’quub)108.
(It is the religion of your father Ibrahiim)109.
(But kindred by blood are nearer to one another [regarding

inheritance] in the decree ordained by Allah. Verily, Allah is
All- Knower of everything)110.
(There is a share for men and a share for women from what is
left by parents and those nearest related, whether the property
be small or large, a stipulated legal share)111.
(And those who join that which Allah has commanded to be

joined [that is to say they are good to their relatives and do not
sever the bond of kinship])112.
108
Surat Yusuf (12:38)
109
Surat Al-Hajj (22:78)
110
Surat Al- Anfaal (8: 75)
111
Surat Annisa (4: 7)
112
Surat Ar-Ra’d (13:21)
145
APPENDIX II
AHAADIITH (SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET)

MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK
“Give the Fara’idh (shares prescribed in the Qur’an) to those

entitled to receive them, then whatever remains, should be to
the closest male relative of the deceased”113
“A believer’s soul remains in suspense until all his debts are

paid off”114
Saad bin Abi Waqqaas said:

“I was stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of death.
The Prophet (S.A.W) came to pay me a visit. I said to him: Oh
messenger of Allah, I own a lot of property and I have no heir
except my single daughter. So, should I give two-thirds of my
property in charity? The prophet replied “No”. I said: half of it?
He replied “No”. I said: one-third of it? The prophet replied
“one- third, but still one-third is too much, for it is better to
leave your heirs wealthy than leaving them poor, asking others
for help”115
“Verily Allah has given every eligible heir his/her share,

therefore no will should be made for a heir”116
113
Bukhari, Swahiih, vol.6, pg 2476, Hadith no.6351 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
pg 1233, Hadith no.1615
114
Tirimizhi, Sunan, Vol.3, pg.389, Hadith no.1078 & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
115
Bukhari, Swahiih, vol.3, pg 1431, Hadith no.3721 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
pg 1250, Hadith no.1628
116
Abu- Daud, Sunan, Vol.3, pg.73, Hadith no.2872 & Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2,
146
“A will should not be made for one of the heirs except if all the
heirs consent to it”117
“A murderer does not inherit”118
“A Muslim cannot inherit a non-Muslim and a non-Muslim

cannot inherit a Muslim”119.
“There will be no inheritance between two different

religions”120.
Qabiswa Bin Abi- Zhuaib, said:

“ A grandmother of a deceased person came to Abu-Bakr
requesting for her inheritance. Abu-Bakr said to her: I do not
find any share for you in the Qur’an, nor do I remember any
Sunnah from the Prophet (S.A.W) concerning your share, so go
back until I ask the people about your share. Abu-Bakr went and
asked the people. One called Mugiira Bin Shu’bah stood up and
said: I witnessed the prophet giving her a sixth. Abu-Bakr
asked: was there anybody else who witnessed the incident?
Muhammad Bin Maslama stood up and said as Mugiira had
said”121.
Ibn Abbaas blamed Zaid Bin Thaabit and said: “Doesn’t Zaid
fear Allah! How dare does he presume a son of son to be a son
and he does not presume a father of father to be a father?”122.
117
Adaar-qutni, Sunan, Vol.4, pg.97. Hadith no.89
118
Ibn Maajah, Sunan, Vol.2, pg.913, Hadith no.2735
119
120
121
122
Ibn Battaal, A., Sherh Swahiih Al-Bukhari, (Riyadh, Maktabat Ar-Rushid, 2nd
Edn 2003) Vol 10, pg 362.
147
“whoever leaves property, it should be distributed to his
heirs”123.
“whoever wants his Rizq to be increased and his lifespan to be

prolonged, let him join and strengthen the bond of his
kinship”124.
“It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequest not to

let two nights pass without writing a Will about it.”125
123
Bukhari, Swahiih, Vol.2, pg.805, Hadith no.2176 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
124
Bukhari, Swahiih, Vol.5, pg 2232, Hadith 5640 & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.4, pg.
1982, Hadith No.2557
125
Bukhari, Swahiih,Vol.3, pg.1005, Hadith no.2587, & Muslim, Swahiih, Vol.3,
148
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Sowed Juma Mayanja is a Ugandan and holder of a PhD in Shariah, an

M.A in Shariah and a B.A in Sharia from Islamic University in Medina,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He also holds a Post graduate diploma in Education (PGDE), from Islamic

University in Uganda, a Diploma in Law from Law Development Centre
(LDC), Kampala and a Certificate in International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
from University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Dr. Mayanja worked as a Coordinator of the Faculty of Law at its

inception at Islamic University in Uganda in 2004, then as a Deputy Dean
of the Faculty and also as the Dean of the Faculty of law from 2008 to
2010.
Currently, Dr. Mayanja is a Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Law and
Shariah at Zanzibar University, Tanzania.
Other Published Work by Dr. Mayanja includes:

1) The Shariah and its role in the promotion of International
Justice, published in Islamic University in Uganda Journal of
Comparative Law, Vol. 1, 2007.
2) Adoption under both Ugandan and Islamic Laws; a comparative

analysis, Published in Islamic University in Uganda Journal of
Comparative Law, Vol. 3, 2009.
3) Protection of Civilian groups under International Humanitarian

Law and Islamic Shariah, Published in Al-Wasiya Journal of Islamic
Committee of International Crescent, issue of June 2011.
149

MIRAATH - The Islamic Law of Succession: A Practical Guide by Dr. Sowed J. Mayanja

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Al-MIRAATH

THE ISLAMIC LAW OF

DR. SOWED JUMA MAYANJA

First Edition, 1433AH/2012

First Print 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

All thanks and appreciation are due to The Al-Mighty Allah,

I am indebted to Professor Mustafa Roshash, the Vice-

I am also indebted to the Colleagues; Dr. Haroonah Nsubuga,

My sincere thanks and gratitude should also be registered to my

May Allah reward all abundantly.

Chapter One: Meaning, Importance and Scope of Al-Miraath..1

Chapter Two: General Principles of Al-Miraath……….…17

Chapter Three: Exclusion and Distribution of Estate…….64

Chapter Four: Miscellaneus Topics of Al-Miraath………..88

Chapter Five: Al-Waswiyyah, The Islamic Will……….....129

Appendix 1: Qur’anic Verses mentioned in this Book…….143

Appendix 2: Ahadiith (Sayings of the Prophet) mentioned in

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST

When the Islamic University in Uganda started the Faculty of

Islamic Family law at the Islamic University in Uganda is

Although this book was originally written for students of law

I have included in this book many worked examples and tables

I have also avoided writing the Qur’anic verses and sayings of

A Topic on Mathematics for succession is included in order to

Generally, the book is divided into five Chapters, each chapter

Dr. Sowed Juma Mayanja

MEANING, IMPORTANCE AND SCOPE OF

Al-Miraath is an Arabic word, derived from Al-Irith, which

In legal terminology, Al-Miraath refers to the process through

The science of Al-Miraath in Sharia gives rules, which guide as

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF AL-MIRAATH FROM THE

When it comes to performing of Hajj Allah says: (Hajj is

b) Its importance from the Sunnah:

As far as the wife of the deceased was concerned, she was

The Islamic Law of Succession abrogated or modified these

The rules regulating inheritance in Sharia are based on the

In another verse, Allah says:

b) General lessons from the verses:

A) In verse 4:11, Allah says: (Allah commands you as

The first lesson is that the laws concerning inheritance

The second lesson is that Allah is All knower All wise,

B) Verse 4:11 deals with the inheritance of Descendants and

G) Full and consanguine brothers and sisters:

H) With the exception of uterine brothers and sisters, the

I) The distribution in all cases is after the payment of

This Topic is intended to give the reader a background on the

Proper and improper fraction

Fraction in its lowest form

Lowest Common Multiple (L.C.M)

Example: Find the lowest common multiple for 4 and 6.

Common multiples of 4 and 6 are simply the numbers that are

12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, ....

Therefore, the lowest common multiple of 4 and 6 is the

Method 2 (Using a table)

Example: Find the L.C.M of 4, 7, 12, 21, and 42

First, we begin by listing all of the numbers vertically in a table

Then we divide all of the factors by 2. If any of them divides

We divide again, whatever is divisible by 2

Once 2 no longer divides, we divide by 3. If 3 no longer

In Al-Miraath ,it is very important to understand the concept of

In order to clarify this point, let us look at an example where a

Another example is where a man dies and is survived by 3 sons