← Home
Islamic Inheritance Calculator
Islamic inheritance (ʿilm al-farāʾiḍ) distributes an estate according to fixed shares set in the Quran. Select which relatives survived the deceased and this calculator estimates each heir's share, applying the rules of fixed shares (furūḍ), residue (ʿaṣaba), proportional reduction (ʿawl) and return of surplus (radd).
How Islamic inheritance works
- Before the estate is divided, three things are settled first: the cost of the funeral and burial, any debts the deceased owed, and a valid bequest (wasiyya) of up to one-third of what remains, which cannot be given to an heir who already inherits.
- The Quran assigns fixed shares (furūḍ) to certain heirs, such as a spouse, parents and daughters. These are distributed first, in fractions like a half, a quarter, an eighth, two-thirds, a third or a sixth.
- A husband receives a half of his wife's estate, or a quarter if she left children. A wife receives a quarter of her husband's estate, or an eighth if he left children; co-wives share that portion equally.
- Parents are usually given a sixth each when the deceased left children. Children inherit as residuaries, commonly following the rule that a son receives the share of two daughters; if there are only daughters, they take a fixed share.
- Whatever remains after the fixed shares is the residue (ʿaṣaba), taken by the nearest male-line relatives. If the fixed shares add up to more than the whole estate, ʿawl is applied and every share is reduced proportionally.
- If there is a surplus and no residuary heir, radd returns it to the fixed-share heirs in proportion to their shares, the spouse is excluded from the return.
- A worked example: a man leaves a wife, a son and a daughter. The wife takes an eighth; the remaining seven-eighths is split between the children so the son receives twice the daughter's portion. Complex cases, grandparents, mixed siblings, missing heirs, need a specialist.
Frequently asked questions
- How is inheritance divided in Islam?
- After the funeral costs, debts and any valid bequest are paid, the estate is divided using fixed shares set out in the Quran (furūḍ) for close relatives, with the remainder (ʿaṣaba) going to the nearest agnatic relatives. Rules such as ʿawl and radd adjust the shares when they over- or under-shoot the estate.
- What share does a spouse receive?
- A husband inherits one half of his wife's estate, reduced to one quarter if she left children. A wife inherits one quarter of her husband's estate, reduced to one eighth if he left children; if there is more than one wife, they share that portion equally.
- How much do parents and children inherit?
- When the deceased left children, each parent usually takes a sixth. Children then inherit the residue, commonly with a son receiving the share of two daughters. Where there are only daughters, one daughter takes a half and two or more share two-thirds.
- Why does a son receive more than a daughter?
- In many cases a son receives twice the share of a daughter because, under Islamic law, men carry the financial responsibility of maintaining their wives, children and other dependants, while a woman keeps her wealth entirely for herself.
- Can I leave a will in Islam?
- Yes. A Muslim may bequeath up to one third of the estate (after debts) to people or causes that are not already Quranic heirs. The remaining two thirds must be distributed among the fixed heirs according to the shares set in the Quran.
- Does this work for all four madhabs?
- The core Quranic shares are agreed across the Sunni schools, and this calculator follows the mainstream Sunni position. Some rarer cases, such as certain grandfather-and-sibling situations, differ between the madhabs, so verify unusual cases with a scholar.
- Is this calculator a fatwa?
- No. It is an educational estimate based on the mainstream Sunni position and does not handle every rare case. Qurani runs it privately on your device with no account; for an authoritative, binding distribution, consult a qualified scholar or a Sharia court.