Faraid Calculator

What Is Faraid and Why Is It Obligatory?

Faraid (فرائض) is the plural of faridah (فريضة), an Arabic root meaning “ordained obligation.” In Islamic jurisprudence, the term refers specifically to the science of inheritance distribution, ilm al-faraid (علم الفرائض), the system of fixed shares prescribed directly by Allah in the Quran (Surah An-Nisa, 4:11–12 and 4:176) and clarified through the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The word “faraid” is also widely rendered as “fara’id” in academic texts. Either spelling refers to the same body of law governing estate distribution in Islam.

The obligation of faraid rests on three textual pillars. First, the Quran states explicitly: “Allah commands you regarding your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females” (4:11). Second, the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded: “Learn the faraid and teach them to the people, for it is half of all knowledge and it will be forgotten first from my nation” (Ibn Majah). Third, the classical scholars classified ilm al-faraid as fard kifayah, a communal obligation requiring that a sufficient number of scholars in every Muslim community be proficient in it.

“Learn the faraid and teach them to the people, for it is half of all knowledge and it will be forgotten first from my nation.”

Unlike conventional inheritance law, which in many Western jurisdictions grants near-total testamentary freedom, faraid is a divine prescription that supersedes personal preference. A Muslim cannot will away the share of a Quranic heir, nor can heirs agree to permanently reallocate their God-given portions before the estate is distributed. The shares exist as a form of economic justice, ensuring that wealth passes both horizontally (to spouse) and vertically (to children and parents) in a structured manner that prevents the concentration of estates in a single branch of the family.

Scholars divide the estate disbursement into a strict priority sequence before faraid distribution begins. Funeral and burial expenses (tajhiz al-mayyit) are settled first from the gross estate. All outstanding debts of the deceased, including financial debts (dayn) and religious obligations such as unpaid zakat and unfulfilled kaffarah, are discharged second. Any valid wasiyyah (testamentary bequest) up to one-third of the remaining net estate is honored third. Only the balance that survives these three deductions constitutes the distributable estate subject to faraid rules.

Who Are the Ashab al-Furud (Fixed-Share Heirs)?

Ashab al-furud (أصحاب الفروض), literally “owners of the ordained shares,” are the heirs whose fractions are expressly named in the Quran. Classical scholars enumerate twelve categories of ashab al-furud: the husband, wife (or wives), father, mother, paternal grandfather (in certain scenarios), paternal grandmother, maternal grandmother, daughter, son's daughter (granddaughter through a son), full sister, paternal half-sister, and uterine (maternal) sibling. These are the only heirs who can take a furud muqaddarah (فروض مقدرة), a prescribed Quranic fraction.

The husband takes al-nisf (1/2) when the deceased wife has no descendants, and al-rub' (1/4) when she does. A wife (or multiple wives sharing equally) takes al-rub' (1/4) without descendants and al-thumn (1/8) with descendants. The mother takes al-thuluth (1/3) when there are no children and fewer than two siblings; she drops to al-sudus (1/6) in all other cases. The father takes al-sudus (1/6) as a fixed-share heir only when male descendants exist; otherwise he inherits as a residuary. Daughters receive al-nisf (1/2) when alone, or al-thuluthan (2/3) collectively when two or more have no brothers; with brothers they shift to the residuary category at a 2:1 ratio.

How Does Asabah (Residuary) Distribution Work?

Asabah (عصبة), from the Arabic root meaning “agnatic male relative,” are heirs who inherit the remainder of the estate after all ashab al-furud have taken their ordained shares. Classical scholars divide asabah into three categories: asabah bi-anfusihim (عصبة بأنفسهم, residuary by themselves), asabah bi-ghayrihim (عصبة بغيرهم, residuary through another), and asabah ma'a ghayrihim (عصبة مع غيرهم, residuary alongside another). Understanding these categories is essential to computing correct faraid distributions.

Asabah bi-anfusihim are males who inherit the residuary by virtue of their own relationship to the deceased, without needing a female co-heir to trigger their status. They are ranked in four groups: (1) descendants: sons, then son's sons (grandsons) descending; (2) ascendants: father, then paternal grandfather ascending; (3) brothers: full brothers first, then paternal half-brothers; and (4) paternal uncles and their sons. Within each group, the nearest in degree excludes the more distant. A son, for instance, excludes a grandson; a full brother excludes a paternal half-brother. When multiple heirs of equal proximity exist, they share the residuary equally among themselves.

Asabah bi-ghayrihim captures daughters, granddaughters, and sisters who become residuary heirs only because of a male co-heir at the same generational level. A daughter alongside a son is the clearest example: she is normally an ashab al-furud heir entitled to al-nisf (1/2) or al-thuluthan (2/3), but the presence of a brother converts both into asabah, sharing the residuary at a 2:1 ratio in favor of the male, a rule directly stated in Quran 4:11: “for the male the equivalent of the portion of two females.” This ratio is not a social hierarchy but a reflection of the differential financial obligations classical fiqh places on men, including mandatory nafaqah (maintenance) for wife and children.

Asabah ma'a ghayrihim applies specifically to full sisters and paternal sisters who become residuary heirs alongside daughters or son's daughters, not because of a male sibling, but because the daughters absorb the full fixed-share quota and leave a surplus that would otherwise pass to distant relatives. For example: if a deceased man leaves two daughters and a full sister, the daughters take the two-thirds (2/3) cap, and the full sister inherits the remaining one-third (1/3) as asabah ma'a ghayrihim, even though no brother is present. The Ja'fari (Shia) school eliminates the asabah concept entirely, instead distributing the full remainder to daughters when no sons exist.

What Is Hajb (Blocking) in Faraid?

Hajb (حجب), from the Arabic for “screen” or “veil,” is the legal mechanism by which the presence of one heir completely or partially excludes another heir from inheritance. Islamic scholars distinguish two types: hajb hirman (حجب الحرمان), which is total exclusion depriving an heir entirely of their share, and hajb nuqsan (حجب النقصان), which is partial reduction reducing an heir's share without eliminating it. Both forms are established by Quranic text and authenticated hadith, and applying hajb rules correctly is among the most technically demanding aspects of faraid computation.

Hajb hirman follows proximity principles: a living son blocks all grandsons (son's sons), regardless of how many grandsons exist and regardless of their gender; the father blocks the paternal grandfather in all four Sunni schools and in the Ja'fari school; full brothers block paternal half-brothers; and the mother blocks both grandmothers (paternal and maternal). A critical rule is that certain relatives can never be blocked: al-mustahaqqun al-ma'sumun (those whose inheritance is inviolable). These are the spouse, the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter. No surviving heir can ever fully exclude these five from the estate.

Hajb nuqsan (partial reduction) operates on the ashab al-furud without eliminating their share. The most common examples: the mother is reduced from 1/3 to 1/6 by the presence of children or by two or more siblings of the deceased; the husband is reduced from 1/2 to 1/4 by the existence of descendants; the wife is reduced from 1/4 to 1/8 by descendants; a single daughter is reduced from 1/2 to a share in 2/3 when joined by a second daughter. These reductions are not penalties; they reflect the Quranic principle of balancing the competing claims of multiple eligible relatives.

One of the most contested hajb scenarios across the four Sunni schools concerns the paternal grandfather and full siblings. The Hanafi and Maliki schools hold that the grandfather does not block full brothers and sisters (ikhwa), applying instead a muqasamah (مقاسمة, proportional sharing) principle where the grandfather takes the higher of his Quranic share or an equal share with the brothers. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools, following the opinion attributed to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), hold that the grandfather completely blocks all full and paternal siblings. This disagreement produces meaningfully different estate distributions and is among the reasons this calculator allows users to select their school of jurisprudence before computing.

When Does Awl or Radd Apply?

Awl (عول), literally “overflow” or “increase,” is the faraid doctrine applied when the total of all prescribed Quranic fractions for a given heir combination exceeds one (i.e., more than the entire estate). This situation arises when multiple ashab al-furud coexist and their individual shares, summed together, produce a fraction greater than 100% of the distributable estate. The historical origin of this doctrine traces to the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who, upon being presented with such a case, is reported to have reasoned: “By Allah, I do not know which of you Allah has given precedence and which He has delayed; but I see that you should all share in the shortfall,” effectively creating the proportional reduction rule that became the Sunni consensus.

In awl, the common denominator of the estate is “increased” to equal the sum of all numerators, and each heir's share is expressed as a fraction of this enlarged denominator. A classic example: a deceased woman leaves a husband (1/2), two full sisters (2/3), and a mother (1/6). The common denominator is 6; the numerators sum to 3 + 4 + 1 = 8, which exceeds 6. The estate is therefore divided into 8 parts: the husband receives 3/8, the two sisters share 4/8, and the mother receives 1/8, each proportionally reduced from their original Quranic fractions. Awl is the Sunni consensus position across all four schools. The Ja'fari school historically rejected awl, holding that certain heirs (specifically daughters) take priority when fractions overflow, but the practical impact of this difference is complex and school-specific in this calculator.

Radd (رد), meaning “return” or “reversion,” is the mirror doctrine that applies when the total of all Quranic shares is less than one and there are no asabah (residuary heirs) to absorb the remainder. In this case, the surplus is “returned” proportionally to the ashab al-furud. The radd doctrine is more contested than awl: in the Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Maliki schools, the spouse is excluded from radd; their portion remains fixed while the surplus flows back only to blood relatives among the ashab al-furud. The Ja'fari school permits radd to the spouse as well, and some Hanafi scholars permit radd to the spouse in the absence of any other heir.

A concrete radd illustration: a deceased woman leaves only a mother and a maternal sister, with no spouse, no children, and no father or siblings to act as asabah. The mother's Quranic share is 1/3 and the maternal sister's share is 1/6, totaling 3/6 = 1/2. The remaining 1/2 has no residuary heir. After excluding the question of a spouse (not applicable here), radd distributes the surplus back to the mother and maternal sister proportionally: the mother, holding a numerator of 2 out of the combined numerator of 3, receives 2/3 of the estate; the maternal sister, holding numerator 1, receives 1/3. This calculator detects radd scenarios automatically and applies the correct school-specific rule for spouse inclusion or exclusion.