Free tool · fara'id

Islamic inheritance calculator

Enter who the deceased left behind. See each heir's share as a fraction, a percentage and an amount, with the verse or hadith behind it. Follows the Sunni rules of the four schools.

Educational estimate, not a fatwa or legal advice. Inheritance depends on facts this tool cannot check, and the law where the deceased lived or owned property may differ from Islamic rules. Before dividing an estate, have the result checked by a qualified scholar of inheritance and a local lawyer.

1The deceased

2The estate

Optional. Leave it empty to see the shares as fractions only.

Paid first, at a modest, customary level.

Loans, unpaid bills, an unpaid mahr. Paid before any bequest.

Capped at one third of what is left after funeral costs and debts. A bequest to an heir is not valid unless the other heirs agree.

3The heirs

Count only relatives alive at the time of death. Leave out anyone who is not Muslim or who killed the deceased: they do not inherit.

Or try a textbook case:

Spouse

Husband
WivesUp to 4. They share the wives' portion equally.

Children and grandchildren

Sons
Daughters
Son's sonsGrandsons through a son
Son's daughtersGranddaughters through a son. A daughter's children are not among these heirs.

Parents and grandparents

Father
Mother
Paternal grandfatherFather's father
Maternal grandmotherMother's mother
Paternal grandmotherFather's mother

Brothers and sisters

Full brothersSame father and mother
Full sistersSame father and mother
Paternal half-brothersSame father, different mother
Paternal half-sistersSame father, different mother
Maternal half-siblingsSame mother, different father. Brothers and sisters count together.
More relatives: nephews, uncles and cousins

They inherit only when no closer male relative is left. Add them if they exist; they can change the result.

Full brother's sonsSons of a full brother
Paternal half-brother's sons
Full paternal unclesFather's full brothers
Paternal half-unclesFather's paternal half-brothers
Sons of full paternal uncles
Sons of paternal half-uncles
School option: grandfather with brothers and sisters

Worked out in your browser with exact fractions. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.

The division

Shares of the estate

    Add the heirs who were alive at the time of death. The shares appear here as you go.

    In short

    Islamic inheritance (fara'id) is divided in four steps: pay the funeral costs, pay the debts, carry out any bequest of up to one third to people who are not heirs, then divide the rest between the heirs. The Qur'an fixes the shares of twelve relatives in Surah an-Nisa (4:11, 4:12 and 4:176). What is left after those fixed shares goes to the nearest male relative (Sahih al-Bukhari 6732).

    How this calculator works

    1. Funeral costs, debts, then the bequest. The shares come “after any bequest or debt” (Qur'an 4:11); scholars agree debts are paid before the bequest. A bequest is capped at one third: the Prophet ﷺ told Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, “A third, and a third is a lot” (Sahih al-Bukhari 2742). “There is no bequest for an heir” (Sunan Abi Dawud 2870, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2120).
    2. Blocking (hajb). A closer relative can exclude a more distant one. A son blocks brothers and sisters; the father blocks the grandfather; the mother blocks grandmothers. The result lists everyone who is excluded and why.
    3. Fixed shares (fard). Husband, wife, daughter, son's daughter, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother and the three kinds of sister and brother each have a share set out in 4:11, 4:12 and 4:176.
    4. The residue ('asaba). “Give the fixed shares to those entitled to them; what is left goes to the nearest male relative” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6732, Sahih Muslim 1615). A son with daughters, a brother with sisters: each male takes twice a female's share (Qur'an 4:11, 4:176).
    5. 'Awl. When the fixed shares add up to more than the whole, every share is reduced in proportion. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ruled this with the Companions.
    6. Radd. When something is left and there is no residuary, it returns to the fixed-share heirs in proportion, but not to a spouse (the majority view).

    The engine uses exact fractions, so 1/3 stays 1/3. It also shows how many equal parts the estate divides into, the way a scholar writes the case out by hand. Its rules are tested against 44 textbook cases, including al-Minbariyya, al-Mushtaraka, al-Akdariyya and the two 'Umariyyatan.

    For each heir's share, with the verses in Arabic and English, read inheritance shares in Islam, heir by heir.

    Where the four schools agree, and where they differ

    The Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools agree on the fixed shares, on who blocks whom among the close heirs, on the 2:1 rule, on 'awl, and on the two 'Umariyyatan. They differ on a few questions. The calculator follows the majority and tells you when your case touches one of them:

    Where the schools differ

    Grandfather with brothers and sisters. Abu Hanifa: the grandfather blocks them like the father. Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Abu Hanifa's two students: they share with him, by Zayd ibn Thabit's method. You can switch between the two.

    Radd and distant kindred. Hanafis and Hanbalis return a leftover to the fixed-share heirs (not the spouse), then to distant kindred (dhawu al-arham, such as a daughter's children). Early Malikis and Shafi'is gave it to the public treasury; their later scholars accept radd. The calculator does radd but does not divide between distant kindred.

    Al-Mushtaraka. Hanafis and Hanbalis leave full brothers with nothing when the fixed shares use up the estate; Malikis and Shafi'is let them share the maternal siblings' third. The calculator shows the first and notes the second.

    Paternal grandmother with the father. Most schools say the father blocks his mother; the Hanbali school says she still inherits.

    What this calculator does not cover

    • Distant kindred (a daughter's children, a sister's children, maternal uncles and aunts). If your case needs them, the result says so.
    • Heirs further down or up the line than those listed, such as a son's son's son or the grandfather's father.
    • Special situations: an unborn child, a missing person, people who died together without knowing who died first, and a wife divorced during the final illness.
    • Who may not inherit: “A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor a disbeliever from a Muslim” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6764, Sahih Muslim 1614), and a killer does not inherit from the person he killed (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2109). Leave them out of the count.
    • Local law. In many countries the estate is divided by the civil law unless there is a valid will. A Muslim in the UK, US, Canada or Australia usually needs a properly drafted Islamic will for these shares to apply. Ask a local lawyer.

    Frequently asked questions

    How is inheritance divided in Islam?

    After funeral costs, debts and any bequest of up to one third, the Qur'an gives fixed shares to close relatives such as the spouse, parents and daughters (Qur'an 4:11, 4:12, 4:176). What is left goes to the nearest male relative, such as a son, who shares it with his sisters at two to one.

    Why does a son receive twice a daughter's share?

    The Qur'an sets it: “for the male, the like of the share of two females” (4:11). Scholars explain it by the duties placed on men: a husband pays the mahr and must support his wife and children, while a woman's inheritance stays her own.

    Can I leave more than a third of my estate in a will?

    A bequest is limited to one third, and it cannot go to someone who is already an heir (Sahih al-Bukhari 2742; Sunan Abi Dawud 2870). If the heirs agree after the death, they may honour more. The calculator caps a larger bequest at one third.

    What happens when the shares add up to more than the estate?

    This is 'awl: every fixed share is reduced in the same proportion. For example, a husband (1/2) and two sisters (2/3) need 7/6, so the base 6 is raised to 7: the husband gets 3/7 and the sisters 4/7.

    Do Islamic inheritance rules apply automatically where I live?

    Not always. In many countries the civil law divides the estate unless there is a valid will. Have an Islamic will drafted by a lawyer who knows these rules, and ask a scholar to check the shares.

    Is what I enter saved or sent anywhere?

    No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent to Niyat or anyone else. A copied link keeps the details after the # sign, which browsers do not send to the server.

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    Educational estimate, not a fatwa or legal advice. Inheritance depends on facts this tool cannot check, and the law where the deceased lived or owned property may differ from Islamic rules. Before dividing an estate, have the result checked by a qualified scholar of inheritance and a local lawyer. Found a case the calculator gets wrong? Email hello@niyatapp.com.