A plain-language guide to Sunni farāʾiḍ — who your heirs are, their fixed shares, the order in which your estate is settled, and the terms you'll meet along the way.
Distributing a deceased Muslim's estate according to the fixed shares prescribed in the Qurʾān is a duty upon those left behind. Al-Mawārīth transforms these rulings, found in Qurʾān 4:11, 4:12, and 4:176 and explained in the Sunnah, into an accurate, transparent calculation that you can understand and verify.
Your heirs' fixed Qurʾānic shares (farāʾiḍ), the residue to your agnates (ʿaṣabah), ʿawl and radd — all computed exactly for you.
As you build the family tree, discover who inherits, who is blocked (ḥajb), and the evidence behind every ruling—so you don't just calculate the shares; you understand the fiqh.
For a binding distribution, request a qualified scholar or Al-Mawārīth expert to review your family's exact circumstances and issue a signed Al-Mawārīth report.
Funeral, shrouding, and burial expenses are settled first, followed by outstanding debts (including unpaid Zakāt that was due, mahr, and kaffārāt). Finally, any valid bequest (waṣiyyah) of up to one-third of the estate is fulfilled, if applicable.
The spouse, parents, daughters, sons' daughters, grandmothers, and other prescribed heirs (dhawū al-furūḍ) receive their fixed Qurʾānic shares.
Any remaining estate passes to the nearest eligible agnatic heir (ʿaṣabah) in the prescribed order: sons, then sons' sons, father, paternal grandfather (subject to scholarly differences of opinion), full and paternal brothers, full and paternal brothers' sons (nephews), full and paternal uncles, and their sons (cousins).
Apply ʿawl if the prescribed shares exceed the estate, or radd if a surplus remains and is returned to the eligible heirs. Then view each heir's exact share.
A step-by-step mode that teaches the ruling behind each heir while providing a live preview of the shares as they are calculated.
Enter property, cash, shares, jewellery, businesses, and other assets, together with liabilities such as Zakāt, expenses, loans, and kaffārāt, while viewing a live net estate total.
Explore plain-language explanations of the heirs, the order of distribution, waṣiyyah, waqf, and a glossary of every term used.
Covers every eligible heir, from the closest relatives to the son of the paternal uncle (ibn al-ʿamm) and other residuary agnates that many calculators omit.
Generate a clean PDF of the inheritance distribution, complete with the calculations and reasoning, for your executor and family.
Have special cases and larger estates reviewed and authorised by a qualified scholar or Al-Mawārīth expert.
Nothing from your estate reaches your heirs until four things happen, in this order:
Your funeral and burial costs are met first.
All your debts are paid — including unpaid Zakāt, any outstanding mahr you owe, and kaffārāt (expiations), alongside loans and taxes.
You may will up to one-third to non-heirs or charity. Anything beyond a third needs your heirs' consent.
What remains is divided among your heirs by the Qurʾānic shares, then the residue passes to your agnates.
After the fixed shares, the remainder of your estate passes to your nearest male-line relative, in strict order:
A nearer agnate always excludes a more distant one.
If your heirs' fixed shares together exceed your whole estate, every share is reduced in the same proportion so they sum to one. No heir is dropped; all are diminished together.
If the fixed shares don't use up your estate and there's no agnate to take the rest, the surplus returns proportionally to your Qurʾānic heirs — excluding your spouse.
A waqf is a permanent endowment: you lock an asset and only its benefit is given to a purpose — a ṣadaqah jāriyah whose reward continues for you after death.
Benefit flows to the community: mosques, wells, schools, hospitals, feeding the poor.
Income supports the founder's descendants; when the line ends it passes to charity. It may not unfairly deprive the Qurʾānic heirs.
Part of the benefit supports the family and part supports public charity.
Money is endowed and invested; the capital is preserved and the returns are spent on the cause.
No. It's an educational guide that applies the standard Sunni rules accurately, but the binding distribution depends on who is actually alive at death and can involve cases needing scholarly judgement. For a binding, signed distribution, request a scholar review.
It implements Sunni farāʾiḍ (the position broadly agreed across the four schools), applying ʿawl and radd. A few contested cases — such as the grandfather with siblings — are noted and referred to a scholar.
A wife takes 1/4, but only 1/8 if the deceased left children or grandchildren through a son (Qurʾān 4:12). The calculator updates this live as you add heirs.
These are special cases with specific rulings — an adopted child does not inherit by farāʾiḍ, and a non-Muslim heir's status needs scholarly review. Flag them in a scholar review request.
It depends on whether it's paid to the estate or under a binding nomination. Enter it under the estate only if it forms part of what is distributed — and confirm with a scholar for your jurisdiction.