Fiqh al-Fara'id — Islamic Inheritance Law: The Quranic Shares (al-Fard al-Muqaddar — the Fixed Portions Specified in 4:11-12 and 4:176 for Daughters, Wives, Mothers, Husbands, Sisters), the Residual Heirs ('Asabat), the Doctrines of 'Awl (Proportional Reduction When Shares Exceed the Estate) and Radd (Returning Surplus to Sharers When No Residual Heir Exists), and the Differences Between the Four Schools

Fiqh al-Fara'id (فِقهُ الفَرَائِض — Jurisprudence of Inheritance Shares; *fara'id*: plural of *farida* — a fixed obligation; al-fara'id = the fixed Quranic inheritance shares; also called 'ilm al-mawarith [knowledge of inheritances]; significance: the Prophet is reported to have called 'ilm al-fara'id 'half of all knowledge' [since it touches every family at death]; the Quranic shares: 4:11-12 and 4:176 specify shares for: [1] daughters: if alone, 1/2; if 2+ daughters, 2/3 [shares the estate]; [2] son's daughters [and granddaughters in absence of daughter]: same rules; [3] mother: 1/3 if no children; 1/6 if children exist; [4] father: 1/6 if children exist [plus residual if no male heir]; [5] husband: 1/2 if no children; 1/4 if children; [6] wife [or wives collectively]: 1/4 if no children; 1/8 if children; [7] full sisters [if no parent or male heir]: 1/2 if alone; 2/3 if 2+; [8] maternal half-siblings: 1/6 each [up to 3 total, capped at 1/3]; the residual heirs ['asabat]: heirs who take whatever remains after the Quranic shares are distributed; include: males in the agnatic line — sons first, then son's sons, then fathers, then grandfather, then brothers, then son of brothers, then uncles, etc.; sons always take what remains after their mother/wives/daughters receive their shares; the doctrine of 'awl [proportional reduction]: when the Quranic shares add up to more than the estate [e.g. 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 = 1, but if there are also children, the shares sum to more than 1], the solution is 'awl: all shares are reduced proportionally; example: if shares total 10/6, each heir receives their fractional share of 10 instead of 6 [so the 1/2 becomes 3/10 effectively]; historical note: 'Umar ibn al-Khattab introduced 'awl; 'Ali ibn Abi Talib opposed it; the doctrine of radd [return/surplus]: when the Quranic shares sum to less than the estate and no residual heir exists, the surplus returns to the Quranic-share heirs in proportion to their shares; this is called radd; the four schools: [1] Hanafi: husband and wife do NOT benefit from radd [surplus goes to the treasury if only they remain]; [2] Maliki: same position [husband and wife excluded from radd]; [3] Shafi'i: husband and wife excluded from radd; some scholars within the school allowed radd; [4] Hanbali: allows radd to all sharers including spouse; contemporary family legal systems: most Muslim-majority countries have codified Islamic inheritance law; many have departed from classical fara'id rules in various ways [Tunisia abolished gender differentiation in inheritance; most countries retain the classical 2:1 male:female ratio]; the gender ratio controversy: the Quranic specification that male heirs receive twice the share of female heirs [4:11 'for the male, the equivalent of the share of two females'] is frequently debated in contemporary Islamic scholarship; traditionalist position: this is a divine command that cannot be altered; modernist position: this was contextually just [women had no financial obligations in the classical system; men were required to provide nafaqa]; some scholars argue gender-equal inheritance is permissible under ijtihad given changed contexts; the 'awl and 'asaba calculations: the actual computation of a fara'id case requires knowing the exact relationships of all heirs, computing the Quranic shares, checking for 'awl, distributing the residual, and applying school-specific rules for radd and spousal inheritance) is Islam's most precisely specified area of family law.