Islamic Inheritance Calculator: Tips and Common Mistakes
Reviewed by the OnlineFree.app team · Updated
Key points
- The Islamic Inheritance Calculator divides the estate only after debts, funeral costs and a bequest of up to one third.
- Fixed Quranic shares go to the spouse, parents and daughters; sons and daughters share the residue at 2:1.
- A wife's 1/8 with children is shared between up to four wives, not paid to each of them.
- Awl raises the base denominator when shares exceed the whole; radd returns surplus to non-spouse heirs.
- Unsupported heir combinations return a 'requires a scholar' card instead of a plausible wrong number.
How does the Islamic Inheritance Calculator split an estate?
The Islamic Inheritance Calculator applies standard Sunni faraid rules: it subtracts debts, funeral costs and a bequest from the estate value, assigns the fixed Quranic shares to the surviving spouse, parents and daughters, then gives the residue to the sons and daughters at a 2:1 male-to-female ratio. Each heir receives a fraction, a percentage and a cash amount in the currency you pick.
We built it for the phone-in-hand moment, when someone needs a defensible breakdown before the family meeting. There is no signup, the interface is Arabic and right-to-left, and the inputs are only the estate value (SAR, EGP, AED, KWD or USD), a husband or up to four wives, whether the father and mother are alive, and how many sons and daughters survive.
The share table is only half of the output. A collapsible reasoning panel shows the asl al-mas'ala (base denominator), whether 'awl or radd was applied, and a step-by-step Arabic explanation of why each heir got what they got, which is exactly what you need when a cousin asks why the widow's share is fixed at 1/8.
Deduct debts and funeral costs first
The most common error we see is typing the gross estate into the first field. Under faraid the estate is distributed only after funeral expenses, outstanding debts and a valid bequest of up to one third are settled; the shares in Quran 4:11–12 apply to what remains, not to the whole estate.
If the deceased left 500,000 SAR, owed 50,000 and had made a 100,000 bequest, the distributable base is 350,000, not 500,000. The calculator's deductions field accepts any amount up to the estate value and warns you when a bequest crosses one third of the estate (166,666.67 in this example), because anything above that needs the consent of the heirs.
Unpaid mahr counts as a debt, a bequest to an existing heir is normally invalid without the other heirs' agreement, and jointly owned property may not belong in the estate at all. The tool will divide a wrong number perfectly accurately, so decide what the estate actually contains before you open the Islamic Inheritance Calculator.
Common mistakes when dividing an estate
A wife's 1/8 when there are children is shared among up to four wives, not paid to each of them. On 100,000 SAR with children, four widows receive 3,125 each, not 12,500 each. The calculator only asks for a wives count, which is one mistake it prevents by design.
Daughters are not excluded by the presence of a son; they take half his share. With a wife, both parents, one son and one daughter on 100,000 SAR, the wife takes 12,500, each parent 16,666.67, and the remaining 54,166.67 splits into 36,111.11 for the son and 18,055.56 for the daughter.
The father is the heir people mis-set most often. He takes a fixed 1/6 as soon as there is a child, and only takes the residue when there are no descendants at all, but with daughters and no sons he takes 1/6 plus the residue: wife, mother, father and one daughter on 100,000 SAR gives 12,500, 16,666.67, 50,000 and 20,833.33.
Grandchildren through a predeceased son are blocked by any living son, so do not add them to fix a perceived unfairness. The optional chips for grandsons, full siblings, paternal siblings and the grandmother exist for cases where those are the closest surviving relatives, and combinations outside that matrix return a 'requires a scholar' card instead of a plausible-looking wrong number.
What do awl and radd mean in the results?
'Awl happens when the fixed shares add up to more than the whole: the base denominator is raised and every share shrinks proportionally. Wife, both parents and two daughters on 100,000 SAR totals 27/24, so the case is raised to 27 and pays 11,111.11 to the wife, 14,814.81 to the mother, 14,814.81 to the father and 59,259.26 to the two daughters.
Radd is the opposite. When the fixed shares add up to less than the whole and no residuary takes the surplus, the remainder is returned proportionally to the non-spouse heirs. A mother and one daughter on 100,000 SAR would otherwise leave a third unassigned; with radd the daughter receives 75,000 and the mother 25,000. Spouses do not participate in radd, a detail worth checking on the reasoning panel.
Schools differ on whether surplus is returned to the heirs or passed to the public treasury, and on a handful of companion cases, as the overview of Islamic inheritance jurisprudence sets out. The calculator follows the majority (jumhur) position and surfaces the Hanafi and Shafi'i difference as a visible note rather than hiding it.
When should you consult a scholar instead?
The tool covers the ordinary cases that make up most estates, and it deliberately refuses the hard ones. A grandfather together with brothers, the 'Umariyyatan cases where the mother takes one third of the remainder rather than of the estate, unknown or missing heirs, disputed wills and anything involving a pregnancy belong with a qualified scholar or an inheritance court.
Treat the output as a check, not a certificate. Banks, land registries and employers normally ask for an inheritance certificate issued by the competent authority in your country, and that document, not a screenshot, is what transfers title. The value here is speed and transparency: you can see the arithmetic before you sit down with anyone.
Amounts are rounded to two decimals, so the rows can add up to a cent less or more than the distributable base; adjust the final transfer accordingly. If you need a variant rule set or a different supported-heir matrix, our Custom PRD build page explains how we scope tools, and OnlineFree.app lists the rest of the free calculators.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Islamic Inheritance Calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it is free and needs no signup, email or account. You enter the estate value, choose a currency and toggle the surviving heirs; the share table appears immediately. You never type the deceased's name or ID, so the page asks only for the numbers the arithmetic requires, which keeps the task quick on a phone.
Which heirs can the Islamic Inheritance Calculator handle?
It handles a husband or up to four wives, a living father and mother, and 0 to 20 sons and daughters, plus optional chips for grandsons through a predeceased son, full brothers and sisters, paternal siblings and the grandmother. Combinations outside that matrix, such as a grandfather with brothers, return a 'requires a scholar' message instead of a number.
Which school of law does the calculator follow?
It follows the majority (jumhur) Sunni position used in most faraid textbooks, including the standard 1/8, 1/6 and 2/3 fixed shares and a 2:1 male-to-female residue. Where Hanafi and Shafi'i practice diverge, chiefly over radd, it shows a visible note rather than silently choosing a side. For a binding ruling, ask a scholar of your own school.
How accurate are the amounts it shows?
Shares are computed as exact fractions and converted to currency at the end, then rounded to two decimals, so a row may be a cent off from a careful hand calculation. Recheck the estate value, deductions and heir list, and confirm the final split with a scholar or an inheritance certificate before transferring money.
Can I use the result as an official inheritance document?
No. The output is a transparent calculation, not a legal certificate. Banks, land registries and courts generally require an inheritance certificate issued by the competent authority in your country. Use the calculator to understand the split quickly, then take the same inputs to the body that issues the document.