This chapter gives a complete overview of the science of Islamic inheritance (faraidh) on a single screen: what it is, its textual basis, who Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin was and his books, and the overall flow from the estate left behind to the completed distribution. Each stage’s detail is covered in the following chapters.
What faraidh is
Faraidh (plural of faridhah, “an appointed share”) is the science of who is entitled to inherit, who is not, and how much each heir’s share is. Unlike most areas of fiqh where the shares are left to independent reasoning (ijtihad), inheritance shares are fixed directly by Allah in the Qur’an with explicit fractions: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, and 1/6.
Three verses form the backbone of this entire science:
- An-Nisa 11 — the shares of children and parents.
- An-Nisa 12 — the shares of spouses and maternal half-siblings.
- An-Nisa 176 — the shares of full/paternal half-siblings (kalalah, an heir who leaves no children and no father).
Plus a key hadith that serves as the working principle for every calculation:
“Give the shares of inheritance to those entitled to them; and what remains goes to the nearest male (relative of the deceased).” (Bukhari no. 6732, Muslim no. 1615)
This hadith commands the two steps you will carry out in every problem: pay the fixed shares (furudh) first, then give the remainder to the ‘ashabah (the nearest male relatives).
Who Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin is, and why learn faraidh through him
Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (1347–1421 H / 1929–2001 CE) was a major scholar of Saudi Arabia from Unaizah, the principal student of Shaykh Abdurrahman as-Sa’di, and a teacher for decades at the Grand Mosque of Unaizah and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University. For faraidh, two of his works serve as the references for this bundle:
| Book | Form | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Tashil al-Faraidh (تسهيل الفرائض) | A concise primary text with worked examples and practice tables | The main framework of this bundle: definitions, the order of rights, furudh, ‘ashabah, hajb, ‘awl, radd, tashih, through to special cases (khuntsa, mafqud, victims of mass disasters) |
| Ash-Sharh al-Mumti’ ‘ala Zad al-Mustaqni’ (Faraidh chapter) | A fiqh commentary in the Hanbali school | Where he explains the evidence, compares opinions, and states his tarjih (the opinion he considers strongest), including where it differs from the school’s standard position |
The distinctive feature of his approach: simplifying without cutting corners — rules are condensed into short lists that can be memorized, every rule is immediately followed by a numerical example, and on disputed matters he states the school opinions and then weighs them against the evidence. His two most influential tarjih positions for calculation (covered in full in chapter 08): the grandfather stands in the position of the father (blocking the siblings), and radd goes to all fixed-share heirs other than the spouses.
The big picture: from death to the estate being distributed
Every inheritance calculation, however simple or complex, runs through the same pipeline:
flowchart TB
classDef harta fill:#1e3a8a,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#dbeafe
classDef proses fill:#713f12,stroke:#ca8a04,color:#fef9c3
classDef furud fill:#134e4a,stroke:#14b8a6,color:#ccfbf1
classDef bahaya fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fee2e2
classDef hasil fill:#3b0764,stroke:#a855f7,color:#f3e8ff
T["Tirkah<br/>(the entire estate left behind)"]:::harta --> H1["1. Rights attached to the property itself<br/>(e.g. a pledge/lien)"]:::proses
H1 --> H2["2. Funeral and burial costs"]:::proses
H2 --> H3["3. Settlement of debts"]:::proses
H3 --> H4["4. Bequest (max 1/3,<br/>not to an heir)"]:::proses
H4 --> W["5. INHERITANCE — the object of faraidh"]:::furud
W --> A["Determine the heirs<br/>(cause + condition + no impediment)"]:::furud
A --> B["Apply hajb<br/>(who is blocked by whom)"]:::bahaya
B --> C["Distribute the furudh<br/>(1/2 · 1/4 · 1/8 · 2/3 · 1/3 · 1/6)"]:::furud
C --> D["Remainder to the 'ashabah"]:::furud
D --> E["Adjustments: 'awl / radd / tashih"]:::proses
E --> F["Each heir's final share"]:::hasil
Notice: inheritance is the fifth right, not the first. The most common mistake in practice is a family dividing the estate directly while the deceased’s debts are still unpaid — even though this order is stated explicitly at the very start of Tashil al-Faraidh.
Map of the components of this science
Six blocks you will master, in order:
- Foundations — pillars, conditions, causes, impediments (chapter 02).
- Fixed-share heirs (ashabul furudh) — the 6 fixed shares and each holder’s conditions (chapter 03).
- ‘Ashabah — the recipients of the remainder and their order (chapter 04).
- Hajb — the rules of blocking one heir with another (chapter 05).
- The calculation engine — base number, ‘awl, radd, tashih (chapters 06–07).
- Advanced cases — grandfather together with siblings, named problems, dhawil arham, khuntsa, mafqud, an unborn child (chapters 08–09).
After that, six case studies are worked through in full with rupiah figures in chapters 10–12.
The ruling on studying it
Studying and teaching faraidh is fardhu kifayah (a communal obligation) — if no one in a community masters it, the whole community is sinful; the estate will be divided unjustly with no one able to correct it. Ibn Uthaymin places it among the noble sciences because its subject matter is fixed directly by revealed text and concerns human property rights that are among the most prone to dispute.
Sources: Tashil al-Faraidh, Ibn Uthaymin (Muassasah Ibn Uthaymin al-Khairiyyah; text at Shamela no. 11095); Ash-Sharh al-Mumti’, Faraidh chapter; QS. An-Nisa 11, 12, 176; Bukhari 6732 & Muslim 1615. Full list in 15-references.