Hajb is the last filter before the numbers get distributed: a closer heir blocks or reduces one who is further away. Getting this chapter wrong means everything computed afterward is wrong, because the cast of people is already wrong.
Two kinds of hajb
- Hajb nuqshan (reduction) — the share drops, but is not lost entirely: husband 1/2→1/4 due to descendants; wife 1/4→1/8; mother 1/3→1/6 due to descendants or 2+ siblings; son’s daughter 1/2→1/6 due to a daughter; paternal half-sister 1/2→1/6 due to a full sister.
- Hajb hirman (total blocking) — the share is lost entirely because a closer heir exists. This is the focus of this chapter.
The six who are never blocked
Father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife — they are connected to the deceased without any intermediary, so nobody can block them entirely (at most they suffer hajb nuqshan). Every heir other than these six can be blocked entirely.
Map of hajb hirman
flowchart TB
classDef aman fill:#134e4a,stroke:#14b8a6,color:#ccfbf1
classDef gugur fill:#7f1d1d,stroke:#ef4444,color:#fee2e2
classDef orang fill:#1e3a8a,stroke:#3b82f6,color:#dbeafe
subgraph AMAN["Never blocked"]
A1["Father · Mother · Son · Daughter · Husband · Wife"]:::aman
end
subgraph BISA["Can be blocked (main examples)"]
K["Grandfather"]:::orang
N["Grandmother"]:::orang
CU["Grandchild (son's son/daughter)"]:::orang
SK["Full brother/sister"]:::orang
SA["Paternal half-brother/sister"]:::orang
SI["Maternal half-brother/sister"]:::orang
AS["Brother's children"]:::orang
PM["Paternal uncle → uncle's son"]:::orang
end
AY["Father"]:::aman -->|blocks| K
IB["Mother"]:::aman -->|blocks| N
AN["Son"]:::aman -->|blocks| CU
AY -->|blocks| SK
AN -->|blocks| SK
SK -->|blocks| SA
KET["Descendants (male/female) &<br/>male ushul (father/grandfather)"]:::aman -->|blocks| SI
SA -->|blocks| AS
AS -->|blocks| PM
Rules that summarize the map
- Everyone is blocked by their own intermediary to the deceased — a grandchild is blocked by the son (their intermediary), a maternal grandmother is blocked by the mother, a grandfather is blocked by the father. Exception: maternal half-siblings are not blocked by the mother (they inherit through sharing the same mother, not through her as an intermediary).
- Maternal half-siblings are the most fragile: blocked by any inheriting descendant (child/grandchild, male or female) and by male ushul (father, grandfather). They inherit only in a pure kalalah case.
- Full siblings are blocked by three: a son, a son’s son, the father — and per Ibn Uthaymin’s preferred ruling, also by the grandfather (chapter 08; per the official Hanbali madhhab, the grandfather shares with the siblings instead).
- Paternal half-siblings are blocked by everything that blocks full siblings, plus a full brother, plus a full sister who becomes ‘ashabah ma’al-ghair, plus 2 full sisters if the paternal half-sister has no brother to support her.
- A son’s daughter is blocked by a son or by 2 daughters — unless there is a son’s son who “supports her” into becoming ‘ashabah bil-ghair (chapter 04).
- ‘Ashabah block each other through the order jihah → degree → strength (chapter 04): a paternal uncle gets nothing while any brother remains, and so on.
Important rule: mahjub still counts, mamnu’ does not
From chapter 02: a person who is mahjub (blocked by another heir) is still counted as present for the purpose of affecting others, while someone who is mamnu’ (a killer, of a different religion, a slave) is treated as not existing at all.
The classic example that distinguishes the two — the deceased leaves a mother + a father + 2 full siblings:
- The two siblings are blocked entirely by the father (hajb hirman)…
- …but their presence still reduces the mother from 1/3 to 1/6 (hajb nuqshan).
- Result: mother 1/6, father the remaining 5/6, siblings nothing.
If those two “siblings” turn out to be of a different religion (mamnu’), the mother reverts to 1/3 because they are treated as not existing.
Quick check before calculating
Every time you work a problem, run three questions in order against each name: (1) is there a mani’ against them? (2) is there someone who blocks them entirely? (3) is there someone who reduces their share? Whatever remains on the list is what feeds into the calculation engine in chapter 06.
Sources: Tashil al-Faraidh, bab al-hajb (Shamela 11095); ash-Sharh al-Mumti’, bab Faraidh; grandfather ruling: IslamQA 240582. Full list in 15-references.