Mother
الأم
The deceased's mother. She always inherits a fixed share, which children and siblings of the deceased can reduce.
Their share
Each row is a family run through the engine in all four schools; the share is the group share of the mother.
| Family | Ḥanafī | Mālikī | Shāfiʿī | Ḥanbalī |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alone | 1 with return (radd) | |||
| With Wife | 3/4 with return (radd) | |||
| With Son | 1/6 fixed share (farḍ) | |||
| With Daughter | 1/4 with return (radd) | |||
| With Daughter × 2 | 1/5 with return (radd) | |||
| With Father | 1/3 fixed share (farḍ) | |||
| With Husband, Father's father, and Full sister | 1/3 fixed share (farḍ) | 2/9 fixed share (farḍ) | 2/9 fixed share (farḍ) | 2/9 fixed share (farḍ) |
| With Husband and Father | 1/6 ʿUmariyyatān | |||
Who excludes them
No heir excludes the mother entirely; other heirs can only reduce the share.
Whom they exclude
A single mother excludes, in all four schools:
Where the schools differ
In these families the four schools give the mother different shares:
- With Husband, Father's father, and Full sister: Ḥanafī 1/3 · Mālikī 2/9 · Shāfiʿī 2/9 · Ḥanbalī 2/9 Read more
The verse
The share of the mother rests on Sūrat an-Nisāʾ, verse 11.
Read 4:11 in the Quran readerWorked examples
| Heir | Ḥanafī | Mālikī | Shāfiʿī | Ḥanbalī |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Husband | 1/2 | 1/3 | 1/3 | 1/3 |
| Mother | 1/3 | 2/9 | 2/9 | 2/9 |
| Father's father | 1/6 | 8/27 | 8/27 | 8/27 |
| Full sister | excluded | 4/27 | 4/27 | 4/27 |
Questions
- How much does the mother inherit?
- It depends on who else inherits. Computed in all four schools: with son: 1/6; with father: 1/3; with husband, father's father, and full sister: differs by school; with husband and father: 1/6; alone: 1.
- Can another heir exclude the mother entirely?
- No. The mother always inherits something; other heirs can only reduce the share.
- Whom does the mother exclude?
- In all four schools a single mother excludes: father's mother, mother's mother, daughter's son, daughter's daughter, sister's son, sister's daughter, maternal grandfather, maternal uncle, maternal aunt, and paternal aunt.
- Do the four schools agree on the share of the mother?
- Not always. They differ in 1 of the situations computed here — for example, with husband, father's father, and full sister: Ḥanafī 1/3, Mālikī 2/9, Shāfiʿī 2/9, Ḥanbalī 2/9.