Paternal aunt
العمّة
The sister of the deceased's father (ʿamma). Unlike her brother the uncle she is not a residuary; she is among the distant kin (dhawū al-arḥām).
Their share
Each row is a family run through the engine in all four schools; the share is the group share of the paternal aunt.
| Family | Ḥanafī | Mālikī | Shāfiʿī | Ḥanbalī |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alone | 1 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | |||
| With Wife | 3/4 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | needs a scholar's review | 3/4 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | 3/4 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) |
| With Son | excluded | |||
| With Sister's son | excluded | needs a scholar's review | 1 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | 1 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) |
| With Maternal uncle and Maternal aunt | 2/3 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | needs a scholar's review | 2/3 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) | 2/3 kin share (dhawū al-arḥām) |
- With Wife — Mālikī: needs a scholar's review
- With Sister's son — Mālikī: needs a scholar's review
- With Maternal uncle and Maternal aunt — Mālikī: needs a scholar's review
Who excludes them
Present even once, each of these excludes the paternal aunt in all four schools:
Whom they exclude
On their own, the paternal aunt excludes no other heir.
Where the schools differ
In these families the four schools give the paternal aunt different shares:
- With Sister's son: Ḥanafī excluded · Shāfiʿī 1 · Ḥanbalī 1 (Mālikī: needs a scholar's review) Read more
The verse
No inheritance verse of Sūrat an-Nisāʾ (4:11, 4:12, 4:176) names a share for the paternal aunt; their place follows the rules the scholars derived from the Sunnah and those verses.
Worked examples
| Heir | Ḥanafī | Mālikī | Shāfiʿī | Ḥanbalī |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sister's son | 1 | needs a scholar's review | excluded | excluded |
| Paternal aunt | excluded | 1 | 1 |
| Heir | Ḥanafī |
|---|---|
| Maternal uncle | 2/9 |
| Maternal aunt | 1/9 |
| Paternal aunt | 2/3 |
Questions
- How much does the paternal aunt inherit?
- It depends on who else inherits. Computed in all four schools: alone: 1; with wife: 3/4 (Mālikī: needs a scholar's review); with son: excluded; with sister's son: differs by school (Mālikī: needs a scholar's review); with maternal uncle and maternal aunt: 2/3 (Mālikī: needs a scholar's review).
- Does the paternal aunt inherit when there is a son?
- No. In all four schools a son excludes the paternal aunt entirely (ḥajb).
- Whom does the paternal aunt exclude?
- No one: on their own, the paternal aunt excludes no other heir.
- Do the four schools agree on the share of the paternal aunt?
- Not always. They differ in 1 of the situations computed here — for example, with sister's son: Ḥanafī excluded, Shāfiʿī 1, Ḥanbalī 1.