ʿAṣaba: the residuary heirs

Taking what remains

The ʿaṣaba are heirs with no fixed fraction of their own in the case at hand. They take whatever the fixed-share heirs leave: everything, if there are no fixed-share heirs, and nothing, if the fixed shares use up the estate.

The basis is the Prophet's ﷺ instruction, reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, to give the fixed shares to those entitled to them and what remains to the nearest male relative.

Three kinds of residuary

ʿAṣaba bi-nafsihi (in their own right) are male relatives linked to the deceased with no woman in between: sons and their sons, the father and grandfather, full and paternal brothers and their sons, and paternal uncles and their sons. They take in that order of direction, then by nearness of degree, then by strength of tie, so a full brother comes before a paternal half-brother.

ʿAṣaba bi-l-ghayr (through another) are daughters, son's daughters and full or paternal sisters who have a brother of the same rank: they join him as residuaries, a male taking twice a female's portion. ʿAṣaba maʿa al-ghayr (alongside another) are full or paternal sisters when the deceased leaves a daughter or son's daughter but no son: the sisters take what the daughters leave.

In the calculator

The calculator follows the residuary chain down to the paternal uncle's son. A residuary who is present but finds nothing left, as happens under ʿawl, stays in the table at zero rather than vanishing.

Worked examples

Every share below is computed by the calculator's engine when this page loads. Open any example to change the family and see what moves.