ʿAwl (proportional reduction): when the shares exceed the estate

In most families the fixed shares fit the estate perfectly — they add up to exactly one. But not always. Sometimes the named fractions demand more than the whole estate, and sometimes they leave a surplus with no one obvious to take it. Two mechanisms resolve these, and both preserve fairness rather than breaking it.

ʿAwl — when the shares overshoot

Consider a woman survived by her husband and two full sisters. The husband's fixed share is one half; two full sisters together take two thirds. A half plus two thirds is more than a whole — the estate is over-subscribed.

The solution, agreed by all four Sunni schools, is ʿawl: the base of the problem is raised so the shares fit, and everyone is reduced in the same proportion. Here the base rises from six to seven, and the husband receives three sevenths while the sisters receive four sevenths. No one is dropped; each simply gives up a little.

Where ʿawl comes from

The first case of ʿawl is reported from the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb. Faced with a husband and two sisters, he consulted the Companions, and the advice he accepted was to treat the heirs like creditors of an estate too small for its debts: each bears a loss in proportion to their claim. The four Sunni schools follow this. Ibn ʿAbbās disagreed and would have made certain heirs carry the whole shortfall, but his view was not adopted.

Only three bases can be raised. A base of six can rise to seven, eight, nine or ten; twelve to thirteen, fifteen or seventeen; and twenty-four only to twenty-seven. Cases on the other bases never over-subscribe.

In the calculator

When the fixed shares add up to more than the whole, the calculator raises the base, marks the result with an ʿawl badge and shows the base before and after in the working. A residuary heir who is present stays in the table at zero, since nothing is left for them.

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.