What counts as a debt to God
A debt to God is an obligation the deceased left unmet that no person can claim: zakat not paid, an expiation (kaffārah), a vow, or the obligatory ḥajj. A debt to a person, such as a loan or a wife's unpaid mahr, is paid from the estate in every school. For debts to God the schools differ on two questions: is the debt paid if the will does not mention it, and which comes first when the estate cannot pay everything.
Each school's rule
Ḥanafī: a debt to God is paid only if the deceased asked for it in the will, and then from a third of what remains after the funeral costs and the debts to people. If the will does not mention it, it is not taken from the estate (al-Ḥaṣkafī, al-Durr al-Mukhtār, p. 761).
Mālikī: zakat on money left unpaid from past years is paid only if the deceased willed it, and then from the third, ahead of the ordinary bequests; if he did not will it, it is not taken at all, and the heirs are urged, not compelled, to pay it. If he admitted it was still owed and willed it, or had it witnessed while healthy, it comes from the whole estate (al-Nafrāwī, al-Fawākih al-Dawānī 2/134). Zakat on crops and livestock already due comes from the estate whether willed or not (al-Ḥaṭṭāb, Mawāhib al-Jalīl 6/407; al-Dardīr, al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr 4/458).
Shāfiʿī: zakat, kaffārah and ḥajj are paid from the whole estate whether or not the will mentions them (al-Sharbīnī, Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 4/7).
Ḥanbalī: the obligations on the deceased, such as debts, ḥajj, zakat, vows and kaffārah, are paid from the whole estate whether or not he willed them (al-Buhūtī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 10/232–233).
When the estate cannot pay everything
Ḥanafī: the question arises only for a debt to God that was willed, and that is paid within the third. Mālikī: the debt to a person comes first (al-Mawsūʿa al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya, a secondary source). Shāfiʿī: in the view the school holds stronger (al-aṣaḥḥ), the debt to God comes first (Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 4/7). Ḥanbalī: all the debts share what there is in proportion, whether owed to people or to God (Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 10/232).
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.
| Heir | Ḥanbalī |
|---|---|
| Wife | 1/8 |
| Son | 7/12 |
| Daughter | 7/24 |
| Heir | Ḥanafī |
|---|---|
| Wife | 1/8 |
| Son | 7/12 |
| Daughter | 7/24 |
Sources
Volume and page numbers are those of the printed editions. Works marked secondary report the schools' views from outside them.
- al-Ḥaṣkafī, al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, p. 761
- al-Ḥaṭṭāb, Mawāhib al-Jalīl 6/406–407
- Ḥāshiyat al-Ṣāwī 4/616–618
- al-Sharbīnī, Mughnī al-Muḥtāj 4/7
- al-Buhūtī, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ 10/232–233
- al-Mawsūʿa al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya (secondary)