Ḥajb (blocking): how one heir excludes or reduces another

Exclusion and reduction

Ḥajb ḥirmān (exclusion) removes an heir altogether: a son excludes his own son, and a father excludes the deceased's brothers and sisters. Ḥajb nuqṣān (reduction) leaves the heir in place but moves them to a smaller share: a child of the deceased reduces a husband from a half to a quarter, and a mother from a third to a sixth.

Two principles drive exclusion. A nearer relative excludes a more distant one of the same line, and anyone who is related through another person is excluded by that person. The one exception is the mother: the uterine brothers and sisters are related through her, yet she does not exclude them.

Who can never be excluded

Six heirs can be reduced but never shut out: the son, the daughter, the father, the mother, the husband and the wife. If one of them survives, they inherit something.

As a rule an excluded heir counts for nothing and blocks no one. The best-known exception is the siblings beside a father: two or more brothers or sisters still reduce the mother to a sixth, even though the father excludes them from inheriting.

In the calculator

An excluded heir stays in the results with a share of zero and a note naming the rule, so you can see who was present and why they received nothing. Open an example and remove the heir who blocks: the excluded relative comes straight back in.

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.