A statute, not a school rule
The obligatory bequest is a rule of modern statutes, not of the four classical schools, which do not impose it; the statutes rest on the ijtihād of some later scholars. Where it applies, it usually gives the children of a son or daughter who died before the grandparent, or with them, the share their parent would have had, up to a third of the estate.
Under the four schools' fiqh, a grandchild whose parent died first often inherits nothing, because a living son excludes his brother's children. The example below shows that case.
How the amount is worked out
In the texts of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, the grandchildren take the share their parent would have received had the parent died just after the grandparent, at most a third. Nothing is due if they already inherit, or if the grandparent left them that much by will or by a gift for nothing in return; if he left them less, the difference is made up. The obligatory bequest is paid before other bequests (Egypt arts. 76–78, as quoted in a secondary source; Syria art. 257; Jordan art. 279).
The texts differ on who qualifies, as the table shows. Jordan's text as published by its Dar al-Iftāʾ also covers grandchildren who are heirs but receive nothing because the fixed shares take the whole estate; other published versions leave this out. Syria's 2019 amendment added a daughter's children. In Malaysia each state has its own enactment; the table shows Selangor.
Pakistan: representation, not a bequest
Section 4 of Pakistan's Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 does not create a bequest. It is representation by law: when a son or daughter dies before the person whose estate is divided, that child's children take, per stirpes, the share their parent would have received if alive. There is no will, no one-third limit and no choice by the deceased.
Its standing is disputed: the Federal Shariat Court struck it down in Allah Rakha (PLD 2000 FSC 1), and later judgments disagree on its current status. A lawyer in Pakistan can say how courts apply it today.
Kuwait and Indonesia
Kuwait: we found no article of Law 51 of 1984 that gives grandchildren an obligatory bequest. Who benefits and how much: the sources we checked don't settle this.
Indonesia: the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), art. 209, gives an obligatory bequest of up to a third to an adopted child and to adoptive parents, not to grandchildren.
The calculator and the law
The calculator divides the estate by the fiqh of the school you choose and does not apply any country's obligatory bequest. The statute texts in the table come from unofficial copies; check the official gazette.
This page explains the fiqh. Whether a will, a consent or a share is legally valid in your country is for its courts, notaries or registries to decide.
Country by country
| Country | Law | Who benefits | Limit | Source used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Law 71 of 1946, arts. 76–79 | A son's children at any depth, and a daughter's children in the first generation, whose parent died before or with the grandparent | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Syria | Law 59 of 1953 as amended in 2019, art. 257 | The first generation of a son's or a daughter's children | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Jordan | Law 15 of 2019, art. 279 | A son's children, and a son's son's children however far down; not a daughter's children | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Kuwait | Law 51 of 1984 | The sources we checked don't settle this. | The sources we checked don't settle this. | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Morocco | Family Code (Mudawwana), arts. 369–372 | Grandchildren through a son or a daughter | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Malaysia | Selangor Islamic Wills Enactment 1999, s. 27 and s. 27A (2016) | Grandchildren through a son, and since 2016 through a daughter too | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Indonesia | Compilation of Islamic Law (Inpres 1/1991), art. 209 | Adopted children and adoptive parents, not grandchildren | A third | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
| Pakistan | Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, s. 4 | Children of a son or daughter who died first, by representation, not a bequest | None: the parent's whole share | Unofficial text; check the official gazette |
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 | Ḥanafī |
|---|---|
| Son | 1 |
| Son's son | excluded |
Sources
Volume and page numbers are those of the printed editions. Works marked secondary report the schools' views from outside them.
- Egypt, Law 71 of 1946, arts. 76–79 (quoted in hrmars, 2023)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Egypt, Law 71 of 1946 (Manshurat)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Syria, Personal Status Law 59 of 1953, as amended to 2020, art. 257Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Chatham House Kalam, on Syria's 2019 amendments (secondary)
- Jordan, Law 15 of 2019, art. 279 (Dar al-Iftāʾ)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Kuwait, Law 51 of 1984 (mohamah.net)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Morocco, Family Code, English translation (Books Five and Six not translated)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Malaysia, Selangor enactment ss. 27, 27A (quoted in hrmars, 2023)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- IIUM study on s. 27 (secondary)
- Indonesia, KHI art. 209 (quoted in AS-SYAMS)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- Pakistan, Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, s. 4 (Pakistan Code)Unofficial text; check the official gazette
- al-Zuḥaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa-Adillatuh (secondary)