Why a share is held
A child conceived before the death inherits if born alive. Before the birth no one knows whether there is a child, how many, or of which sex, so the schools either hold back the largest share the child could take or wait for the birth.
Calculate a family
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School of law
Who passed away?
Who survives them?
The unborn child is the deceased’s own child. Do not count it among the heirs.
Wife up to four الزَّوجة
Son الابن
Daughter البنت
Son's son grandson ابن الابن
Son's daughter granddaughter بنت الابن
Father الأب
Mother الأم
Each possibility, solved in full
The estate is divided once for each possibility. Every share is of the whole estate.
| Heir | Sons: 2, daughters: 0 Base 24 | Sons: 0, daughters: 2 Base 27 · ʿawl | Sons: 1, daughters: 1 Base 72 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wife | 1/8 | 1/9 | 1/8 |
| Mother | 1/6 | 4/27 | 1/6 |
| Father | 1/6 | 4/27 | 1/6 |
| The unborn child | 13/24 | 16/27 | 13/24 |
Paid now
Each heir is paid the smallest share they receive in any possibility. An heir excluded in any possibility is paid nothing yet.
| Heir | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wife | 1/9 | $26,666 |
| Mother | 4/27 | $35,555 |
| Father | 4/27 | $35,555 |
| The unborn child | 0 | $0 |
| Held back | 16/27 | $142,222 |
At the birth
What the held part pays each heir if that possibility turns out to be the real one. A minus sign means the heir returns that amount.
| Heir | Sons: 2, daughters: 0 | Sons: 0, daughters: 2 | Sons: 1, daughters: 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wife | +$3,333 | 0 | +$3,333 |
| Mother | +$4,444 | 0 | +$4,444 |
| Father | +$4,444 | 0 | +$4,444 |
| The unborn child | +$130,000 | +$142,222 | +$130,000 |
Waiting period and what comes next
Ḥanbalī: up to four years in the sounder narration, two in the other. The well-known view requires a cry. After the birth the division is redone with the real child.
Source: al-Mughnī 6/382-386; Zād al-Mustaqniʿ p. 155
A religious calculation, not legal advice. A court or registry in your country decides legal validity.
How the held share is worked out
The estate is solved once for each case the school assumes. An heir the child does not affect is paid in full, an heir the child reduces is paid the least he gets in any case, and an heir the child would exclude in any case is paid nothing; if the child would exclude everyone, the whole estate is held (al-Ikhtiyār 5/113-114; al-Mughnī 6/382-386). After the birth the estate is solved again with the real child, and the held part settles the difference.
The four schools
| School | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ḥanafī | Hold one son’s share (Abu Yusuf, the fatwa). Also reported: two sons (Muhammad), or four sons or daughters (Abu Hanifa). | al-Ikhtiyār 5/113-114; al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq 5/179; Lisān al-Ḥukkām 434 |
| Mālikī | The whole division waits for the birth; no heir is paid early. | al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (al-Dardīr) with al-Dasūqī 4/487 |
| Shāfiʿī | Assume four children (al-Wajīz). The other view sets no limit, so a child co-heir is paid nothing yet. | al-ʿAzīz Sharḥ al-Wajīz (al-Rāfiʿī) 6/528 |
| Ḥanbalī | Hold the greater of two sons’ or two daughters’ share, since twins are common and more is rare. | al-Mughnī 6/382-386; Zād al-Mustaqniʿ p. 155 |
Statutes
Kuwait: hold the more favourable of a male or a female; limits of 365 days from the death, or 270 if a marriage subsisted (Law 51/1984 arts. 329-331). Tunisia: hold the greater of one son’s or one daughter’s share; if the child would exclude the others, hold all and do not divide (CSP art. 147). Morocco: inheritance only if life is shown by a cry or suckling (Mudawwana art. 331). All from unofficial copies.
How long, and proof of life
Ḥanafī: born within two years of the death; any sign of life counts. Shāfiʿī: up to four years (al-Rāfiʿī 9/451); life must be clear, such as a cry. Ḥanbalī: four years in the sounder narration, two in the other; the well-known view needs a cry (al-Mughnī 6/384-385). Mālikī: a cry (al-Muqaddimāt 3/148). A child born dead does not inherit, and the estate is then divided as if there were no pregnancy.
Not covered
These points have no source in the notes this calculator follows, so they are not computed.
- Mālikī: the longest pregnancy (only a dispute of 4, 5 or 7 years is reported) and the rule for a child born mostly alive.
- Morocco has no reservation article in the Code; Egypt, Syria and Jordan wording was not read.
- A pregnancy that is not the deceased’s own child, such as his father’s widow carrying a sibling, and the Kuwait and Tunisia count of one son or one daughter.