A named technical case involving a husband, mother, grandfather and full sister, producing an unusual combination of proportional reduction and re-partition.
The Canadian position
Rare in practice, but it illustrates why a real estate should be calculated by someone trained in faraid.
A general summary table will not resolve it correctly.
The Islamic position
The case is treated differently across the schools and is used in teaching to test mastery of the calculation.
If your family configuration resembles it, get the calculation done professionally.
One school against three. Abu Hanifa treats the grandfather exactly as a father: the brothers and sisters take nothing. Malik, al-Shafi’i and Ahmad — and, inside the Hanafi school itself, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad — follow Zayd ibn Thabit: the grandfather inherits with them, sharing as though he were one of the brothers, but never taking less than a guaranteed minimum. There is no verse and no hadith fixing the answer; the Mawsu’a says so in terms, and the rule rests on Companion ijtihad.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Does a grandfather exclude the deceased’s brothers and sisters?.
Related madhhab issue: When the fixed shares over-subscribe the estate, is everyone reduced?.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position.
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
- Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill