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Mirath

Inheritance itself — the estate passing to heirs, and the body of law governing it.

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Inheritance itself — the estate passing to heirs, and the body of law governing it.

In Islamic law

Mirath is the general term for inheritance; 'ilm al-faraid is the science of calculating it. The two words are often used interchangeably in English-language material.

In Canadian law

Corresponds loosely to 'the estate' plus 'the law of succession' together.

Across the madhahib

We have not yet researched whether the four Sunni schools differ on this term, so we are not going to tell you either way. Where a specific case turns on it, ask a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.

Note

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.

Islamic primary sources
  1. Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — shares of children and parents — Quran.com
  2. Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — shares of spouses and uterine siblings — Quran.com
  3. Surah an-Nisa 4:176 — the kalalah verse — Quran.com
  4. Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 85: Laws of Inheritance (Faraid) — Sunnah.com
  5. Sahih Muslim, Book of Inheritance — Sunnah.com
Scholarly & institutional references
  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
  2. Oxford Islamic Studies / Oxford Reference — Oxford University Press