Where the four schools stand
Agreed. Yes. Where the Qur’anic fractions come to more than one whole, the shortfall falls on every fixed-share heir in proportion to the share each was owed; nobody is struck out to make the arithmetic work. Technically the base of the problem is raised to the total of the shares actually due — six becomes seven, eight, nine or ten; twelve becomes thirteen, fifteen or seventeen; twenty-four becomes twenty-seven — so each heir keeps the same number of shares out of a larger total, and every fraction shrinks by the same ratio. That is ‘awl. The Kuwaiti Mawsu’a sets out the reasoning — the fixed-share heirs are equal in the ground of their entitlement, so where the fund is short they abate together like creditors, and no heir’s share may be cancelled because each holds it by an express text — and then closes the paragraph: “and this is the view of the four imams”. The classical anchor is ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. Faced with the first estate whose fractions would not fit, he told the Companions “by God I do not know which of you God put first and which He put last”; al-‘Abbas asked him what he would do with six dirhams owed three to one creditor and four to another, and ‘Umar ruled that the estate be divided bi’l-hisas, pro rata, “bringing on every holder of a right the same reduction the over-subscription brings”. The Mawsu’a records that not one of them objected. The best-known worked case is the Minbariyya, reported by Ibn Qudama: a man leaves a wife, both parents and two daughters; the base of 24 rises to 27, and ‘Ali, asked about it while on the pulpit, answered “her eighth has become a ninth” and carried on with his sermon. We checked this point; the schools do not differ on it.
Shared evidence: al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya, “Irth” sec. 57 — after stating the argument for ‘awl: “wa hadha huwa ra’yu al-a’immati al-arba‘a”, “and this is the view of the four imams” · al-Mawsu’a, “Irth” sec. 57 — ‘Umar’s ruling in the first over-subscribed estate: “ma ajidu shay’an awsa‘a li min an aqsima al-tarikata ‘alaykum bi’l-hisas, wa udkhila ‘ala kulli dhi haqqin ma dakhala ‘alayhi min ‘awli al-farida”, followed by “wa lam yukhalif fi dhalika ahad” · al-Mawsu’a, entry “‘Awl” — the shortfall is spread “hatta yadkhula al-nuqsanu fi fara’idi jami‘i al-warathati ‘ala nisbatin wahida”, on the reasoning that the fixed-share heirs are equal in the cause of entitlement and so abate together ka’l-ghurama’, like creditors on a short estate; al-‘Abbas advised the device and “fa-taba‘uhu ‘ala dhalika wa lam yunkirhu ahad” · Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, mas’ala 4846 — the Minbariyya: a wife, both parents and two daughters, base 24 rising to 27, “wa tusamma al-minbariyya, li-anna ‘Aliyyan sa’ila ‘anha ‘ala al-minbar, fa-qala: sara thumunuha tus‘an” · al-Mughni, Bab usul siham al-fara’id allati ta‘ul — the Hanbali text working the doctrine: ‘awl arises “fi mas’alatin tazdahimu fiha al-furudu wa la yattasi‘u al-malu laha”, and is “ziyadatun fi’l-siham, wa nuqsanun fi ansiba’i al-waratha” · Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — the half, the quarter and the eighth of the spouses and the sixth and third of the uterine siblings: the fractions that collide · Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — the two-thirds of the daughters and the sixths of the parents, the other half of the collision.
Not covered by this finding: the mirror-image case, where the fractions fall short of the estate and there is no residuary to take the surplus — there the four schools genuinely do differ (see radd) — and the modern statutory inheritance codes of Muslim-majority states, which this entry does not survey — not yet researched school by school. Treat that as open and ask a scholar of your school.
Researched finding from our madhhab register — issue awl, reviewed 2026-09-01.
Ibn ‘Abbas is not a fifth school. He held that a shortfall should not be spread at all: those God “put first” — a husband, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, whom the Qur’an moves from one named fraction to another named fraction — should be paid in full, and the loss should fall on those He “put last” — daughters, sons’ daughters and sisters, who drop from a named fraction to whatever is left. “Had they put first the one God put first and last the one God put last, no estate would ever have over-subscribed.” Both the Mawsu’a and Ibn Qudama record the position and answer it; both also record that he raised it only after ‘Umar’s death. It is a Companion’s view, reported and rejected by all four schools, and it is not the law in any of them.
Full evidence and history: When the fixed shares over-subscribe the estate, is everyone reduced? — the issue page.
Questions that turn on this
Every answer below renders its madhhab position from this one entry, so the positions cannot drift apart between pages.
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
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Irth” sec. 57 cont. — the argument for ‘awl (the fixed-share heirs are equal in the ground of entitlement, so where the estate is short they abate together, <i>ka’l-ghurama’</i>, and no heir’s share may be struck out because each holds it by an established text), closing: <b>“wa hadha huwa ra’yu al-a’immati al-arba‘a”</b> — and Ibn ‘Abbas’s contrary argument set out and attributed to him — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, entry “Irth” sec. 57 — the first over-subscribed estate in Islam, put by ‘Umar to the Companions (“wa’llahi ma adri ayyukum qaddama’llahu wa ayyukum akhkhar”), al-‘Abbas’s six-dirham analogy, and ‘Umar’s ruling “an aqsima al-tarikata ‘alaykum bi’l-hisas”, with “wa lam yukhalif fi dhalika ahad” until Ibn ‘Abbas dissented in ‘Uthman’s caliphate — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “‘Awl” — the shortfall is spread “hatta yadkhula al-nuqsanu fi fara’idi jami‘i al-warathati ‘ala nisbatin wahida”, the heirs being likened to creditors sharing a short estate; and the origin: “wa awwalu man hakama bi’l-‘awli ‘Umar” — al-‘Abbas advised it, “fa-taba‘uhu ‘ala dhalika wa lam yunkirhu ahad”, and Ibn ‘Abbas declared his dissent only later, under ‘Uthman — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya, entry “‘Awl” sec. 3, <i>al-hukm al-ijmali</i> — “al-‘awlu mashru‘un wa yu’khadhu bihi idha daqa al-makhraju ‘an al-wafa’i bi-siham jami‘i ahl al-furud”, worked on the case of a husband, a mother and a full sister — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Irth” secs. 58–59 — only three bases can over-subscribe (6, 12 and 24), with the worked cases: 6 rising to 7, 8, 9 and 10 — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Irth” secs. 60–62 — 12 rising to 13, 15 and 17; 24 rising only to 27 (a wife, two daughters, a mother and a father); and why the bases 2, 3, 4 and 8 can never over-subscribe — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, <i>Bab usul siham al-fara’id allati ta‘ul</i> — the seven bases; “al-‘awlu innama yakunu fi mas’alatin tazdahimu fiha al-furudu wa la yattasi‘u al-malu laha”; and the three-way division of every problem into <i>‘adila</i>, <i>‘a’ila</i> and <i>radd</i> — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni, mas’ala 4844 — “wa’l-‘awlu ziyadatun fi’l-sihami, wa nuqsanun fi ansiba’i al-waratha”, with the worked cases of a base of six rising to seven and to eight (the <i>mubahala</i> case: husband, sister, mother) — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni, <i>bab al-‘awl</i> — the base of six rising to nine (<i>al-gharra’</i>) and to ten (<i>umm al-furukh</i>), and the method: “an ta’khudha al-furuda min asli al-mas’alati wa tadumma ba‘daha ila ba‘d, fa-ma balaghat al-sihamu fa-ilayhi yantahi” — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni, mas’ala 4846 — the base of 24 rising to 27 (a wife, both parents and two daughters), “wa tusamma al-minbariyya, li-anna ‘Aliyyan sa’ila ‘anha ‘ala al-minbar, fa-qala: sara thumunuha tus‘an. wa mada fi khutbatih” — the wife’s eighth (3 of 24) became a ninth (3 of 27); also called <i>al-bakhila</i> because it is the least over-subscribed of the bases — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni (Maktabat al-Qahira edition) — full Arabic text — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya — the Kuwaiti encyclopaedia of fiqh — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait