Where the four schools stand
Agreed. A parent’s entitlement runs as follows. Where the deceased left a child or a son’s child, each parent takes one sixth; if the surviving children are daughters only, the father takes his sixth and whatever is left over after the fixed shares, because he is also the nearest male residuary. Where there is no child, the mother takes one third and the father takes the remainder. Where two or more brothers or sisters survive — of any kind, and whether they themselves inherit or not — the mother drops from a third to a sixth, and the sixth she loses goes to the father. Ibn Qudama records the mother’s third as a point on which there is no disagreement we know of among the people of knowledge, and the father’s three positions as a matter of consensus. On the number of siblings needed to cut the mother back, the schools hold that two are enough; Ibn Rushd names Malik for that view and the only recorded dissent is Ibn ‘Abbas, who required three — and he is a Companion, not one of the four schools. In Canada the practical point is the contrast: under every provincial intestacy statute a surviving parent normally takes nothing while a spouse or child survives. We checked this point; the schools do not differ on it.
Shared evidence: Surah an-Nisa 4:11 — the sixth for each parent, the mother’s third, and her sixth where there are siblings · Sahih al-Bukhari 6732 — “give the fixed shares to those entitled; what remains goes to the nearest male”, the basis of the father taking the residue.
Not covered by this finding: what happens when a grandfather stands in the father’s place, which is a separate and genuinely disputed question — not yet researched school by school. Treat that as open and ask a scholar of your school.
Researched finding from our madhhab register — issue parents-share, reviewed 2026-08-19.
Full evidence and history: What a father and a mother inherit — 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.
- Do parents inherit if their child dies?
- Is a will template from the internet good enough for an Islamic will?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Alberta?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in British Columbia?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Manitoba?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in New Brunswick?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Nova Scotia?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Ontario?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Quebec?
- What happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Saskatchewan?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Brampton?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Burnaby?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Calgary?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Edmonton?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Halifax?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Hamilton?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Laval?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in London?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Markham?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Mississauga?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Montreal?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Ottawa?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Saskatoon?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Scarborough?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Surrey?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Toronto?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Vancouver?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Waterloo?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Windsor?
- What happens if someone dies without a will in Winnipeg?
- What should I do about my will if I am supporting my elderly parents?
- What should I do about my will if I have no children?
- Who are the fixed-share heirs in Islamic inheritance?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a husband and both parents?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a husband, a mother and a full sister?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a mother and two brothers?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a son, a daughter and both parents?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a wife and both parents?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a wife, a mother and a full brother?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a wife, a son and the deceased's mother?
- Who inherits if I die leaving both parents and no children?
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.
- al-Mughni, Kitab al-Fara’id — the mother’s three positions (mas’ala 4825), the father’s three (4826), the two ‘Umariyyatan (4830) and the residuary composition rule (fasl 4824) — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni (Maktabat al-Qahira edition) — full Arabic text — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid, vol. 2 — Book of Wasaya (bequests) and Book of Fara’id (inheritance), trans. Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee — Ibn Rushd (Averroes, d. 595 AH)
- al-Mawsu‘a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya (Kuwaiti Encyclopaedia of Islamic Jurisprudence, 45 vols) — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait