Where the four schools stand
Agreed. The brothers and sisters, and the two verses are read the same way everywhere. An estate is kalalah when the deceased leaves no descendant and no ascendant in the male line — Ibn Qudama gives the majority formula, “one who has no child and no parent”, and adds that walid there covers the father and the grandfather. In that situation the siblings inherit, and the Qur’an deals with them in two separate places. Surah an-Nisa 4:12 — “if a man or a woman leaves neither parents nor children but only a brother or a sister … they will each inherit one-sixth, but if they are more than one, they will share one-third of the estate” — is about the uterine siblings only. The Mawsu’a says the point is settled ijma‘an, notes that the exegetes are agreed on it, and cites the reading of Ubayy and Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas which spells out “a brother or sister from the mother”; Ibn Qudama says the same “by the consensus of the people of knowledge”. Their third is split equally, a brother taking no more than a sister, because they come in through the mother and cannot out-take her own maximum. Surah an-Nisa 4:176, the verse that opens “they ask you [for a ruling] … Allah gives you a ruling regarding those who die without children or parents”, is about the full and consanguine siblings: a half for a lone sister, two-thirds for two or more, and where brothers and sisters come together, twice the share to the male. And the closing conditions are agreed: uterine siblings are shut out by any one of four — a child, a son’s child, the father, or the grandfather — and Ibn Qudama reports “the people of knowledge are agreed on this; we know of none of them who dissented”; full and consanguine siblings are shut out by the father, the son and the son’s son, which the Mawsu’a calls a question “agreed upon among the jurists”. We checked this point; the schools do not differ on it.
Shared evidence: Surah an-Nisa 4:12 (Khattab, The Clear Quran, the default rendering at quran.com) — “And if a man or a woman leaves neither parents nor children but only a brother or a sister [from their mother’s side], they will each inherit one-sixth, but if they are more than one, they [all] will share one-third of the estate” · Surah an-Nisa 4:176 (Khattab, The Clear Quran) — “They ask you [for a ruling, O Prophet]. Say, ‘Allah gives you a ruling regarding those who die without children or parents.’ If a man dies childless and leaves behind a sister, she will inherit one-half of his estate … If this person leaves behind two sisters, they together will inherit two-thirds of the estate. But if the deceased leaves male and female siblings, a male’s share will be equal to that of two females” · Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, mas’ala 4815 — of Q 4:12, “wa’l-muradu bi-hadhihi al-ayati al-akhu wa’l-ukhtu mina al-ummi, bi-ijma‘i ahli al-‘ilm”; and that uterine siblings drop out before a child, a son’s child, the father or the grandfather, “ajma‘a ‘ala hadha ahlu al-‘ilmi, fa-la na‘lamu ahadan minhum khalafa hadha” · al-Mughni, fasl 4816 — the two usages of the word, and “wa la khilafa fi anna isma al-kalalati yaqa‘u ‘ala al-ikhwati mina al-jihati kulliha”: whichever usage is taken, the name covers the siblings of every kind. Those who require the absence of both child and parent are listed as Zayd, Ibn ‘Abbas … “and the people of Madina, Basra and Kufa” · al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya, “Irth” sec. 44 — the sixth and the third of the mother’s children, male and female alike, “idhi’l-muradu minhu awladu al-ummi ijma‘an”, with the reading “a brother or sister from the mother” · al-Mawsu’a, entry “Hajb” sec. 3 — of the full brother’s exclusion by the father, the son and the son’s son on Q 4:176: “wa hadhihi al-mas’alatu mujma‘un ‘alayha bayna al-fuqaha’” · al-Mawsu’a, “Irth” sec. 42 — the half and the two-thirds of the full sisters, on Q 4:176, the verse being about the full and consanguine sisters while the uterine sisters are dealt with “fi ayati al-kalalati awa’ila al-sura” · al-Mawsu’a, entry “Kalala” — the two usages set out, with the report that the Prophet, asked about kalalah, answered “one who dies having neither child nor parent”, and al-Raghib’s “kila al-qawlayni sahih” — both usages are sound.
Not covered by this finding: the case where a grandfather survives in place of the father. Whether the estate is then still kalalah at all, so that full and consanguine siblings inherit, is the one place where the four schools genuinely divide — Abu Hanifa says the grandfather is a walid and the siblings take nothing, the other three schools let them inherit alongside him. That is researched separately and is not settled here. Also outside this entry: the mushtaraka configuration, where the schools divide over whether full brothers share the uterine siblings’ third; and how a sister’s share is worked out beside a grandfather, on which the Mawsu’a records a Maliki and Hanbali refinement — not yet researched school by school. Treat that as open and ask a scholar of your school.
Researched finding from our madhhab register — issue siblings-kalalah, reviewed 2026-09-01.
The one recorded disagreement is about the word, not the money. Some scholars use kalalah for the surviving heirs — everyone other than parents and children, encircling the deceased like a crown, which is what the root suggests — and Ibn Qudama says Ahmad’s own text uses it that way and reports it from Abu Bakr. Others use it for the deceased himself, and that is reported from ‘Umar, ‘Ali and Ibn Mas‘ud. Ibn Qudama holds that in the two verses it means the deceased; al-Raghib, quoted in the Kuwaiti Mawsu’a, says both usages are sound. Neither work attributes either usage to one of the four schools, and no share changes either way, so no four-school table is drawn for it here. One further point, also agreed: where the deceased leaves daughters but no son, full or consanguine sisters are not shut out — they take whatever is left after the daughters, as residuaries, on the instruction “make the sisters residuaries alongside the daughters”. Ibn Qudama says this is the position of “the generality of the jurists”, the dissent being Ibn ‘Abbas’s, who read ‘childless’ in 4:176 as covering a daughter. He is a Companion, and his view is not the law in any of the four schools.
Full evidence and history: Kalalah — who inherits when there is no parent and no child? — 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 half-siblings inherit differently from full siblings?
- What is kalalah and how does it work in Canada?
- What should I do about my will if I have no children?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a husband and no children or 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 wife, a mother and a full brother?
- Who inherits if I die leaving a wife, two daughters and a full brother?
- Who inherits if I die leaving uterine siblings only?
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
- Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, mas’ala 4815 — uterine siblings “yasqutuna bi-arba‘atin: bi’l-waladi, wa waladi al-ibni, wa’l-abi, wa’l-jaddi abi’l-abi wa in ‘ala, <b>ajma‘a ‘ala hadha ahlu al-‘ilmi, fa-la na‘lamu ahadan minhum khalafa hadha</b>”; “wa la khilafa bayna ahli al-‘ilmi fi anna walada al-ummi yasqutuna bi’l-jadd”; on the other side, “fa-yasqutu waladu al-abawayni, dhakaruhum wa unthahum, bi-thalathatin: bi’l-ibni, wa’bni al-ibni wa in safala, wa bi’l-ab”; of Q 4:12, “wa’l-muradu bi-hadhihi al-ayati al-akhu wa’l-ukhtu mina al-ummi, <b>bi-ijma‘i ahli al-‘ilm</b>”; and “wa’l-kalalatu fi qawli al-jumhuri: man laysa lahu waladun, wa la walidun … wa’l-walidu yashmalu al-aba wa’l-jadd” — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mughni, fasl 4816 and mas’ala 4817 — the two usages of <i>kalala</i>: a name for the heirs other than parents and children (“nassa Ahmadu ‘ala hadha”, and reported from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq), or a name for the deceased himself who has neither (reported from ‘Umar, ‘Ali and Ibn Mas‘ud); “wa’l-ayatani fi surati al-nisa’i, wa’l-muradu bi’l-kalalati fihima al-mayyit”; “<b>wa la khilafa fi anna isma al-kalalati yaqa‘u ‘ala al-ikhwati mina al-jihati kulliha</b>”; those requiring the absence of both child and parent include “Zaydun, wa’bnu ‘Abbasin … wa ahlu al-Madinati wa’l-Basrati wa’l-Kufa”; and sisters take the residue beside daughters “wa ilayhi dhahaba ‘ammatu al-fuqaha’i illa ’bna ‘Abbasin wa man taba‘ah” — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaytiyya, entry “Kalala” sec. 1 — “faqadi ’khtalafa ahlu al-‘ilmi fi’l-muradi mina al-kalalati”: a name for the heirs other than parents and children, or “ismun li’l-mayyiti alladhi la walida lahu wa la walad”, with the report that the Prophet, asked about kalalah, said “man mata wa laysa lahu waladun wa la walid”, and al-Raghib’s verdict that “kila al-qawlayni sahih” — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Kalala” secs. 2–3 — the two places kalalah is mentioned, Q 4:12 and Q 4:176, both quoted in full; and “alladhina yarithuna kalalatan asnafun mina al-warathati yajma‘uhum annahum man ‘ada walida al-mayyiti wa waladah”, cross-referred to the entry “Irth” secs. 42–45 — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, entry “Irth” sec. 42, the five states of the full sisters — a half for one and two-thirds for two or more where no brother survives to make them residuaries, “wa dalilu dhalika” Q 4:176; the sisters intended by the verse being the full and the consanguine, “wa’l-akhawatu li-ummin yarithna bi’l-fardi faqat, wa qad bayyana’llahu dhalika fi ayati al-kalalati awa’ila al-sura” — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Irth” sec. 42 cont. — the two-thirds for three or more; the third state, residuary status beside a full brother on “wa in kanu ikhwatan rijalan wa nisa’an fa-li’l-dhakari mithlu hazzi al-unthayayn”, with the Malikis and Hanbalis adding that a sister becomes residuary through the <i>grandfather</i> where no brother survives; the fourth, residuary status beside a daughter; and the fifth, exclusion — “in taraka al-mayyitu far‘an warithan dhakaran aw aban, wa fi mirathihinna ma‘a al-jaddi khilafun wa tafsil” — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya, “Irth” sec. 44, the inheritance of the mother’s children — they inherit only by fixed share, never as residuaries, and male and female take alike; their three states (a sixth for one, a third shared equally for two or more, exclusion by a child, a son’s child, the father or the grandfather); “wa dalilu ma dhukira” Q 4:12, “<b>idhi’l-muradu minhu awladu al-ummi ijma‘an</b>”, confirmed by the reading of Ubayy and Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas “wa lahu akhun aw ukhtun <i>mina al-umm</i>” — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait
- al-Mughni (Maktabat al-Qahira edition) — full Arabic text — Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH)
- 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-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya — the Kuwaiti encyclopaedia of fiqh — Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Kuwait