No other chapter of the Quran deals with inheritance law as directly or as precisely as Surah An-Nisa — The Women. Within a single Surah, Allah specifies the exact fractional shares of inheritance for parents, children, spouses, and siblings, identifies which heirs receive fixed shares, establishes the priority of debts and bequests over inheritance, and closes the passage with a warning that these are the limits set by Allah. This article examines the three inheritance verses of Surah An-Nisa in detail — what each verse says, who it addresses, and how it forms the mathematical foundation of Faraid law.

يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَـٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ

"Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females." — Surah An-Nisa 4:11

The Six Divine Fractions

What makes the Quranic inheritance system unique in the history of legal thought is its mathematical precision. Most areas of Islamic law involve general principles from which scholars derive specific rulings through interpretation. Inheritance law is different — the actual fractions are stated explicitly in the Quran. Allah mentioned exactly six fractions in Surah An-Nisa:

FractionWho receives itCondition
1/2Husband, one daughter, one full sisterNo children (husband); no son, no other daughters (daughter/sister)
1/4Husband, wife (or wives collectively)With children (wife); no children (husband)
1/8Wife (or wives collectively)When children are present
1/3Mother, two or more uterine siblings collectivelyNo children, no two or more siblings (mother)
2/3Two or more daughters, two or more full sistersNo son (daughters); no brother (sisters)
1/6Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, one uterine siblingVarious conditions — when children present, etc.

These six fractions — and only these six — are the fixed shares (Furud Muqaddarah) of Islamic inheritance. Any heir entitled to one of these fractions receives it before the residue is distributed. The Asabah (residuary) heirs take what remains after all fixed shares are assigned.

Verse 11 — Children and Parents

Surah An-Nisa 4:11 is the primary inheritance verse of the Quran. It establishes three major rules in one verse: the 2:1 ratio between sons and daughters, the fixed shares of parents, and the critical qualifying condition that these shares apply after any bequest and after debt.

يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَـٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۚ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءً فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ ۖ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةً فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ ۚ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ

"Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are only daughters, two or more, for them is two-thirds of what he left. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of what he left, if he had children." — An-Nisa 4:11

The verse then continues to address the situation where the deceased has no children — in which case the mother receives one-third (or one-sixth if the deceased has siblings), and the father takes the remainder as a residuary heir. The verse closes with the phrase min ba'di wasiyyatin yusi biha aw dayn — "after any bequest he may have made or debt" — establishing the mandatory priority of debts and bequests over inheritance.

Verse 12 — Spouses and Uterine Siblings

Surah An-Nisa 4:12 extends the system to cover spouses and uterine (maternal half) siblings. It establishes the husband's shares of 1/2 (no children) and 1/4 (with children), and the wife's shares of 1/4 (no children) and 1/8 (with children) — the wives collectively sharing a single spousal portion in a polygynous marriage. The verse also addresses the situation of Kalalah — a person who dies leaving neither parent nor child — in which case uterine siblings receive fixed shares.

HeirShare — no childrenShare — with children
Husband1/21/4
Wife / wives collectively1/41/8

The verse again closes with the phrase about debts and bequests — the repetition is deliberate. Islamic scholars note that Allah mentioned the priority of debts twice across the two verses, emphasising that the Faraid fractions are calculated on the estate that remains after all obligations are discharged.

Verse 176 — Full Siblings in Kalalah

The final inheritance verse of Surah An-Nisa appears at verse 176. It addresses full siblings (as opposed to uterine siblings covered in 4:12) in the specific context of Kalalah — no surviving parent or child. A sole full sister receives 1/2. Two or more full sisters receive 2/3 collectively. Full brothers are residuary heirs. If both brothers and sisters survive, brothers receive double the sisters' share.

The Divine Boundary Warning

Surah An-Nisa does not leave the inheritance passage open to reinterpretation. After specifying the fractions, Allah concludes with a direct warning in verse 13–14:

تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

"These are the limits set by Allah. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to gardens under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment." — An-Nisa 4:13

The word hudud — limits or boundaries — is significant. These fractions are not guidelines or recommendations. They are fixed boundaries established by Allah, compliance with which is an act of worship and violation of which is a transgression. This is why Faraid is described by scholars as fard — an obligation — not merely a recommendation.

Why This Matters for Every Muslim Estate

Understanding the Quranic source of Faraid matters for two reasons. First, it explains why the fractions cannot be changed by family agreement, cultural custom, or personal preference. They are not the product of human legislation — they are divine revelation, with the same authority as the obligation to pray or fast. Second, it reinforces that distributing an estate incorrectly — giving daughters equal shares with sons, excluding a surviving parent, or concentrating the estate in one child's hands — is not a family decision. It is a violation of Quranic instruction.

For a complete walkthrough of how these fractions are calculated in practice, see our step-by-step Faraid calculation guide. To apply them to your own family, use the FaraidHub Faraid calculator.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phrase appears in both verse 4:11 and 4:12, establishing the obligatory order of estate administration. Before any heir receives their Faraid share, all debts of the deceased must be settled and any valid Wasiyyah (bequest up to one-third) must be fulfilled. The heirs inherit from what remains after these prior obligations. This sequence cannot be reversed.
Surah An-Nisa (4:11–12, 4:176) explicitly names children (sons and daughters), parents (father and mother), spouses (husband and wife), and siblings. The verses specify exact fractional shares for each. Other heir categories — grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts — are established through the Sunnah and scholarly consensus rather than being named directly in these verses.
Surah An-Nisa contains three inheritance verses — 4:11, 4:12, and 4:176 — which together establish the six Quranic fractions: one-half, one-quarter, one-eighth, two-thirds, one-third, and one-sixth. These verses name the shares for children, parents, spouses, and siblings and form the complete scriptural basis for Faraid (Islamic inheritance law).
Verse 4:11 addresses daughters directly: one daughter receives one-half of the estate; two or more daughters together receive two-thirds. When a son is present alongside daughters, the son receives a share equal to two daughters — the 2:1 ratio established by the Quran. This rule applies across all four Sunni madhabs without disagreement.
Quran 4:11 states that for the male is the equivalent of the share of two females. This applies when sons and daughters inherit together as residuary heirs — the son receives twice the daughter's share. When daughters inherit alone without a son, they receive their fixed fractions (one-half for one daughter, two-thirds for two or more) rather than the 2:1 ratio.
Islamic scholars explain that inheritance is one of the most conflict-prone areas of human interaction. Leaving it to human judgment — as most legal systems do — creates endless disputes. By specifying exact fractions, Allah removed the source of contention and replaced it with divine authority. No heir can demand more, and no executor can give less, than what Allah has prescribed.
After debts. The Quran states this explicitly twice — in verses 4:11 and 4:12 — using the phrase "after any bequest and after debt." The net estate remaining after funeral costs, all debts, and any wasiyyah is the amount on which Faraid fractions are calculated.
Yes. The six fractions from Surah An-Nisa are accepted by all four Sunni madhabs without disagreement. The madhab differences arise in specific edge cases — how the grandfather interacts with siblings, whether Radd applies to the spouse — but the core Quranic fractions are universally agreed upon.

Apply the Quranic Fractions to Your Estate

The FaraidHub calculator applies all six Quranic fractions automatically, accounting for all heirs, blocking rules, and madhab differences.

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Written By
FaraidHub Editorial Team
Our editorial team comprises Islamic finance specialists and estate planning professionals dedicated to making Faraid knowledge accessible to Muslims worldwide.