How the Five Madhabs Handle Inheritance Differently

Where All Five Schools Agree

The core Quranic shares are identical across all five madhabs. For the most common family structures — a married person with children and both parents alive — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Ja'fari all produce exactly the same distribution. The wife gets 1/8, each parent gets 1/6, and the children split the residuary in a 2:1 male-to-female ratio.

This consensus covers the majority of real-world inheritance cases. The differences emerge in more specific scenarios.

Key Difference 1: The Ja'fari Class-Based System

The most significant difference between Sunni and Shia inheritance is that the Ja'fari school uses a class-based priority system rather than the Sunni concept of “asaba” (agnatic residuary):

• Class 1: Parents and children (and their descendants)
• Class 2: Grandparents and siblings (and their descendants)
• Class 3: Uncles, aunts, and their descendants

A higher class excludes lower classes entirely. So if the mother is alive (Class 1) and there are siblings (Class 2), the siblings receive nothing in Ja'fari fiqh. In Sunni schools, siblings can inherit alongside parents in certain scenarios and even reduce the mother's share.

Key Difference 2: Radd (Remainder Redistribution)

When prescribed shares don't exhaust the estate, the remainder needs to go somewhere. The schools disagree on whether the spouse participates in radd redistribution:

• Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i: The spouse does NOT receive radd. The remainder goes only to blood relatives.
• Hanbali and Ja'fari: The spouse IS included in radd redistribution, receiving a proportionally larger share.

Example: Wife + mother, no other heirs. Wife gets 1/4, mother gets 1/3. Total = 7/12, leaving 5/12 unallocated.

• Hanafi: Wife stays at 25%, Mother gets 75% (radd)
• Hanbali: Wife gets 42.9%, Mother gets 57.1% (both get radd)

Key Difference 3: The Umariyyah Case

When the heirs are just a spouse + both parents (no children, no siblings), a special rule applies in Sunni schools called “Umariyyah” (named after a ruling by Umar ibn al-Khattab). In this case, the mother gets 1/3 of the remainder after the spouse's share, not 1/3 of the total estate.

Ja'fari fiqh does not apply the Umariyyah rule — the mother always gets a full 1/3 of the estate regardless. This results in a noticeably different distribution.

Key Difference 4: Grandfather and Siblings

When both a grandfather and siblings are present (with no father):

• Hanafi: Grandfather completely excludes siblings (treats grandfather like father)
• Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali: Grandfather inherits alongside siblings with complex sharing rules
• Ja'fari: Handled through the class system — grandparents and siblings are both Class 2

Which Madhab Should I Follow?

This is a question for your Islamic scholar, not a calculator. Most Muslims follow the madhab of their community or the school they were raised in. Mirath allows you to compare all five madhabs instantly so you can have an informed conversation with your scholar about the differences that apply to your specific family structure.