Most Muslims in Pakistan follow the Hanafi school, and when a person dies without leaving a valid arrangement over everything they own, their estate is divided by the Islamic law of inheritance known as Faraid. It is applied through the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1962, with procedure supplied by the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961. This guide explains the two classes of heirs, lists the fixed shares, and works through real numbers so you can see exactly how an estate is split. For an instant division, our inheritance calculator does the arithmetic for you.
Step one: what comes off the estate first
Before a single rupee is distributed, four claims are settled from the estate in strict order:
| Order | Claim on the estate |
|---|---|
| 1 | Funeral and burial expenses (reasonable) |
| 2 | Debts of the deceased, including any unpaid mahr owed to the widow |
| 3 | Bequests (wasiyya) - valid only up to one-third of what remains |
| 4 | The residue - divided among the legal heirs by Faraid |
Only the net figure at step four is shared out by the rules below. A bequest beyond one-third, or a bequest to someone who is already a legal heir, is valid only if the other heirs consent after the death - the one-third will rule explains this in detail.
Sharers vs residuaries: the two classes of heir
Hanafi Faraid sorts heirs into two main groups, and the order in which they are paid is what makes the system work:
- Sharers (Dhawu al-Furud) - heirs the Quran gives a fixed fraction. They are paid first. The spouse, the mother, the father, daughters, and certain grandparents and siblings fall here.
- Residuaries (Asaba) - heirs who take whatever is left after the sharers. Sons lead this class; other male agnates (father as residuary, brothers, paternal uncles) follow in a fixed order of nearness.
The nearer heir excludes the more remote. A living son, for example, blocks the deceased's brothers entirely, and a father blocks the grandfather. This is why two families with the same net estate can end up with very different divisions.
The fixed Quranic shares (Hanafi)
These are the core sharer fractions applied by courts in Pakistan. The share often depends on whether the deceased left children:
| Heir | Share with children | Share with no children |
|---|---|---|
| Husband | 1/4 | 1/2 |
| Wife / widow | 1/8 | 1/4 |
| Father | 1/6 | Residuary (takes the balance) |
| Mother | 1/6 | 1/3 (see note) |
| Single daughter (no son) | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Two or more daughters (no son) | 2/3 shared | 2/3 shared |
| Son | Always residuary - takes twice a daughter's share (2:1) | |
Note on the mother: she takes 1/6 if the deceased left children or two or more siblings; otherwise 1/3. A multiple wife shares the single 1/8 or 1/4 equally. When sons and daughters inherit together, the daughters stop being fixed sharers and join the residue on the 2:1 ratio - see our focused notes on the son's share and the daughter's share.
Worked examples with tables
Numbers make this concrete. Take a net estate of PKR 24,000,000 after debts and any bequest.
Example 1 - widow, two sons, one daughter. The widow is a sharer at 1/8 because there are children. The rest is residue, split among the children 2:2:1 (each son twice each daughter).
| Heir | Basis | Fraction | Amount (PKR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widow | Sharer, children present | 1/8 | 3,000,000 |
| Son 1 | Residuary (2 parts of 5) | 7/30 | 8,400,000 |
| Son 2 | Residuary (2 parts of 5) | 7/30 | 8,400,000 |
| Daughter | Residuary (1 part of 5) | 7/60 | 4,200,000 |
| Total | 24,000,000 | ||
The widow takes 3,000,000; the remaining 21,000,000 is divided into five parts, two to each son and one to the daughter.
Example 2 - husband, mother, father, no children. This is a classic case. The husband takes 1/2; the mother then takes one-third of the remainder (an established Hanafi rule where the surviving heirs are a spouse and both parents); the father takes the residue.
| Heir | Basis | Fraction | Amount (PKR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Husband | Sharer, no children | 1/2 | 12,000,000 |
| Mother | 1/3 of the remainder | 1/6 | 4,000,000 |
| Father | Residuary | 1/3 | 8,000,000 |
| Total | 24,000,000 | ||
When the shares do not add up: Awl and Radd
Sometimes the fixed fractions total more than one, and sometimes less. Hanafi law has two adjustments:
- Awl (increase) - if the shares add up to more than the whole estate, every share is reduced proportionately. Example: a husband (1/2) and two full sisters (2/3) total 7/6. The base is raised so the husband takes 3/7 and the sisters 4/7 between them.
- Radd (return) - if the shares add up to less than the whole and there is no residuary, the surplus returns to the sharers in proportion, except the spouse. Example: a mother (1/6) and one daughter (1/2) with no one else take the whole estate as 1/4 and 3/4 after Radd.
Orphaned grandchildren: Section 4 MFLO
Under classical Hanafi law, a grandchild whose parent died before the deceased was excluded, because the nearer heir (a surviving uncle or aunt) shut them out. Pakistan changed this by Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961: such orphaned grandchildren now step into the share their deceased parent would have received. This is one of the most litigated provisions in the country, so where predeceased children are involved, take advice early - our note on Section 4 and grandchildren covers the tensions.
Turning shares into title
Knowing the fractions is only half the task. To actually transfer bank balances, shares and property into the heirs' names, you usually need a succession certificate from the court for movable assets, and a mutation of land records for immovable property. Where heirs disagree or one holds the whole estate, a partition or declaratory suit may be needed - see how the distribution of a deceased's property works in practice, and note that the NADRA and court routes differ, explained in our NADRA vs court comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a sharer and a residuary?
Sharers take fixed Quranic fractions first; residuaries, led by the sons, take whatever remains of the estate after the sharers are paid.
How much does a widow get under Hanafi law?
She takes 1/8 if the deceased left children and 1/4 if not. Multiple widows share that single fraction equally. See our widow's share note.
Does a daughter really get half of a son's share?
When they inherit together as residuaries, yes - the 2:1 ratio is fixed by the Quran. A daughter with no brother takes a fixed 1/2 alone or 2/3 shared with sisters.
Can I leave more than one-third by will?
Only with the consent of the other heirs, given after the death. Up to one-third to a non-heir is valid without consent.
How do Sunni and Shia rules differ?
They agree on the core Quranic shares but differ on residuaries and the treatment of daughters and distant kin - compare our Shia inheritance rules.