Islamic inheritance
share calculator.

How inheritance shares are determined in Pakistan

Islamic inheritance is not calculated merely by counting the number of people in a family. A distribution begins with the deceased person's estate, identifies those legally entitled on the date succession opens and then applies the applicable rules of personal law. A son's share, a daughter's share, a surviving spouse's fraction and a parent's interest must be considered together. A person who appears to be a relative may also be excluded by a nearer heir.

Sunni Hanafi inheritance shares

In a common Sunni Hanafi arrangement where children include one or more living sons, each son generally receives twice a daughter's share of the residue left after any applicable fixed shares. With descendants, a surviving widow or widows collectively take one-eighth, while a surviving husband takes one-quarter. Each surviving parent ordinarily has a fixed one-sixth when a child is present. Different considerations arise where there are daughters but no sons, only parents, a surviving sibling or other residuary relatives.

The Sunni system distinguishes fixed-share heirs and residuaries and may require the doctrines commonly called awl (proportional adjustment where fixed shares exceed the estate) and radd (return of surplus in appropriate cases). A calculator that applies a single percentage table in every family configuration can therefore give a misleading result.

Shia Ja'fari inheritance shares

Under Ja'fari law, blood relatives are considered within priority classes and spouses inherit alongside the applicable class. The allocation of a surplus or deficiency can differ from Sunni Hanafi rules. In ordinary cases involving surviving sons and daughters, the two-to-one ratio between a son and daughter is familiar to both schools, but it should not be taken as proof that the complete distributions are always identical.

In Pakistan, section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, as amended by Act XXVIII of 2021, deals expressly with certain Ahl-e-Tashih inheritance rights. Particularly, the widow's immovable-property entitlement is ordinarily calculated by reference to its value; the provision addresses valuation at payment and also prescribes a consequence if the entitlement is not paid. The rules for a Shia husband inheriting from his wife are also expressly addressed. Historical successions and land-title arrangements need separate consideration.

What happens when a son or daughter died before the parent?

Section 4(1) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 addresses a predeceased son or daughter whose children survive when the grandparent dies. It provides a statutory mechanism by which those grandchildren take a branch share based on what their parent would have received if alive. The number of grandchildren, which branch each belongs to and the date of the relevant deaths can be decisive. The calculator therefore does not substitute a direct grandson or granddaughter percentage for a proper section 4 analysis.

What is included in the distributable estate?

The estate must be identified before any fractional distribution. Immovable property, bank accounts, investments, movable assets and other rights require evidence of ownership. Assets belonging to another person should not be included merely because they are in the deceased person's possession. Equally, a valid completed gift during lifetime, a disputed transfer, jointly owned property, outstanding liabilities and an enforceable testamentary disposition can alter the net amount available for distribution.

Where the estate is agricultural land, the calculation may be shown in acres, kanals and marlas, but a mathematical share does not itself create or replace a revenue mutation, title determination or partition. A valuation expressed in rupees and an interest in the physical corpus of land are also not interchangeable in every personal-law context.

Why the date of death matters

Inheritance rights generally become relevant when succession opens at death. The applicable law may be different for an estate that opened decades ago. The 2021 amendment concerning Ja'fari inheritance is one example requiring careful consideration of the commencement date and vested rights. A subsequent death of an heir may create a second succession, requiring a separate calculation rather than combining two estates as one.

Common inheritance questions