Do grandchildren inherit in Islam?

This is the hardest question in Faraid to answer kindly, because the classical rule often gives nothing to the children of a son who died young — and those are frequently the relatives most in need. Here is what the rules actually say, what Pakistan changed, and what a family can do about it. Your own case is a minute's work in the calculator.

The classical rule: nearer excludes further

A son's son inherits as a residuary, in the place a son would occupy — but only if no son of the deceased survives. One living son excludes every grandson through another son.

So a man with three sons, one of whom died before him leaving two boys, divides his estate between the two living sons. His grandsons receive nothing under classical rules.

The principle is consistent — a nearer relative removes a further one, and it is the same rule by which a son removes the deceased's brothers. But the outcome in this particular case has troubled jurists and legislators for a long time.

Granddaughters through a son

A son's daughter has three possible positions:

• No son and no daughter of the deceased survives: she stands in a daughter's place — one takes 1/2, two or more share 2/3.
• Exactly one daughter survives: the son's daughters share 1/6, the sixth that completes the two thirds reserved for female descendants.
• Two or more daughters survive: she is excluded, because the two thirds is already taken — unless a son's son of her own level is present, who makes her a residuary alongside him at two to one.

Children of a daughter

Under the classical rules a daughter's children are dhawu al-arham — distant kindred. They inherit only where no fixed-share heir and no residuary survives at all, and the schools differ even on that. This calculator does not attempt distant kindred, and says so when the situation arises.

What Pakistan changed

Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 gives the children of a son or daughter who died before the deceased the share their parent would have taken. It is statute, not fiqh, and it applies in Pakistan.

Take the case above: an estate of PKR 3,000,000, two living sons, and a third son who died leaving two boys.

There is a wrinkle that matters and that most calculators miss. The words of the section give the share to the predeceased child's children. Pakistani courts read it differently: the predeceased child is given a notional share which then passes to all of that child's heirs — his widow and his mother included, not only his children. That is the construction of Kamal Khan v Mst. Zainab, endorsed by the Supreme Court. This calculator applies it by default and offers the literal reading as an option, so you can see both.

One consequence surprises people: a predeceased son's mother is very often the deceased's own widow, so she can inherit twice — once from her husband, and again from her son's notional share.

What a family can do without any of this

Where the classical rules leave a grandchild with nothing, the bequest exists precisely for this. Up to one third of the estate may be left to someone who is not an heir, and an orphaned grandchild excluded by a living son is not an heir. Making that bequest during life is the straightforward answer, and it is strongly encouraged where the grandchildren are in need.

Adult heirs may also agree, after the shares are established, to give part of their own portions. That is theirs to give — but only once everyone knows what they are giving up.

Common questions

Is the classical rule unfair to orphaned grandchildren?

It is a real difficulty, and the answer the tradition gives is the one-third bequest, which exists for exactly the people the fixed shares do not reach. Whether statute should go further is the argument section 4 sits in the middle of.

Does a grandson inherit if his father is alive but estranged?

No. A living son takes his own share, and his children inherit from him in due course. Representation only arises where the parent died first.

Which option should I choose in the calculator?

If the estate is in Pakistan, Pakistan law is the operative rule — but take the result to a lawyer, because section 4's own legal position has been contested. The classical option shows what the fiqh alone would give.

Compare both rules on your own case, or read about the daughter's share.