How to Use a Faraidh Calculator: A Step-by-Step Guide

A Faraidh calculator takes the guesswork out of Islamic inheritance. Instead of manually working through fractions from Quran 4:11-12, you enter your family structure and the calculator produces the exact shares each heir receives.

This guide walks you through how to use one effectively.

What you need before you start

Before opening a Faraidh calculator, gather this information:

About yourself:

• Your gender (determines whether a spouse inherits as a wife or husband)
• Your marital status

Your immediate family:

• Is your spouse alive?
• How many sons do you have?
• How many daughters do you have?
• Is your father alive?
• Is your mother alive?

Extended family (only relevant if parents are not alive):

• Is your paternal grandfather alive?
• Is your paternal grandmother alive?
• How many full brothers and sisters do you have?
• How many paternal half-brothers and half-sisters do you have?

You do not need to know the value of your estate to calculate Faraidh shares — the calculator works in percentages and fractions that apply to whatever the estate is worth.

Step 1: Enter your gender

Your gender determines the direction of the spouse's share. If you are male, your surviving wife inherits. If you are female, your surviving husband inherits. The fractions differ:

• A surviving wife receives 1/4 (no children) or 1/8 (with children)
• A surviving husband receives 1/2 (no children) or 1/4 (with children)

Step 2: Enter your marital status and spouse details

If you are married, confirm whether your spouse would survive you. If you are divorced or widowed, a former spouse does not inherit.

Step 3: Enter your children

Sons and daughters have different roles in Faraidh:

With only daughters (no sons): One daughter receives 1/2; two or more daughters share 2/3.

With only sons: Sons are Asaba (residuary heirs) — they share everything that remains after other fixed shares.

With sons and daughters together: Both inherit as Asaba. Each son receives double a daughter's share.

Step 4: Enter your parents

Both parents have Quranic shares:

Father:

• 1/6 if you have sons
• 1/6 plus the remainder (Asaba) if you have only daughters
• All the remainder if you have no children at all

Mother:

• 1/6 if you have children, or if you have two or more siblings
• 1/3 if you have no children and fewer than two siblings
• 1/3 of the remainder after the spouse's share in the special Umariyyatain case

Step 5: Extended family (if parents deceased)

Grandparents and siblings only come into play when parents are not alive. A good calculator handles all blocking rules automatically.

Reading the results

A Faraidh calculation will show you:

• Each heir's fraction — exact fractions like 1/2, 1/4, 2/3, 1/6 directly from the Quran
• Each heir's percentage — 1/6 ≈ 16.67%, 1/8 = 12.5%
• Special rules applied — Awl, Radd, or Umariyyatain where relevant
• Excluded heirs — heirs blocked by a closer relative

Common scenarios with worked results

Scenario 1: Married man, 2 sons, 1 daughter, both parents alive

Scenario 2: Widow, 2 daughters, mother alive, father deceased — Awl applies

Fixed shares: Husband 1/4 + Mother 1/6 + 2 daughters 2/3 = 3/12 + 2/12 + 8/12 = 13/12 (exceeds 100%)

Awl applies — divide each share by 13/12:

Scenario 3: Single woman, no children, both parents alive, 3 brothers

When the father is alive, brothers are blocked entirely. Mother receives 1/3, father receives 2/3.

What a calculator cannot tell you

A Faraidh calculator handles the mathematics. It cannot:

1. Tell you what your estate is worth
2. Give legal advice for unusual situations (multiple marriages, adopted children, contested paternity)
3. Make your will legally enforceable — for civil law force, the Wasiyyah must be signed before two witnesses