What is Faraid / Mawarith?
Faraid (also written Mawarith) is the Islamic system of fixed inheritance shares, laid out primarily in Surah An-Nisa (4:11–12, 4:176) of the Qur'an. Unlike a will, where a person chooses how to distribute their own property, Faraid shares are largely fixed by law — they apply automatically to a deceased Muslim's estate, regardless of what a will says, for anyone recognized as an heir.
This is why an Islamic will (a Wasiyyah) doesn't override Faraid — it works alongside it. A Wasiyyah lets you direct up to one-third of your net estate to a bequest of your choosing; the other two-thirds (or all of it, if there's no bequest) is distributed to your heirs according to their fixed Mawarith shares.
Who is entitled to a fixed share?
Islamic law recognizes a defined list of relatives who can be entitled to a share, depending on who else survives the deceased. The core categories are:
- Spouse — husband or wife, share depends on whether there are surviving children
- Children — sons and daughters, generally in a 2:1 ratio between sons and daughters
- Parents — mother and father, each with a fixed minimum share where children survive
- Siblings — entitled to inherit in specific circumstances, such as when there is no surviving father or children
- Grandparents and other relatives — entitled in more specific situations, depending on who else survives
Exactly who inherits, and how much, depends entirely on the specific combination of survivors — this is why Faraid calculations are described as having roughly six major case types, each with its own rules for shares and residue.
A worked example
Consider a man who passes away, survived by his wife, his father, his mother, one son, and one daughter. Because there are surviving children, the shares work out as follows:
| Heir | Basis | Share | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wife | 1/8 (with children) | 1/8 | 12.50% |
| Father | 1/6 (with children) | 1/6 | 16.67% |
| Mother | 1/6 (with children) | 1/6 | 16.67% |
| Son | Residual — 2× daughter | ~36.1% | 36.11% |
| Daughter | Residual with sons | ~18.1% | 18.06% |
Change any one of these survivors — no father, no children, three daughters instead of one — and the entire calculation changes. That's what makes Faraid genuinely difficult to compute by hand, and why mistakes are common when families try to work it out themselves.
Why the 2:1 ratio between sons and daughters?
The Qur'anic ratio reflects the distinct financial obligations placed on men and women in Islamic law: a son inherits more but is also religiously obligated to provide financial support — mahr (dowry) to a future wife, and maintenance for his household — obligations a daughter does not carry in the same way, since any wealth or income she receives, including her inheritance, remains entirely hers. The ratio is about differing financial responsibilities, not differing worth.
Common mistakes families make
- Assuming Canadian intestacy law will "sort it out." It won't — provincial succession law distributes an estate based on secular rules that don't recognize Mawarith shares at all. See our guide on what happens if a Muslim dies without a will in Canada.
- Treating Faraid as optional or a "cultural preference." For a Muslim who wishes their estate distributed according to Shariah, Faraid shares are the mechanism that makes that possible — a will has to state them explicitly for a Canadian court to recognize and apply them.
- Forgetting residue rules. After fixed shares are paid out, what's left (the residue) doesn't just disappear — it's allocated to specific residuary heirs (asabah), most commonly sons, under defined rules.
- Getting the calculation wrong. Faraid math involves shared denominators, "awl" (proportional reduction when shares exceed the whole) and "radd" (redistribution when shares don't use up the whole) in certain cases — errors are easy to make without structured tools.
WillVera calculates your Mawarith shares automatically
Enter your family structure — spouse, children, parents, siblings — and WillVera calculates your correct Faraid shares across all major case types, shown to you before you pay, and included as Schedule A in your finished Islamic will.
See my Mawarith calculation →How WillVera includes this in your will
When you choose the Islamic will option in the WillVera builder, the platform activates the Mawarith module: you enter your surviving family members, and WillVera calculates the applicable Faraid shares for your specific situation, presenting them clearly before you finalize your document. The calculation is included as Schedule A of your will, alongside your wasiyyah bequest (if any) and Islamic burial instructions — all prepared to meet the formal signing and witnessing requirements of your Canadian province.
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