Qur’an and Sunnah

From text to case

Three verses in An-Nisa are key starting points for many shares. The Sunnah explains assigning shares and considering the remainder.

Content reviewed: 27 October 2026
General educational material. Do not distribute an actual estate without establishing all heirs, debts and valid bequests and consulting a qualified authority. Local law and juristic approaches may affect the result.Hadith documentation and source method ↗

Children and parents

An-Nisa 4:11 discusses the daughter, multiple daughters, sons and daughters together, and parents in different circumstances. Read the whole verse and identify all heirs before selecting a fraction.

Spouses and some siblings

An-Nisa 4:12 addresses spouses with or without children and some maternal-sibling cases, including a warning against harmful bequests.

Other sibling cases

An-Nisa 4:176 addresses sisters and brothers in the circumstances described there. Different sibling relationships must not be treated as identical.

The remainder in the Sunnah

Ibn Abbas’s report assigns prescribed shares first and the remainder to the eligible residuary heir. Abu Huraira’s report assigns property left behind to heirs. These are explanations; the priority of debts and valid bequests has separate evidence. The documentation page gives the Arabic wording and references.