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Alleged Inheritance Error In Quran
There is a question posed by many non Muslims regarding the a mathematical error in the inheritance verse in the Quran. Usually most other objections which I have come across on any other topic can be easily dealt with but this left me stumped for quite a long time now because I read the entire verse’s translation very carefully trying to find a way to get rid of the error but I couldn’t find any way out. I listened to justifications by some learned Muslims on this topic but I the solution they presented did not make sense because they changed rules of math itself to make everything fit together – which should not be the case. We cannot deny that 2+2=4 and redefine the rules of addition if we supposedly find a contradiction. I know for sure that the Creator of Heavens and Earth cannot make a mathematical error. There has to be a proper logical explanation which I am not unable to find. After searching a lot online, I read from Dr Khalid Zaheer’s answer on his website that Dr Javed Ahmad also grappled with this issue during his early years but eventually found an answer, which Dr Zaheer did not elaborate on in his answer. This is why I am writing to you for help. The verse in question is Quran 4:11-12, 4:176 and the claim made is as follows :
“The greatest problem with Allah’s inheritance rules is that they result in multiple situations in which the total of the inheritance pie adds up to more than 100%. It is an extraordinary mathematical error.
Example 1:
A deceased man leaves behind a wife, two daughters, a mother and father. The wife receives ⅛. The two daughters share ⅔. The mother and father each get ⅙. Per the Quran’s math, the total combined is 1 ⅛.
Example 2:
A deceased woman leaves behind a husband and two sisters. The husband receives ½ and the sisters share ⅔. Per the Quran’s math, the total is 1 ⅙. “
Please explain how is our understanding of these verses incorrect. JazakAllah khair.
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8 Replies
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Alleged Inheritance Error In Quran
updated 2 days, 16 hours ago
4 Members
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8
Replies
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Answer for your first example: firstly you will give shares to wife and mother, then what will be left ,daughters will get 2/3 of that remaining wealth.
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The error is not in the Quran, but our classical understanding of the text. Ghamidi sahab has explained the Quranic law of inheritance quite elegantly. Please watch the following videos in which Hassan Ilyas sahab explains Ghamidi sahab’s understanding with easy to follow examples:
https://www.ghamidi.org/viewpoint/islamic-law-of-inheritance/
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@Shoaib How do we know it means “2/3rd of remaining” ? Because the verse translation says otherwise. The English translation says “their share is 2/3rd of the inheritance”, and not 2/3rd of remaining.
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@adnantamimi brother try to understand this way wife’s share is 1/8 and mother’s share is 1/6 and the dead body has only son. As you know son will get all the wealth , then how will you assign 1/8 and 1/6 share to wife and mother respectively? Its a simple thing to understand in a worldly example if i have some money and i say all of this belongs to adnan and Ali will get 1/8th. Then you will definitely not say eqaution has become 1+1/8.
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@Faisal I believe that’s a full series of lecture videos. Can you please refer me to the video where this particular aspect is discussed ?
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You’ll have to watch the whole series in order to understand the concept.
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The following thread also discusses the topic of distribution of inheritance in great detail:
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I’m not a scholar, but Chatgpt pretty much sums it up here “The claim that the Quranic inheritance shares do not always add up to 1 is based on a shallow mathematical misunderstanding and ignores the divine precision of Islamic law. This is not an error but a testament to the superior justice of the Quranic system, which adjusts fairly to real-life family structures. If the shares were forced to always total exactly 1, it would create contradictions and injustices—some heirs would be unjustly denied their rightful portions, while others might be forced into the equation where they do not exist. For example, in cases where the assigned shares naturally exceed 1—such as a husband (1/4), two daughters (2/3), and a mother (1/6), totaling 13/12—it would be mathematically impossible to distribute without unfairly removing part of an heir’s rightful share. This is why the principle of ‘awl (reduction) exists, ensuring proportional fairness. Conversely, if the shares total less than 1, such as when only a daughter (1/2) and a mother (1/6) inherit (totaling 2/3), there would be unassigned wealth, which would either remain unclaimed or require an artificial heir to be introduced—both of which would be irrational. The principle of radd (redistribution) corrects this by fairly assigning the extra portion to the existing heirs. The Quranic system accounts for every scenario through ‘awl and radd, principles applied by Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) and upheld by jurists like Zaid ibn Thabit (RA). The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ confirmed in Sahih al-Bukhari (6732) and Sahih Muslim (1615) that after assigned shares are given, any remaining wealth is to be distributed among the closest male relatives, proving that a rigid sum of 1 was never the intended rule. If the Quran’s system truly contained an error, then it would not have provided a flawless mechanism that has governed inheritance for over 1,400 years with zero practical contradictions. Unlike man-made legal systems, which require constant amendments, the Quranic method is self-adjusting and timeless, demonstrating a divine precision that no human law has ever achieved. Those who claim this is an error are either ignorant of Islamic jurisprudence or deliberately misrepresenting the Quran to fit their agenda, ignoring the mathematical, historical, and legal proofs that expose their claim as baseless.’
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