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Inheritance Law And Basic Math
Is there any mathematical errors in the chapter 4,verse 11-12 of the Quran regarding inheritance law?
And Why are we using manmade directions (awl method or others) which violates Quranic FIXED share of the heirs to solve this mathematical problem regarding inheritance from the age of Sahaba( Ra.)?
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6 Replies
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Inheritance Law And Basic Math
updated 3 weeks, 1 day ago
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There is no mathematical problem as per Quranic calculation related to distribution of inheritance. The famous issues of awl and Issues of hamaria (famously known as Qazia-e-hamaria) were solutions to problems faced by initial fiqh and it seems that in order to solidify their stance, some narrations were associated with Second Caliph Umar (rta), giving an impression as if He was the initiator of those practical solutions offered in order to solve some serious mathematical problems in Quran.
When Ghamid Sahab studied those verses, it became apparent that there is no such contradiction in the verses of Quran hence, there is no need to question the mathematical accuracy of Quran.
For details, you can read law of inheritance in Ghamidi Sahab’s book Islam (English rendering of Meezan done by Dr. Shehzad Saleem). You can also refer to video lectures of Ghamidi Sahab on Meezan for related portion on law of inheritance.
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For an in-depth understanding of the Islamic Law of Inheritance, please refer to the following thread:
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Your core mistake, respected sir, is not in the Qur’an itself, but in reading the inheritance verses in isolation from their context. You began the law of inheritance from Surah An-Nisā’ verse 11, whereas the Qur’an actually establishes the complete inheritance framework starting from verse 7.
Allah says:
“For men there is a share from what parents and close relatives leave behind, and for women there is a share from what parents and close relatives leave behind — whether little or much — an obligatory share.”
(Surah An-Nisā’ 4:7)
This verse first establishes a foundational principle: the obligatory inheritance system concerns specific categories of relationships. “Al-wālidayn” (the parents) is presented as one distinct foundational relationship, while “al-aqrabūn” (the close relatives) forms another category that includes the wider circle of kinship relations. Then verse 11 proceeds to define the shares of these obligated familial relations.
After that, verse 12 separately mentions the husband and wife, because spouses are not included within “aqrabūn.” Parents and blood relatives are relationships created directly by Allah through lineage, whereas the marital relationship is created through a contract, which may continue or may end. That is why the Qur’an addresses spouses separately.
Now where did the mathematical problem actually arise?
It arose when people ignored verse 7 and began applying all the fractions mentioned in verses 11 and 12 simultaneously at the same level. Then, when the total exceeded one whole, they introduced the doctrine of “‘Awl” (proportional reduction), meaning that the fractions explicitly fixed by Allah were reduced proportionally.
But the Qur’an calls these shares “naṣīban mafrūḍan” — obligatory prescribed shares. If these portions were divinely fixed, how can human beings introduce mathematical reductions or adjustments into them?
The contextual flow of the Qur’an indicates that the rights of the obligatory blood relations are established first — meaning the shares of “al-wālidayn wal-aqrabūn” are fulfilled first. Then, if there remains room for the spouse’s share to also be included, the husband or wife receives their prescribed fraction from the same estate according to verse 12. However, if a situation arises in which the prescribed shares of the blood relatives already complete the total estate, then the marital share would not be applied.
This does not mean that men or women are deprived of inheritance altogether, because under the principle of:
“For men there is a share… and for women there is a share…”
both men and women still receive their obligatory inheritance through their parents and relatives. In other words, their essential “naṣīban mafrūḍan” remains intact. The spousal share applies only when there is capacity for it alongside the fixed shares of the blood relatives.
Another important point is that the husband’s or wife’s share is also taken from the same total estate itself — not from what remains after distributing the relatives’ shares. In this reading, the Qur’anic fractions remain preserved exactly as given, without any proportional reduction or mathematical alteration being imposed upon them.
If verses 7 through 12 are read as one continuous and interconnected discourse, then no contradiction emerges and no mathematical error remains in the Qur’an. The problem is not in the Qur’an itself, but in the method of reading the Qur’an outside of its proper context.
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