Maliki Inheritance Rules: A Complete Faraid Guide

What Is the Maliki Madhab?

The Maliki madhab is one of the four major Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence, founded by Imam Malik ibn Anas (711–795 CE) in Medina. Its jurisprudence draws heavily on the practices of the Companions of the Prophet as preserved in Medina — a methodology that gives Maliki law a distinctive character rooted in the living tradition of the early Muslim community. Today, the Maliki madhab is the dominant school in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya), West Africa (Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria), Sudan, and parts of the Gulf region.

The Shared Quranic Foundation

All four madhabs derive their inheritance rules from the same Quranic verses — primarily Surah An-Nisa 4:11–12 and 4:176. The six fixed shares (the Ashabus-sittah) — one-half, one-quarter, one-eighth, two-thirds, one-third, and one-sixth — are agreed upon by all schools. Where madhabs differ is in the application of residue distribution, the handling of edge cases, and the specific rules around grandfather-sibling conflicts and Radd.

Maliki Fixed Shares: The Full Reference Table

The Defining Maliki Rule: Radd to the Spouse

The most distinctive feature of Maliki inheritance law — and the one most relevant to practical estate planning — is that the Maliki madhab is the only school that allows Radd (surplus return) to the surviving spouse.

Radd arises when the fixed shares of all heirs do not add up to the full estate, leaving a surplus. In Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali law, this surplus is returned proportionally to the non-spouse heirs only. The spouse — husband or wife — is excluded from Radd under these three schools because spouses are connected to the deceased through marriage (a temporary bond) rather than blood kinship.

The Maliki position, based on a different reading of the textual evidence and the practice of the early community, is that the spouse is not excluded from Radd. When a surviving spouse is the only heir, or the primary heir alongside heirs whose shares leave a surplus, the Maliki madhab returns that surplus to the spouse.

Radd Example Under Maliki: Wife and Mother Only

Estate value: R 600,000. Heirs: wife only + mother only (no children, no father).

Under Hanafi/Shafi'i/Hanbali, the wife would receive only her fixed 1/4 (R 150,000) and the full surplus of R 250,000 would go to the mother. Under the Maliki madhab, both wife and mother share in the surplus proportionally — a significant practical difference for surviving spouses.

Maliki Rules on Grandfather and Siblings: Muqasama

When a paternal grandfather coexists with full siblings (brothers or sisters) in the estate, all four madhabs except Hanafi apply a principle called muqasama (proportional sharing). In the Maliki madhab, the grandfather does not block siblings the way a father would. Instead, the grandfather inherits alongside siblings as if he were a full brother, with the constraint that he receives no less than one-third of the estate in any scenario.

This contrasts with the Hanafi rule where the grandfather steps fully into the father's position and completely excludes all siblings. The Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools are aligned on muqasama, while differing from each other on Radd and Dhawul Arham.

Maliki Position on Dhawul Arham

Dhawul Arham are distant relatives connected through females — daughter's children, sister's children, maternal grandfather, maternal uncles. When no Asabah (agnatic) heirs exist and fixed shares leave a surplus, the question arises: who receives it?

The classical Maliki position traditionally favoured the bait al-mal (public treasury) over Dhawul Arham. This differs from the Hanafi and Hanbali position, which gives the surplus to Dhawul Arham. However, in modern practice — especially in countries without a functioning Islamic treasury — contemporary Maliki scholars widely accept distribution to Dhawul Arham as the appropriate application.

Maliki vs Other Madhabs: Key Differences at a Glance

Worked Maliki Example: Grandfather, Full Brother, Full Sister

Estate: R 480,000. Heirs: paternal grandfather + one full brother + one full sister. No parents, no children.

Under Hanafi: grandfather blocks both siblings entirely. Grandfather takes R 480,000 as pure Asabah.

Under Maliki (muqasama): grandfather is treated as a full brother for purposes of sharing. So we have: grandfather (treated as 1 brother) + 1 brother + 1 sister. Male gets 2x female. Total parts: 2 + 2 + 1 = 5. But grandfather cannot receive less than 1/3 of the estate (R 160,000). Check: grandfather's muqasama share = 2/5 × R 480,000 = R 192,000, which exceeds 1/3 (R 160,000). So muqasama applies as-is.

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Frequently Asked Questions