Inheritance Law in Pakistan 2026: Shares of Wife, Sons, Daughters and Parents

When a Muslim dies in Pakistan, the estate is divided under Islamic inheritance law (faraid or wirasat), not under a will alone. Most families follow the Hanafi school, modified in one important place by the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961. This guide explains who inherits, how much each heir gets, what happens to the children of a son or daughter who died earlier, and how to get the legal paperwork done. To see the numbers for your own family, use our Islamic inheritance calculator for Pakistan.

Note: this is general information, not legal advice. Shia (Ithna Ashari) rules differ from those below. Complicated estates should be checked by a lawyer.

What is divided: the order of payments

Heirs receive shares only from what is left after these items, in this order:

• Funeral and burial costs.
• Debts of the deceased, including unpaid dower (mahr) owed to a wife.
• Bequests (wasiyyat), limited to one third of the estate and not to a person who is already an heir, unless the other heirs agree.

Only the remainder is shared among the heirs.

Fixed shares of the main heirs (Hanafi)

These are the shares set out in the Quran (Surah an-Nisa, verses 11, 12 and 176) for the closest relatives.

Full brothers and sisters inherit nothing if the deceased leaves a son or a father. When a full brother is present, brothers and sisters share the remainder, with each brother receiving twice a sister’s share.

Worked examples

Each of these matches what the calculator shows.

Example 1: widow, two sons and a daughter

The deceased man leaves a wife, two sons and one daughter. The wife takes 1/8. The remaining 7/8 is split between the children in units of two for each son and one for each daughter, which is five units. Each son receives 7/20 and the daughter receives 7/40. On an estate of Rs 10,000,000 that is Rs 1,250,000 for the wife, Rs 3,500,000 for each son and Rs 1,750,000 for the daughter.

Example 2: widow, father and mother, no children

The wife takes 1/4. The mother does not take 1/3 of the whole estate. She takes one third of what is left after the wife, which is 1/4 of the estate, and the father takes the remaining 1/2. Scholars call the husband-or-wife, father and mother combination the Umariyyatayn case.

Example 3: awl (shares add up to more than one)

A woman leaves a husband, a mother and two full sisters. The shares would be husband 1/2, mother 1/6 and sisters 2/3, which adds up to 4/3. Every share is reduced in proportion. The final result is husband 3/8, mother 1/8 and sisters 1/4 each. This reduction is called awl.

Example 4: radd (a surplus is left over)

A woman leaves a husband and two daughters. The husband takes 1/4 and the daughters take 2/3, leaving 1/12 unallocated. Because no residuary heir exists, the surplus returns to the daughters in proportion to their shares (radd), but not to the husband or wife. The final result is husband 1/4 and 3/8 for each daughter.

Grandchildren of a son or daughter who died earlier

Under classical Hanafi law, grandchildren do not inherit while a son is alive, so the children of a son who died earlier received nothing. Section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961 changed this. If a son or daughter of the deceased dies before the deceased, that child’s living children receive, per stirpes, the share their parent would have received if alive.

For example, a man dies leaving a daughter and the children of a son who died before him (one grandson and two granddaughters). The predeceased son’s notional share is two thirds of the estate shared with the daughter in units of two and one, so it is 2/3 for the son’s line and 1/3 for the daughter. The grandson takes twice the share of each granddaughter within that line.

The legal position of this section has been contested. In Allah Rakha v Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2000 FSC 1), the Federal Shariat Court held that section 4 was repugnant to Islam, but the appeal in the Supreme Court’s Shariat Appellate Bench was reported as pending, so the section continues to apply in practice. Courts have also interpreted its scope differently over the years. If grandchildren are involved, take legal advice before you divide property.

Daughters and widows: the right to inherit is enforceable

Denying daughters or widows their share is common, and the courts have repeatedly said it is illegal.

• In a judgment released in November 2025, a Supreme Court bench of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan said the state must make sure women know their inheritance rights and can claim them without lengthy litigation, and it imposed Rs 500,000 costs on a brother who kept a family property from his sister.
• In July 2026, the Supreme Court was reported to have held that no custom or jirga can override Islamic law or the Constitution, and that tribal customs denying women their inheritance have no legal status.
• The Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act 2020 lets a woman who has been deprived of her property complain to the Ombudsman if no court case is pending. The Deputy Commissioner reports within 15 days and the Ombudsman is expected to decide, preferably within 60 days. This applies in Islamabad, and Punjab has its own Act of 2021 for the province.

If a family member asks you to sign away your share, make sure you understand what you are signing and that nobody is pressuring you. Get advice before you sign any relinquishment document.

Getting the legal paperwork done

1. Death certificate. Get it from the union council or NADRA.
2. Family registration certificate (FRC). NADRA’s FRC lists the family members and is the base document for most heir verification.
3. Succession certificate. You need one to claim bank accounts, savings certificates and similar assets. In Islamabad, NADRA now issues it under the Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act: all heirs are verified biometrically, a notice is published, and if nobody objects within 14 days the certificate is issued. Our guide explains the NADRA succession certificate process, and you can still use the court route described in how to get a succession certificate through court where NADRA’s system is not yet available.
4. Mutation (intiqal) of land. For land and houses, apply to the revenue office (patwari and tehsildar in Punjab) to record the heirs’ names in the revenue record. A fard showing the deceased’s ownership and the list of heirs is normally needed.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a wife inherit in Pakistan?

A wife receives 1/8 if the deceased left a child or grandchild, and 1/4 if there are none. If there are several wives, they share that fraction equally.

Do daughters get a share in Pakistan?

Yes. A daughter inherits from her father and mother. With a son, she receives half of a son’s share. Without a son, one daughter gets 1/2 and two or more get 2/3 together.

Can a will give more than one third?

No. A wasiyyat is limited to one third of the estate after debts, and it cannot favour an heir unless all other heirs agree.

Do orphaned grandchildren inherit?

Under section 4 of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance 1961, the living children of a predeceased son or daughter take the share their parent would have received. The section’s legal status has been challenged, so check with a lawyer.

Does the calculator work for Shia families?

No. Our calculator follows Sunni Hanafi rules with section 4 of the 1961 Ordinance. Shia inheritance rules differ.

Where can I check shares for my own family?

Use the Islamic inheritance calculator. It shows each heir’s fraction, percentage and Rupee amount.

Sources

• LUMS Law Journal: Inheritance Rights of Orphaned Grandchildren
• Dawn: Supreme Court on women’s inheritance, November 2025
• ARY News: Supreme Court on tribal practice denying women inheritance
• Press Information Department: Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act 2020
• Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates Act: summary
• Zameen: Succession certificate initiative updates