Inheritance of Grandsons
Definition
In everyday language, the term grandson refers to any male descendant. For inheritance law, there are two categories of grandsons: primary heir grandsons and extended relative grandsons.
A grandson who connects to the deceased through an all-male lineage is classified as a primary heir. All other grandsons are classified as extended relatives, which could be identified whenever there is a female in the lineage between them and the deceased.
In inheritance, whenever the term grandson is used, it refers to a grandson that is classified as a primary heir. The term refers equally to immediate grandsons and great grandsons. When distinguishing between different grandsons is necessary, the lineage is specified, e.g. Grandson [Son’s son] and Grandson [Son of Son’s son]. Whenever the lineage is not specified, then it is assumed that these are [primary] grandsons on the same level.
Consider the following diagram:
In the above diagram, the primary heir grandsons are [1], [4], [5] and [9]. These all have an all-male lineage to the deceased. All other grandsons are considered extended relatives because of the presence of a female in the lineage. For instance, [6] is [Son of Daughter’s son] and [7] is [Son of Son’s Daughter].
Classification
Using the above definition, grandsons are considered Primary Heirs, which means they are among the relatives given priority in inheritance scenarios.
Grandsons are also Universal Heirs. This means they inherit through the Principle of Universality. There is no scenario in which a grandson is allocated a fixed-share.
Exclusion Rules
A grandson is excluded in two scenarios:
There is a son of the deceased
There is a closer grandson
Using the above diagram, if any son (marked in green) is alive, then he excludes grandsons [1], [4], [5] and [9]. This is because a son excludes all grandsons at all levels.
If Grandson [1] is alive, then not only does he exclude his son [5], but he also excludes [9] because he is considered to be a closer grandson. Similarly, if [4] is alive then he excludes both [5] and [9].
Note how [1] and [4] are on the same level, and so they are both treated equally.
The Grandson’s Share
A grandson inherits through Universality. This means the grandson receives the remainder of the estate after giving the fixed-share heirs their assigned shares. If there are no fixed-share holders, then the eligible grandsons inherit the entire estate equally.
During computation, a grandson is assigned letter U to indicate that he is a universal heir.
Examples
Example 1: Husband and Grandson
In this scenario, the husband receives 1/4 due to the presence of a descendant and the grandson receives the remainder.
4 | ||
Husband | 1/4 | 1 |
Grandson | U | 3 |
Example 2: Wife, Daughter and a Grandson
In this scenario, the wife receives 1/8 due to the presence of a descendant, the daughter receives 1/2 because she is only one and there are no sons, and the remainder goes to the grandson.
8 | ||
Wife | 1/8 | 1 |
Daughter | 1/2 | 4 |
Grandson | U | 3 |
Example 3: Husband, two Daughters and a Grandson
In this scenario, the husband receives 1/4 due to the presence of a descendant, the two daughters receive 2/3 because they are multiple daughters and there are no sons, and the grandson receives the remainder.
12 | ||
Husband | 1/4 | 3 |
Daughter x 2 | 2/3 | 8 |
Grandson x 3 | U | 1 |
Example 4: Wife, two Daughters, a Son and two Grandsons
In this scenario, the wife receives 1/8 due to the presence of a descendant, the daughters and son jointly inherit through universality, and the grandsons are excluded by the son.
8 | 32 | 32 | ||
Wife | 1/8 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Daughter x 2 | U | 7 | 28 | 14 |
Son | 14 | |||
Grandson x 2 | X | – | – | – |
Example 5: Four Daughters, a Grandson and two Great Grandsons [Son of Son’s son]
The daughters receive 2/3 because they are multiple daughters and there are no sons, the grandson gets the remainder, and the great grandsons are excluded by the closer grandson.
3 | 6 | ||
Daughter x 4 | 2/3 | 2 | 4 |
Grandson | U | 1 | 2 |
Great Grandson x 2 | X | – | – |
Example 6: Wife, two Daughters, a Grandson [Daughter’s son] and a Great Grandson [Son of Son’s son]
The grandson [daughter’s son] is an extended relative, so he is filtered out from the scenario.
The wife receives 1/8 because there is a descendant, the two daughters receive 2/3 because they are multiple daughters and there is no son, and the great grandson receives the remainder.
24 | ||
Wife | 1/8 | 3 |
Daughter x 2 | 2/3 | 16 |
Great Grandson | U | 5 |
Textual Evidence
The share of grandsons is implied in Chapter 4, verse 11 of the Holy Quran which reads:
Allah commands you regarding your children: the share of the male will be twice that of the female. If they were all females, more than [or equal to] two, their share is two-thirds of what he [the deceased] leaves. But if there is only one female, her share will be one-half.
The term “children” at the start of the verse is interpreted to include both children and grandchildren. This is based on the Arabic language usage of the term which extends to all descendants (in all levels) without confinement to immediate children.
Summary
Heir | Share | Conditions |
Grandson | U | None |
X | Excluded by
|