residuaries

Arabic/Persian · Family and succession

Meaning. In Muslim law, the heirs (asaba) who take whatever remains of the estate after the sharers are paid.

Under Hanafi (Sunni) law the heirs fall into three main classes: sharers (Koranic heirs with fixed fractions), residuaries (asaba) and distant kindred. Residuaries are mostly male agnates (related through males), such as the son, son's son, father, brother and paternal uncle, and in some cases females taking with a male of the same degree, such as a daughter with a son. They take what is left after the sharers' shares; if there is no sharer, they take the whole estate.

Some heirs, such as the father, can take both as sharer and as residuary. The nearer residuary excludes the more remote. Shia law does not use this classification: it divides heirs into three classes by consanguinity, each with sharers and residuaries, and it does not prefer agnates in the same way.

Example

The widow took her one-eighth as a sharer, and the son, as residuary, took the remaining seven-eighths.

In Indian law

Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 (applies Muslim law of succession)

residuaries

Example

In Indian law

See also

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