Islamic Inheritance Guide (KHI)

This guide explains the basics of Islamic inheritance as set out in Indonesia's Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI) and applied by the Religious Courts, with worked examples and how to calculate them in IndoWaris. It is general education; for your own case, also see the limits on the Disclaimer page.

1. Definition and legal basis

Islamic inheritance law governs the transfer of a deceased person's estate to the family members entitled to it (heirs), and how large each share is. Its sources:

• the Qur'an, Surah An-Nisa verses 11, 12 and 176;
• the Compilation of Islamic Law, Book II on Inheritance (Articles 171–214);
• decisions and practice of the Religious Courts and the Supreme Court.

2. Conditions for inheritance

1. The deceased has died, in fact or by court decision.
2. The heir was alive when the deceased died. That is why every person's date of death matters so much.
3. There is a blood or marital relationship with the deceased.
4. The heir is Muslim (Art. 171(c)).
5. The heir is not barred by a court judgment, e.g. convicted of killing, attempting to kill or seriously harming the deceased, or of slandering the deceased of a serious crime (Art. 173).

3. What is settled before division

Heirs share the net estate. The order is:

1. Separate the marital property (gono-gini). Half of the property acquired during the marriage belongs to the surviving spouse (Art. 96). Only the deceased's part is inherited.
2. Funeral costs up to burial.
3. The deceased's debts, including unfulfilled obligations.
4. Wills, at most 1/3 of the estate and not to an heir, unless all heirs agree (Art. 195).
5. The rest is divided among the heirs according to their shares.

In IndoWaris: enter the net estate after steps 1–4 as the Estate value, or leave it blank — shares are still shown as fractions.

4. Who the heirs are

Under Art. 174 the heirs are:

• By blood — male: father, son, brother, paternal uncle, grandfather; female: mother, daughter, sister, grandmother.
• By marriage — the husband (widower) or wife (widow).

If all heirs are present, only the children, father, mother and spouse are certain to inherit. There are also substitute heirs (Art. 185): grandchildren and further descendants who take the place of a parent who died before the deceased.

5. Table of fixed shares (furudh)

6. Residuary heirs (ashabah) and exclusion (hijab)

Ashabah are heirs who take what remains after the fixed shares. The order is: son (with daughters, 2:1) → father → full brother (with full sisters, 2:1) → paternal brother.

Hijab means an heir's right is blocked by a closer heir:

• All siblings (full, paternal, maternal) are excluded by the deceased's descendants — male or female — and by the father.
• Paternal siblings are excluded by a full brother.
• The shares of the husband, wife and mother are never removed, only reduced when there are descendants (hijab nuqshan).

7. 'Aul and radd

'Aul — fixed shares exceed the estate

When the fixed shares add up to more than one, every share is reduced proportionally (Art. 192).

Example C. Mrs Rahma died without children; her father had died before her. Heirs: husband, mother and two full sisters. Net estate IDR 480,000,000.

Radd — a remainder with no residuary heir

When the fixed shares do not exhaust the estate and there is no residuary heir, the remainder is returned proportionally to the blood heirs; a spouse receives radd only if there is no other heir (Art. 193).

Example D. Mr Yusuf died; his father had died before him and he had no wife. Heirs: his mother and one daughter. Net estate IDR 400,000,000.

Without radd, the remaining 1/3 (IDR 133,333,333) would be left unassigned; radd returns it in the 3:1 ratio of the initial shares.

8. Worked examples

Example A — a man leaves a wife and three children

Mr Ahmad died. Heirs: his wife, two sons (Budi, Candra) and one daughter (Dina). Net estate IDR 1,200,000,000 (marital property already separated).

1. The wife receives 1/8 because there are children: IDR 150,000,000.
2. The remaining 7/8 = IDR 1,050,000,000 goes to the children in a 2:2:1 ratio (5 parts of IDR 210,000,000).

Example B — no children (gharrawain)

Mr Hasan died without descendants. Heirs: his wife, father and mother. Net estate IDR 600,000,000.

1. The wife receives 1/4: IDR 150,000,000. Remaining: IDR 450,000,000.
2. The mother receives 1/3 of the remainder: IDR 150,000,000 (equal to 1/4 of the estate).
3. The father takes the rest: IDR 300,000,000 (1/2 of the estate).

The gharrawain rule keeps the father's share from falling below the mother's: if the mother took 1/3 of the whole estate (IDR 200,000,000), the father would receive only IDR 250,000,000.

Example E — substitute heirs (Art. 185)

Mr Karim died in 2024. Heirs: his wife, his son Andi, and Budi — a son who died in 2020 leaving two children, Cahya (male) and Dewi (female). Net estate IDR 960,000,000.

Budi's share (IDR 420,000,000, the same as Andi's) passes to his children in a 2:1 ratio.

Example F — successive deaths (munasakhah)

Mr Ahmad died in 2020 leaving his wife (Siti), a son (Rudi) and a daughter (Rina). Before the estate was divided, Siti died in 2022. Mr Ahmad's net estate: IDR 900,000,000.

IndoWaris calculates every stage automatically as long as each person's date of death is filled in.

9. Key terms

• Deceased (pewaris) — the person who died and left an estate.
• Heir (ahli waris) — a person entitled to a share.
• Estate (tirkah) — everything the deceased owned at death; the inheritable estate is what remains after funeral costs, debts and wills.
• Furudh — fixed shares: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, 1/6.
• Ashabah — residuary heirs.
• Hijab — exclusion of an heir by a closer heir.
• 'Aul — proportional reduction when fixed shares exceed the estate.
• Radd — return of a remainder to the heirs.
• Gharrawain — father, mother and spouse; the mother receives 1/3 of the remainder.
• Substitute heir — a descendant who takes the place of a parent who died before the deceased.
• Munasakhah — successive deaths: an heir dies before the estate is divided.
• Baitul mal — property with no heirs, handed over for the public good of the Muslim community (Art. 191).

10. Documents to prepare

• ID cards (KTP) and Family Cards (KK) of the deceased and all heirs.
• Death certificate of the deceased — and of any heirs who have died.
• Marriage certificate; divorce certificate if any.
• Children's birth certificates.
• Proof of ownership: land certificates, vehicle ownership books (BPKB), savings books, share certificates, etc.
• A list of debts and any written will.

Banks and the land office usually ask for a certificate of heirs or a determination of heirs from the Religious Court. Exact requirements differ, so check with the institution concerned.

11. How to calculate in IndoWaris

1. Register and verify your email, then sign in. Want to try first? Click Try a sample family.
2. Click New case, name it and optionally fill in the Estate value.
3. In the Family members tab, add the person who died, fill in the date of death, then click Set as deceased.
4. Add relatives with Add spouse, Add child, Add father and Add mother. Siblings are added as children of the deceased's father/mother. Fill in the date of death for everyone who has died, and check the Muslim flag.
5. Have a Family Card or death certificate? Upload it in the AI Documents tab; review the result, then approve.
6. Open the Chart tab to check the family tree, then the Result tab to see the shares, stage breakdown and Notes.
7. In the Download tab, save the chart (SVG/PNG/PDF) or click Generate PPTX for a family presentation.

Stuck at any step? The IndoWarisVA Guide card in every case shows the next step, and you can ask anytime with the Ask IndoWarisVA button.

12. After the calculation

• Discuss it as a family. Once everyone knows their rights, heirs may agree to divide differently (Art. 183) — for example, one heir takes the house and compensates the others.
• Arrange official documents if needed: a certificate of heirs, a Religious Court determination of heirs or a notarial deed.
• Do not delay the division too long. The longer it waits, the more likely successive deaths make the calculation and agreement more complicated.

Last updated: 2026-09-26