ʿAsaba (Residuary Heirs)

In Islamic inheritance (Faraid), the ʿasaba are residuary heirs who do not take a fixed Quranic fraction but inherit whatever remains after the fixed-share heirs (ashab al-furud) receive their portions. The son is the strongest example: he inherits the residue and, alongside daughters, takes twice each daughter's share. Other residuaries include the father (when no male descendant exists), the full brother, and the grandfather.

When no fixed-share heir is present, a residuary heir can take the entire estate. An Islamic will is required for these shares to be honored under U.S. probate law.

Asaba are the residuary heirs of Faraid — typically the male-line relatives (sons, father, brothers, paternal uncles and their sons) who inherit whatever remains after the fixed Qur'anic shares are distributed, under the Prophet's instruction to 'give the shares to those entitled, and what remains to the nearest male relative' (Bukhari and Muslim). The system works in priority tiers: descendants first (a son converts daughters into co-residuaries with him at a 2:1 ratio), then ascendants (father, grandfather), then the Prophet's-era collateral lines (full brothers before half-brothers, then their sons, then uncles).

A daughter alone takes her fixed half and the residue may pass to more distant asaba — which is why classical results sometimes surprise American Muslims when, say, a brother of the deceased inherits alongside a widow and daughters. Understanding who counts as asaba is essential to drafting an Islamic will in the U.S., because the residuary calculation cannot be left to state intestacy law: an American court will never apply the tiered agnatic order on its own.

Estate planners implementing Faraid typically attach a distribution schedule or incorporate a calculation methodology by reference, so the executor can determine the asaba and their residue precisely at death, whatever the family configuration turns out to be.