Muslim law

refer the books

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Inheritance opens only after the death of a Muslim. No person may be an heir of a living person (Nemoest haeres viventis). Therefore, unless a person dies, his heirs have no interest in his properties. Unlike Hindu law, the Muslim law of inheritance does not recognise the concept of 'right by birth' 

In Islam, women are entitled the right of inheritance, though generally, Islam allots women half the share of inheritance available to men if they inherit from the same father. For example, where the decedent has both male and female children, a son's share is double that of a daughter's.

The Islamic Law of inheritance is a combination of the pre-Islamic customs and the rules introduced by the Prophet. ... The estate of a deceased Muslim devolves on his heirs separately and the heirs are entitled to hold the property as tenants-in-common, each having a definite share in the property.

Sunni and Shia laws of inheritance are different in their foundational structure as well as detailed implications, though the both are inspired from the Quranic verses of inheritance.

The per capita distribution method is majorly used in the Sunni law. According to this method, the estate left over by the ancestors gets equally distributed among the heirs. Therefore, the share of each person depends on the number of heirs. The per strip distribution method is recognised in the Shia law.

Shia law divides legal heirs into three basic classes.6 These classes thereafter determine distribution of an estate among legal heirs and how to give preference to one legal heir over another.

division of legal heirs into three classes according to Shia law does not have any comparable feature in Sunni law.

There is another noteworthy distinction that Shia law does not recognize distant kindred as another category of legal heirs as they are identified in Sunni law.