Classes of Heirs According to Islamic Law

In contrast to the division of the class of heirs in civil law, there are several opinions regarding the class of heirs in Islamic inheritance law. Even so, the main reference in Indonesia still refers to the provisions written in Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1991 concerning the Compilation of Islamic Law (KHI), which was formed on the basis of the arguments of the Qur'an and the Hadith.

Article 174 paragraph 1 KHI explains further about the class of heirs in Islam. The article states that:

(1) The groups of heirs consist of:
a. According to blood type:
- The male class consists of: father, son, brother, uncle and grandfather.
- The female class consists of: mother, daughter, sister of the grandmother.
b. According to marital relationship, it consists of: widow or widower.

Meanwhile, Article 174 paragraph 2 KHI indicates the implementation of a closed inheritance system in Islamic inheritance law, stating that: "If all heirs exist, then only children, fathers, mothers, widows or widowers are entitled to inheritance".

The classification of heirs according to ahlussunnah wal jamaah is divided into 3, namely:

  1. Dzawul Faraid, is an heir who gets a share whose amount of acquisition has been clearly stipulated in the Qur'an.
  2. Ashabah, is a group of heirs who when viewed from the amount of acquisition, they are the group that gets the remaining part. If viewed from the side of the heir, ashabah heirs are heirs who have a family relationship according to the patrilinial line. The requirement of the ashabah heir is that the heir must be one ashabah of the testator (has a male patrilineal line).
  3. Dzawul Arkham, is a group whose position is quite far from the heir, and can only advance as an ashabah heir or not ashabah if there are no people who belong to the class of heirs dzawul faraidh and Ashabah.

In addition, there is another opinion from Prof. Hazairin, where he divides the group of heirs also into 3 parts based on God's provisions listed in the Qur'an and hadith, namely:

  1. Dzawul Faraid, is an heir who gets a certain amount that has been determined by Allah in the Qur'an.
  2. Dzawul Qarabat, is a group of heirs who have a bilateral line of relationship to the testator in accordance with his degree as an heir. When viewed from the acquisition, heirs dzawul qarabat is a group that gets the remaining part (open) after the group of dzawul faraid.
  3. Mawali, is a group of substitute heirs, in the sense that the mawali heir replaces the position of the main heir who has died first. An example of a mawali heir is a grandchild who becomes a beneficiary of his grandparents' estate, replacing his father/mother as the main heir who has died.