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Kalala (collateral heirs)

الكلالة

For al-Sha'rawi, kalala are the collateral heirs of a deceased person who has neither ascendant nor descendant, and the rule concerns siblings. He separates uterine siblings, who take a sixth alone and share a third when more than one, from full or paternal siblings, for whom two sisters take two-thirds, and he holds that the separation answers the claim that the verses contradict each other 123.

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Family, marriage and kinship

Summary

For al-Sha'rawi, the kalala are collateral heirs of a deceased person who has neither ascendant nor descendant, and the rule concerns siblings. He separates uterine siblings from full or paternal siblings. 1

The meaning of kalala

He derives the word from the crown (iklil), what surrounds the head: the kalala are the relatives who surround a person without being his root or branch. 14

Uterine siblings and full or paternal siblings

He holds that the verse giving a sixth to one and a shared third to several concerns uterine siblings, and that the verse giving two sisters two-thirds concerns full or paternal siblings. Each has its own place. 23

Answering the charge of contradiction

He says that anyone who reads the kalala rulings without distinguishing their sides may think the Qur'an contradicts itself, and that the distinction resolves this. 35

Not checked here

No academic reading of the distinction is set out in these pages; one is needed from a named source (needs_source).

Opinions on the question

The question: Who are the kalala, and does the share of siblings change with the side of the family they come from?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The share of kalala differs by the side of the siblings: uterine, full, or paternal

Sha'rawi holds that the verse of the sixth and the third concerns uterine siblings, and the verse of two sisters with two-thirds concerns full or paternal siblings, each ruling in its place {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2031}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2032}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (1)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

An academic reading of the kalala distinction has not yet been added

No academic reading is set out in these pages; it needs a named source (needs_source). No other view was checked in these pages.

Connections

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Part of
The science of inheritance shares

People and things also explored

Gradual dispersal of property (al-tafattut al-insiyabi)· Bequest (wasiyya)· Women's inheritance· Arba'un 43 — give the fixed shares to their people· The science of inheritance shares· Taj Mahal· Abawan (the two parents)· Justice among co-wives

Sources

  1. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2028
  2. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2031
  3. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2032
  4. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2030
  5. Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p. 2033
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Kalala (collateral heirs)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-kalala/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Gradual dispersal of property (al-tafattut al-insiyabi)

Al-Sha'rawi holds that the division of inheritance spreads wealth 'in a flowing way' among sons and daughters so that it circulates in society, unlike a 'forced' dispersal that can surprise children with deprivation. He links this to the effort a person puts into the land, and warns that resentment must not rise in society.