Teaching Your Child Fractions Through Islamic Inheritance (Faraid)

Fractions are one of the topics children find hardest — partly because the whole-number intuition they build early on works against them (we explore why in why fractions trip up so many kids). One of the best ways to make fractions stick is to connect them to something real and meaningful. For Muslim families, there is a perfect example hiding in plain sight: the Islamic law of inheritance, known as faraid.

Fractions, straight from the Quran

Islamic inheritance shares are specified in the Quran itself — chiefly in Surah An-Nisa (chapter 4), verses 11, 12, and 176. And they are written almost entirely in fractions. The shares mentioned include:

1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 2/3, 1/3, and 1/6

These are traditionally known as the six fixed shares (in Arabic, al-furud). A few examples from the verses, purely to show the fractions in action:

A single daughter (with no son) receives 1/2; two or more daughters share 2/3 (An-Nisa 4:11).
Each parent receives 1/6 when the deceased left children (An-Nisa 4:11).
A husband receives 1/4 if his wife left children, or 1/2 if she did not (An-Nisa 4:12).
A wife receives 1/8 if her husband left children, or 1/4 if he did not (An-Nisa 4:12).

Why this is perfect fraction practice

Here is the part that makes a math teacher smile: all six of those fractions share a common denominator of 24.

1/2 = 12/24
1/4 = 6/24
1/8 = 3/24
2/3 = 16/24
1/3 = 8/24
1/6 = 4/24

When more than one heir inherits, you have to add the fractions together — which means finding a common denominator, converting to equivalent fractions, and adding. Those are exactly the skills children struggle with in the textbook. Here, they have a reason to practise them.

A worked example (for practice only)

Imagine a simple case where one heir is entitled to 1/4 of an estate and another to 1/6. To add them, convert both to twenty-fourths:

1/4 + 1/6 = 6/24 + 4/24 = 10/24

So those two heirs together take 10/24 of the estate, which leaves 24/24 − 10/24 = 14/24 for the remaining heirs. In one real-world question, your child has just practised equivalent fractions, a common denominator, addition, and subtraction.

How to use this at home

Turn shares into puzzles: “If these two parts add up to 10/24, how much is left for everyone else?”
Start younger children with the familiar pizza- or cake-slice model, then show older children how the same idea appears in something as serious and real as inheritance.
For a child who finds textbook fractions dry, the fact that these numbers come from the Quran and matter in real family life can make the practice feel meaningful rather than abstract.

An important note

This article uses inheritance shares only as a way to practise fractions — it is not a guide to distributing an actual estate. Real inheritance (faraid) is a detailed science: the final shares depend on exactly which relatives survive, and there are further rules (with names like ‘awl and radd) for cases where the fixed shares do not add up neatly to a whole. For any real inheritance, please consult a qualified scholar or a specialist in Islamic inheritance law. The examples above are simplified for teaching math and should not be used to settle a real estate.

Used the right way, faraid is a beautiful reminder that the math your child is learning is not just for exams — it is woven into faith, fairness, and family. Tiger Math covers fractions as one of its eight math topics, so your child can build the underlying skills, then see them come to life in examples like these.

Sources & Further Reading

Quranic references for the inheritance shares:

Quran, Surah An-Nisa (4:11) — shares including 2/3, 1/2, 1/6, 1/3. quran.com/4/11
Quran, Surah An-Nisa (4:12) — shares including 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/6, 1/3. quran.com/4/12
Quran, Surah An-Nisa (4:176) — shares including 1/2 and 2/3. quran.com/4/176