Faraid is the Islamic law of inheritance that decides how a Muslim’s estate is distributed in Singapore. It applies automatically: under section 112 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act, a Muslim domiciled in Singapore cannot opt out of it, and the familiar Intestate Succession Act does not apply. This guide walks through who inherits, in what shares, and the paperwork that makes it happen.
I’m Wahab. My practice at A.W. Law covers both probate and Syariah family work, and Muslim estates sit exactly where those two meet. Most of the families I see get tripped up not by faraid itself, but by the things around it: the certificate, the grant, and the assets faraid doesn’t touch.
What faraid is, and where it comes from
When a non-Muslim dies in Singapore without a will, the Intestate Succession Act splits the estate. That Act expressly excludes Muslims. Instead, section 112 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA) directs that a Muslim’s estate is distributed according to Muslim law, and faraid is that law’s inheritance system.
Faraid works differently from the civil rules in two ways worth understanding early. First, the shares are fixed by the family shape, not chosen by anyone. Second, a Muslim’s will (a wasiat) can only direct up to one-third of the estate, so writing a will doesn’t switch off faraid the way it switches off the Intestate Succession Act for everyone else.
Who inherits under faraid, and how much
The exact shares depend on which relatives survive. These are the most common situations:
| Surviving relative | Typical faraid share |
|---|---|
| Widow, where there are children | 1/8 |
| Widow, no children | 1/4 |
| Husband, where there are children | 1/4 |
| Husband, no children | 1/2 |
| Mother, where there are children | 1/6 |
| Father, where there are children | 1/6, sometimes more |
| Sons and daughters | The remainder, each son taking twice each daughter’s share |
Treat this table as orientation, not a calculator. Faraid has rules for grandparents, siblings, and less common family shapes, and small differences (whether a parent is alive, whether there are sons) change everything. The document that settles it for your family is the Syariah Court’s Certificate of Inheritance, covered below.
Two points that surprise people. A non-Muslim relative does not take a faraid share, though a wasiat can provide for them out of the one-third. And if there are no faraid heirs at all, the estate goes to Baitulmal, the fund administered by Muis.
The wasiat and the one-third rule
Section 111 of AMLA says a Muslim’s will must follow Muslim law. In practice:
- A wasiat can give away up to one-third of the estate.
- The gift must go to people who are not already faraid heirs, unless the heirs consent to it.
- The remaining two-thirds or more is distributed under faraid regardless of what the will says.
That limit makes some people conclude a wasiat is pointless. The opposite is true. The wasiat is how you provide for an adopted child, a non-Muslim family member, or a charity. It names your executor, which makes the probate application cleaner and faster. And it records wishes the law otherwise leaves unspoken. If you’re at the planning stage, our will page covers the drafting side.
The Certificate of Inheritance, step by step
The Certificate of Inheritance is a document from the Syariah Court of Singapore stating each heir’s exact faraid share for one specific estate. Here’s how it works:
- List the family. Spouse, children, parents, and in some cases siblings. Include the awkward entries: the first marriage, the estranged child, the sibling overseas. A missed heir means a wrong certificate.
- Apply online. The application is made through the Syariah Court’s inheritance portal with the deceased’s details and the family list. Straightforward applications are processed quickly, usually within days.
- Use it for the grant. The certificate accompanies the application to the Family Justice Courts for a grant of probate (if there’s a wasiat) or letters of administration (if not). The grant is what actually unlocks the bank accounts, the flat, and the rest.
- Distribute per the certificate. The administrator collects the assets, pays the debts, and pays out the shares the certificate states.
The full court process is the same machinery as any Singapore estate, which we’ve written up in our step-by-step probate guide. For a Muslim estate, the certificate is the extra ingredient.
What faraid does not cover
This is the section that saves families the most grief, because several big assets never enter the faraid pool at all.
Joint tenancy property. The Court of Appeal held in Shafeeg bin Salim Talib v Fatimah bte Abud bin Talib [2010] SGCA 11 that property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving joint owner by survivorship. Faraid does not apply to it. Most married couples hold their HDB flat as joint tenants, so in many families the flat simply becomes the surviving spouse’s, whatever the faraid shares say. A share held as tenancy-in-common, by contrast, does fall into the estate.
Nominated CPF savings. CPF money with a valid CPF nomination is paid directly to the nominees and bypasses the estate. Without a nomination, the money goes to the Public Trustee, who distributes it to the faraid heirs using the Certificate of Inheritance. Our post on what happens to CPF when someone dies goes deeper.
Nominated insurance proceeds. Policies with valid nominations are paid to the nominees, outside faraid.
If you’re planning your estate, these three carve-outs are levers. How you hold the flat and whether you make nominations will shape what your family actually receives, sometimes more than the faraid arithmetic does.
Timelines, costs, and where it goes wrong
For a clean estate, expect the Certificate of Inheritance within days and the grant from the Family Justice Courts in 3 to 6 months. Legal fees for a straightforward Muslim estate run about S$2,500 to S$6,000 at our firm, quoted in writing before any work starts.
In my experience, the matters that blow past those ranges share one of three features: an heir left off the certificate application, a dispute over a wasiat’s validity, or a family that started distributing informally before the grant issued. The first two end up in front of a judge. The third creates personal liability for whoever handed out the money. If relatives are already disagreeing, our guide to inheritance disputes in Singapore explains the options, and mediation resolves more of these than people expect.
What to do next
If someone has passed: get the death certificate, write out the family tree honestly, and list what the estate owns and owes. If you’re planning: check how your property is held, check your CPF nomination, and think about what the one-third should do.
Either way, the first ten minutes with us are free. Book a Muslim Inheritance Discovery Session and we’ll tell you the faraid position, which applications you need, and what it will cost, in English or Malay.
