Per strip distribution

Sunni law divides a Muslim estate by simple headcount. Shia law, under the workbook's second method, divides it branch by branch instead, per strip distribution.

Here, the property is distributed among the heirs according to the strip, or branch, they belong to. How much any individual heir gets depends on the size and number of people within their own branch, not on the total headcount across the whole family.

The workbook's own statement of the rule: under per strip distribution, property is distributed according to the strip the heirs belong to, so the quantum of inheritance depends on the branch, and the number of persons in that branch.

The practical effect is that per strip distribution can produce a very different split from per capita distribution on the identical estate and the identical set of relatives, whenever the branches are of unequal size. A large branch shares its portion among more people, so each person in it receives less than someone in a smaller branch, even though the branch-level shares might look equal at first glance.

As with per capita distribution, this method applies on top of the other Muslim succession rules the workbook states: no distinction between self-acquired and inherited property, and a female heir generally receiving half the share of a male heir of the same class within her own branch, even where that branch has only 2 or 3 members sharing it.

A Shia man dies leaving an estate of Rs 60,00,000, with two branches of descendants: one son in the first branch, and two grandchildren, through a predeceased second son, sharing the second branch, 3 heirs in total, but only 2 branches.

Under per strip, the estate is first split by branch:

Estate                                Rs 60,00,000
Branch 1 (1 heir)     = 1/2 share  = Rs 30,00,000  -> Rs 30,00,000 to the one heir
Branch 2 (2 heirs)    = 1/2 share  = Rs 30,00,000  -> Rs 15,00,000 each

The lone heir in Branch 1 receives Rs 30,00,000, while each of the two heirs sharing Branch 2 receives only Rs 15,00,000, despite there being three heirs overall. The branch, not the headcount, decided the outcome.

Under per capita distribution on the same three heirs, each would instead have received an equal Rs 20,00,000, a clearly different result, which is exactly why the workbook treats the two methods as distinct and tests the distinction directly.

Chapter 14, in the same passage on the Rule of Distribution for Inheritance, defines per strip distribution immediately after per capita, explicitly pairing it with Shia law. Expect a question that names Shia law and asks for the distribution method, or a scenario comparing the outcome of per capita versus per strip on the same set of heirs.

• Per strip is Shia law; per capita is Sunni law. Reversing the pairing is the most common error.
• The unit of division is the branch, not the individual. Compute the branch share first, then divide within the branch.
• Per strip and per capita can give very different answers on identical facts whenever family branches are of unequal size. This is the point examiners test with a worked comparison.
• The male and female half-share rule and the no-self-acquired-property-distinction rule still apply within per strip distribution. It changes how shares are grouped, not the other underlying Muslim succession principles.