Hanbali
The Hanbali school is generally described as a 'mixed' tradition — on some questions it sides with Hanafi, and on others with Shafi'i and Maliki — but on at least one point it stands entirely on its own, drawing on Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi's Al-Mughni, a text notable for comparing positions across all the Sunni schools directly.
How It Differs
Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Maliki fiqh all agree that a father's presence entirely excludes his own mother — the paternal grandmother — from inheriting alongside him. Hanbali fiqh alone disagrees: the paternal grandmother inherits her fixed 1/6 share even while her son, the father, is alive and inheriting the remainder.
A Worked Example
A man dies leaving his father and his paternal grandmother (his father's mother), with no other heirs.
Under Hanbali fiqh, the grandmother receives 1/6 of the estate, and the father receives the remaining 5/6. Under the other three Sunni schools, the grandmother would be excluded entirely and the father would take the whole estate.
Source: Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya, Al-Fiqh 'ala al-Madhahib al-Khamsa, corroborating the grandmother-inherits-with-father position and its 1/6 share amount.
This page offers general educational information, not a personalized legal or religious ruling. Please consult a qualified scholar and legal advisor before acting on it.
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