Short answer
No. A child's share is fixed by Allah, and no will, anger or estrangement can remove it. A will cannot cut off an heir or give one heir more. Only a few things bar inheritance, such as unlawfully killing the deceased or a difference of religion. Giving away your wealth during life to deprive an heir is sinful.
The heirs' shares are fixed and cannot be changed by will. The bars to inheritance are limited: killing the deceased, as defined in the school, and difference of religion. A disobedient or sinful Muslim child still inherits.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Sometimes a parent is deeply hurt by a child: years of disrespect, a marriage they opposed, or a child who stopped practising. Western law often lets a parent cut a child out of a will. The sharia does not, and the four schools agree.
Allah set the shares of children, parents and spouses in Surah al-Nisa and called them His limits. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah has given everyone with a right his right, so there is no bequest for an heir. If a parent cannot add to an heir's share by will, they cannot remove it either.
- A person who unlawfully killed the deceased does not inherit.
- A non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim; see inheriting across religions.
- Someone who is not an heir in the first place, such as an adopted child or stepchild, does not inherit.
A child who is rude, distant, sinful or living in a way the parent rejects is still an heir, as long as they are Muslim. A parent who believes a child has left Islam should not decide that alone; a scholar must look at the facts.
- A parent may spend and give during healthy life, within fairness; see gifts before death.
- A parent may leave up to one third to non-heirs and charity.
- A parent may write advice in the will and make dua for the child.
But giving wealth away with the aim of harming an heir is a sin, even if the gift takes effect. The Quran ties the shares to there being no harm. Forgiveness often heals what a will cannot. Ask a mufti and a lawyer to draft a will valid in sharia and in your local law; see the Islamic will builder.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:13
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يُطِعِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ﴿١٣﴾
These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment.
The shares are Allah's limits, which a will cannot change.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:12
۞ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِينَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَهُنَّ ٱلثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ تُوصُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌۭ يُورَثُ كَلَٰلَةً أَوِ ٱمْرَأَةٌۭ وَلَهُۥٓ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌۭ فَلِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى ٱلثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصَىٰ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّۢ ۚ وَصِيَّةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌۭ ﴿١٢﴾
And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.
Wills and debts must not be used to harm heirs.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2870
Graded hasan sahih... إن الله قد أعطى كل ذي حق حقه فلا وصية لوارث ...
"Allah has given everyone with a right his right, so there is no bequest for an heir."
A will cannot change an heir's share.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6764
Sahih... لا يرث المسلم الكافر ولا الكافر المسلم ...
"A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor a disbeliever from a Muslim."
Difference of religion is one of the few bars to inheritance.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Sirajiyya, Chapter on the impediments to inheritance. Killing and difference of religion as bars.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Wasaya. No bequest to an heir without the other heirs' consent.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.