Paternal uncle's son (paternal cousin)

ابن العم

The Kuwaiti encyclopedia defines a paternal uncle's son, linguistically, as the male child of a paternal brother, by blood or by fostering; without qualification the word means the blood cousin, full, paternal or maternal. The full or paternal cousin is an agnate in his own right: he takes the whole estate when alone and no closer agnate exists, and otherwise the remainder after the fixed shares, by agreement. The maternal cousin is among those with blood-ties through a female, and generally inherits in that capacity, though earlier and later jurists differ on how he inherits. The agnatic cousin has the right to contract the marriage of his cousins when no closer guardian exists, and by agreement he may take retaliation for homicide if he is an heir; he has the custody of a male cousin when no woman or closer man is entitled to it. The Malikis give these rights also to the maternal cousin, and in some of them put him before the paternal one. 1 2

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At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Family, marriage and kinship

Summary

Linguistically, a paternal uncle's son is the male child of a paternal brother, by blood or by fostering; without qualification the word means the blood cousin, full, paternal or maternal. 1

General ruling

The full or paternal cousin is an agnate in his own right: he takes the whole estate when alone and no closer agnate exists, and otherwise the remainder after the fixed shares, by agreement. The maternal cousin inherits generally as one with blood-ties through a female, though earlier and later jurists differ on how he inherits. The agnatic cousin may contract the marriage of his cousins when no closer guardian exists, may take retaliation for homicide if he is an heir, and has custody of a male cousin. The Malikis give these rights also to the maternal cousin and, in some of them, put him before the paternal one. 1 2

Where it is discussed

The rules are treated under inheritance, marriage, custody, retaliation and guardianship, in the places where the cases arise. 2

People and things also explored

Taj Mahal· Abawan (the two parents)· Justice among co-wives· Obstructing a marriage (adl): the guardian and the husband· Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· Ahl al-Nasab (the kin by descent, and who counts as kin in bequests and endowments)· Akdariyya (a named inheritance case)· Brother (full, paternal and maternal) in law

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1464
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.1465
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Paternal uncle's son (paternal cousin)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ibn-al-amm/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-29.

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