How would you explain a woman getting only half the inheritance of a man in Islam? Although theres no illa for this there is an observable outcome in the texts for the rules of Islam... Heres the answer Islam’s inheritance laws guaranteed women property rights in the seventh century when much of the known world considered women barely human. Meanwhile, the ruling ‘to the male, a portion equal to that of two females’ is line with the obligation of husbands, sons and brothers to financially provide maintenance [Nafaqah] for the family which is enshrined in the economic system of Islam. Here balance is observed within the Shariah and it’s view towards men and women in society. They are not competitors to the same role, but rather partners and committed helpers with roles to help preserve and promote the family unit. Therefore the males receive twice the share in inheritance but are obligated to provide for their wives, mothers and sisters. Allah (SWT) states: “Let the rich man (dhu sa’atin) spend according to his means”. [At- Talaq: 7] The word “dhu” is not used except in the masculine gender i.e. referring to the men. And Allah SWT stated: “But the father of the child shall bear the cost of the mother’s food and clothing”. [Al-Baqarah: 233] Therefore Allah SWT made it obligatory on the males to provide maintenance according to the societal norms for their family. However any wealth that the woman has even through her career is her money and she is not obliged to spend it on anyone else. If the husbands or brothers are negligent in utilising their wealth properly then a judge can decide that the organisation and control over the finances falls within the control of the wife/mother/sister even though the man is still obliged to work, in fact the woman can be granted sole access to the funds. Hind came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Indeed Abu Sufyan is a miserly man. He does not provide me with the maintenance that my children and I need.” So the Messenger of Allah told her “Take that which suffices you and your children in a fitting manner (bil ma’roof).” [Agreed upon, narrated on the authority of Aisha (ra)] In certain cases however Islam made the share of the woman the same as that of the man. Allah says in the Quran: “If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of them receives a sixth; but if they were more than two, they share a third” [An- Nisa:12] This is in respect of half-brothers and half-sisters through the same mother but different fathers and the ruling for the female in this regard is that her financial maintenance is not the responsibility of her half-brother and their shares of the inheritance are equal. Thus we can conclude that far from being unjust and discriminatory Islamic inheritance laws fit in to a well-defined social and economic order set by Islam which helps to safeguard the family and guarantee the economic and societal rights and obligations of all citizens in the community. Taken from hizb.org.uk/current-affairs/islamic-inheritance-law-in-the-dock
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 22:31:41 +0000