The Islamic Inheritance System Based On Justice and Wisdom: Why a Daughter Gets Half the Share of a Son

By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam 17 July 2023 Response to Why a Daughter in Islam Receives Half of a Son's Share Main Points: 1. The Islamic inheritance concept is based on justice, with women outnumbering men in terms of quantity and quality. 2. Sons receive solely from their father's estate, while daughters receive both their portion and full maintenance from their husbands. 3. Islam prioritises the rule of justice over the rule of equality when the two are at odds, such as when deciding how to divide a father's possessions between a daughter and a son. 4. Islam has made men responsible for all household expenses, while women's income from all sources is primarily savings. 5. Islam has freed women from financial obligations, commanding men to take on the full responsibility of raising and educating children and arranging the marriage of daughters, covering parents' expenses, and providing home and food for the entire family. ------- Justice and wisdom are the cornerstones of the Islamic inheritance system. This system was explicitly established in the Quran and is not human-made. Therefore, it cannot possibly have any flaws. For the benefit and goodness of the servants, the True Creator, Eternal Lord, established this arrangement. Now, the important thing to keep in mind is that Islam sent a message to all of humanity through the Holy Qur'an, saying, “O people! Worship one God, worship no other God besides Him, your God is the true God and Muhammad is the true Messenger of God (peace be upon him), so believe in his Prophethood and Messengership, Believe in the Qur'an, and consider its verses and rulings better than anything else for you.” Along with these fundamentals, Islam also taught people to take into account the design of the universe as created by Allah, and how the sun, moon, stars, and all other plants are functioning properly in accordance with this design. Following that, each of the natural phenomena—rain, sun, heat, cold, and spring harvest—has its own virtues and advantages for all the servants of Allah. If the planets act against the divine order of the universe, they will be disrupted. The commands of Allah mentioned in the Holy Qur'an are the best and most useful for all human beings. However, it occasionally occurs that some people's minds and hearts do not perceive the wisdom in these things. They don't make an effort to understand, and I can see why: When someone is so consumed with hatred and stubbornness, a veil of carelessness or stupidity is placed over their intellect, causing them to view the commandments of Allah with a narrow eye and start raising various objections in the glory of these divine commands. Actually, his rage and hatred are what prevent him from understanding reality. If he takes off the lenses of hatred and animosity, opens the doors of his intellect and heart, and thinks, he won't need much time to understand that there is undoubtedly fairness and goodness in the commands of Allah Almighty. Some people start by forming an idea in their heads and hearts that reads something like this: “By giving a daughter half the share of a son, Islam has rejected the law of equality in its inheritance system. The daughter and son should each receive an equal share of the father's wealth because a division of this kind would be unfair; for instance, if the boy receives two shares, the daughter should also receive two shares”. They add, “Islam has opposed the law of equality at this point in its inheritance system, so this law should be banned or changed” In order to comprehend the meanings of the instructions of the Qur'an and their spirit, it is crucial to get rid of the mental seeds of hatred and widen the door to reflection. The divine system does include the law of equality, yet there are occasions when it also clashes with the law of justice. For instance, imagine a strong male labourer carrying a load of thirty or forty bricks on one side, while a lady is carrying a load of her own on the other. She has a lifting capacity of ten to twenty bricks. And in this case, if it is argued that the law of equality compels a woman to lift a weight comparable to a man's and that if the woman declines to raise the heavy weight corresponding to a man, she should be penalised, I believe that this will be unfair to women. A woman should raise as many bricks as she can for her own benefit. It would be unfair to her if she were forced to lift the same amount of weight as a man on this particular occasion or else face punishment. Take into account in this illustration that the systems of justice and equality are in opposition to one another and that there is a conflict between them. Which system should be given priority in this clash, is the current question. Which system—that of justice or that of equality? The law of natural justice demands that women be respected in this situation and not burdened beyond what they can bear, and equality demands that men and women bear the same load. The system of justice should always take precedence over the system of equality when there is a disagreement between them, of course. While maintaining an egalitarian system in other areas is likewise a necessity of precise nature and justification, it will stay subject to this constraint as this preference is only necessary for this particular circumstance. When we examine the Islamic inheritance system, the laws of justice and equality inevitably clash. Such a situation occurs when the son and the daughter share the father's inheritance. The law of equality demands that both the son and the daughter receive an equal amount, in contrast to the law of justice, which stipulates that the son must receive more and the daughter less. The rationale for this is that a son only has one inheritable source of wealth, whereas a daughter has several sources. Let's take a more broad illustration: A son receives solely from his father's estate, whereas a daughter is required to get both her portion of the father's estate as well as full maintenance from her husband. The second is that Islam has made the man responsible for paying for all household expenses. The woman's different sources of income are all in the form of savings income. Islam has freed women from all financial obligations, thus men now bear the full burden of raising and educating their children, arranging for their marriage, covering the parents' expenses, and providing home and food for the entire family. The man's source of income is quite little under the Islamic system of inheritance, and he is also in charge of all maintenance responsibilities. In this case, the divine justice system mandated that he eventually receive a portion in a greater quantity in order to fulfil his maintenance responsibilities and develop the capacity to move heavy objects. The law of equality states that both the son and the daughter receive an equal portion without taking the man's financial commitments into account, but the divine justice system holds that men should be entitled to a larger share, taking into account their financial responsibilities. In this instance, the law of equality and the law of justice are at odds. Islam favoured the rule of justice in this particular conflict and tried to reserve the rule of equality for other contexts. Now, if someone claims that the Islamic inheritance system has mistreated the justice system during the division of the father's wealth, that person will be seen as a victim of deceit and neglect. Islam, on the other hand, actually gives the rule of justice first emphasis. The woman was released by Islam from her financial obligations. Islam has done the woman a great favour and provided an outstanding example of fairness by designating all of her income as saving income. Islam has always treated women fairly, and in the same vein, when men were burdened with financial obligations, Islam increased their share and provided relief. Because it is a justice that only God could have created and not a law that man could have created, no human intellect could have envisioned it. In conclusion, the Islamic concept of inheritance is founded on justice. When the Islamic rule of inheritance is examined analytically from a data-driven perspective, it is found that both in terms of quantity and quality, women outnumber men. Among all the sources of inheritance, it is acknowledged that the majority of inheritance sources are those where a woman either receives an equal percentage to or more than a man. There are just four sources, on the other hand, where women's shares are lower than those of men. These are: 1. When there is a son and a daughter, the daughter's share is equal to half of the son's share. 2. When there is a father and a mother, the mother's share is equal to half of the father's share. 3. When there are consanguine brothers and sisters, the consanguine sister's share is equivalent to half of the consanguine brother's share. 4. The woman receives half of the inheritance that the husband receives from the wife. There are four males and eight women among those who will get the first type of inheritance that Islam has designated. Similar to this, women are granted more of the larger shares, such as two-thirds, half, and one-third, among the six categories of shares that Islam prescribes. Men only receive such portions in two cases, compared to ten women who receive such parts. In total, 23 people are the beneficiaries of these six different shares, with 17 of them being women and just 6 being men. The Islamic law on inheritance and alimony is intimately tied to one another. Not only does the woman receive the inheritance, but the men are also in charge of managing all of her associated expenses. Islam demonstrated fairness and balance in this situation by reducing the woman's share of the inheritance because a number of people cover her expenditures. And in areas where fewer individuals are responsible for a woman's expenses, a woman receives a larger percentage of the share than a male does. This is simply one of the many justifications—along with others—that make it obligatory to acknowledge the fairness and wisdom of the Islamic system of inheritance. Islam makes the males liable for all expenses and maintenance of women and retains all of a woman’s sources of income in the form of savings income so that the woman would be economically empowered in many ways. In this article, I have made an effort to demonstrate how Islamic inheritance law is based on justice and fairness by using a few examples. If these examples have been presented correctly, it is because of the blessings of Allah Almighty. If I have made any errors, all of them are my fault, and I beg forgiveness from Allah Almighty. However, one thing is legitimately a matter of my belief—rather, a Muslim belief—that the Islamic rule of inheritance is wholly founded on justice and does not require modification. ----- A regular columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a classical Islamic scholar [Aalim, Faazil and Mutakhassis Fi al-Adab al-Arabi wa al-Ulum al-Shariah] with a Sufi background and an English-Arabic-Urdu Translator. Urdu Article: The Islamic Inheritance System Based On Justice and Wisdom: Why a Daughter Gets Half the Share of a Son عدل و حکمت پر مبنی اسلام کا نظام میراث : بیٹی کو بیٹے کا آدھا حصہ کیوں کا جواب URL: https://newageislam.com/debating-islam/islamic-inheritance-justice-wisdom/d/130225 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism