Islam treats women with dignity and does justice to them in terms that they do not find in the old or the modern. That it specified for her a share in the inheritance, either the inheritance is small or large, according to the degree of her kinship to the deceased. It is mentioned in the Holly Qura’n: “From what is left by parents and those nearest related there is a share for men and a share for women, whether the property be small or large,-a determinate share.” {Surah An-Nisa. Verse 7}.
With this principle, fourteen centuries ago, Islam gave women the right to inherit the same as men. It gave them an imposed share, and this was sufficient for women when it decided the principle of equality in entitlement, Islam was not unjust or exceeding the limits of justice, nor did it favor one sex at the expense of another when it made the woman’s share half that of the man, as Allah The Almighty said in A-Nisa Surah “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children’s (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; if no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased Left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases (‘s) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-knowing, Al-wise.” {Verse 11}
The Islamic legislation was laid down by the Lord of the worlds who created man and woman, and he is the All-Knowing expert in what is appropriate for their affairs in terms of legislation, and God has no interest in distinguishing a man over a woman or a woman over a man as Allah said” O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.” {Fatir Surah. Verse 15}
Islam preserved the rights of women on the basis of justice, fairness and equilibrium, so it looked at the duties of the woman and the obligations of the man, and compared them between them, then showed the share of each one of justice that the son “the man” takes twice the daughter “the woman” for the following reasons:
- The man has financial burdens that are not on the woman at all. The man pays for example the dowry for his wife. It is mentioned in A-Nisa Surah “And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift” {Verse 4}. The dowry is a pure right for the wife alone, and no one shares her in it.
- The man is responsible for the maintenance of his wife and children. Because Islam does not require a woman to spend on the man or on the house, even if she is wealthy, except to volunteer her money willingly. Allah said “Let the man of means spend according to his means: and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allah has given him.” {At-Talaq Surah. Verse 7}. And it is mentioned in Al-Baqara. Verse 233 “But he {the father} shall bear the cost of their food and clothing on equitable terms.”
- Moreover, The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “Fear Allah in your treatment of women: they are your helpers, you take them by a trust from Allah, copulation is lawful by the word of Allah, they have a right to against you to provide them with provision and clothing, with goodness.” (Muslim, Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi)
And the man is also responsible, in addition to the alimony of the family with relatives and others who are obligated on him, as he carries out the family burdens and social obligations that the inheritor makes as part of him or an extension of him or a part of his clique, and therefore when these considerations lag as in the case of brothers and sisters inheriting the mother, We find that the wise Islam has equalized the share of the male and the female’s share of them in the inheritance. Allah said “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 the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third” {An-Nisa. Verse 12}.
The woman expense is obligatory through her son, father, and brother, partner in the inheritance, her uncle, or other relatives in order to get her sufficient for necessities and supplies.
From the above, we conclude that the woman was overwhelmed with the mercy and favor of Islam over what she imagined, despite the fact that Islam gave the male the weakness of the female – she is more blessed than the man, because she shares with him in the inheritance without bearing the consequences. She doesn’t pay some of the expenses or share the man in the expense of living and the requirements of life, and perhaps she will develop her money while her brother spends his share of inheritance on the obligations of life.
And here the question should be: Why did Allah do justice to women?
Allah protect woman in the case of being unmarried, so she finds money to spend. And if she gets married, it will be grace of Allah.
The superiority of a man over a woman in inheritance is not in all cases, in some cases it is equal, and in some cases a woman may exceed a man in inheritance, and the female may inherit and the male does not inherit.
When does a woman get half the man’s share?
A woman does not get half the share of a man unless they are equal in degree, and the reason is related to each of them to the dead. For example: the son and the daughter … brother and sister, here the share of a man is twice that of a woman as Allah The Almighty said “Allah (thus) directs you as regards your Children’s (Inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females”. {An-Nisa. Verse 11}
“if there are brothers and sisters, (they share), the male having twice the share of the female.” {An-Nisa. Verse 176}
When do woman and man have the equal share in inheritance?
- Both mother and father has one sixth of inheritance in the case that the deceased has a male offspring like son or son of son or more. “For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children;” {An-Nisa. Verse 11}
For example a person died and left “father, mother, and son”, so what is the share of all of them?
The answer:
The father has one sixth of the inheritance because there is male offspring heir.
The mother has one sixth of inheritance because there is offspring heir.
The son has the rest of the inheritance by agnation (line of descent traced through the paternal side of the family. The son has the priority to inherit more than the parents of the dead). Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Give the prescribed shares of inheritance to their rightful beneficiaries, and whatever remains after that should be given to the closest male relatives.” Another version reads: “Divide the legacy among those entitled to prescribed shares thereof in compliance with the Book of Allah. Whatever remains after that should be given to the closest male relatives.”
[Sahih/Authentic] – [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
- Uterine brothers either males or females are equal in the share. It means that a man takes the same share of a woman in the case that there is no offspring heir neither male nor female descendant like son or daughter or even grandsons or granddaughters, and if there is no ascendant like father, grandfather, or more. Allah the Almighty said “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 the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third” {An-Nisa. Verse 12}
For example, deceased man has sister, mother, half-brother and half-sister. What is the share for every one of them?
The answer:
The sister has half of the inheritance, because she is alone and there is no one to agnate her.
The mother inherit one sixth.
The both half-brother and half-sister have one third equally.
When does the woman inherit more than the man?
In some cases woman has double of the man share in inheritance, as Allah the Almighty said “if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one, her share is a half. For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children” {An-Nisa. Verse 11}
Here the father takes one sixth, which is much less than what the girl or daughters took, and yet no one said that the father’s dignity was deficient by this inheritance.
A woman may exceed men in inheritance if she is at an advanced level, such as “the daughter with the brothers, or the father and the daughter with the uncles.”
For example, a man died and left a daughter and two brothers. What are the share of them?
The answer:
The daughter has the half of the inheritance as there is no one agnates her.
The both of two brothers have the rest of the inheritance by agnation. So the share is equaly the quarter of the inheritance for both. Here, the share is less than the female
Another example: a person died and left for two daughters and two uncles, so what is the share of each of them?
The answer:
The both of two daughters have two third because of their multiplicity.
The both of two uncles have the rest by agnation, so the share is one sixth for each one. Here, the share of male is less than the female.
When does the female inherit but the male doesn’t?
The female may inherit, and the male may not inherit in some of the following:
For example a man died and left a son, a daughter, and two brothers. What are the share of everyone?
The son and daughter have the whole inheritance. The brother takes double share of the daughter.
The two brothers have nothing to inherit because there is descendant. So the female {daughter} inherit, but the male {brother} can’t inherit.
Translated from islamweb.net شبهات وأباطيل لخصوم الإسلام حول ميراث المرأة
