Fiqh of Inheritance, - Justice in Distribution

People in the time ofJaahiliyyah)pre-Islamic period of ignorance( used
to assign the inheritance of the deceased to the eldest among his
sons, excluding his young children, and women relatives like
daughters, wives, mothers and sisters; or give it to his brother or
paternal uncle, under the pretext that the children and women were too
powerless to protect the sanctities that should be protected, take
retaliation, gain booty )from wars( and fight the enemies. However,
Allaah The Almighty invalidated this pre-Islamic custom, and assigned
to women and children a share of the inheritance of the deceased, and
made their share an obligatory right, no matter how little or much the
inheritance might be, as shown in His statement )which means(:
}For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and
for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be
it little or much -- an obligatory share.{]Quran 4:7[
}Allaah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is
equal to the share of two females. But if there are ]only[ daughters,
two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is
only one, for her is half.{]Quran 4:11[
He Says about the inheritance of the mother )what means(:
}But if he had no children and the parents ]alone[ inherit from him,
then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers ]or sisters[,
for his mother is a sixth.{]Quran 4:11[
About the share of the wife, He Says )what means(:
}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.{]Quran
4:12[
Allaah The Almighty accorded inheritance for women in the following way:
One daughter gets half the inheritance
Two or more daughters get two-thirds the inheritance
The mother gets one-third or one-sixth of the inheritance
The wife gets one-fourth or one-eighth of the inheritance
The half-sister from the side of the mother gets one-sixth
The full sister or the half-sister from the side of the father gets
half the inheritance, or half the share of her brother.
It must be borne in mind that all of this is accorded them as their
right, when they received nothing in the pre-Islamic days
ofJaahiliyyah.
Contrast this with the modern era ofJaahiliyyah, which is no better
than the ancientJaahiliyyahin many of its aspects, which gives room to
deprive men, women and children of their rightful inheritance, and
instead allows the owner of the inheritance to assign his property,
which Allaah The Almighty made a means of people's sustenance, to
animals.
The system of inheritance set by Islam is distinguished from all
modern human laws of inheritance in that Islam adopts a moderate
attitude -- between Communist socialism on one extreme, and capitalism
and other similar doctrines that call for complete freedom of a person
to dispose of his wealth according to his own whims on the other
extreme. Communist socialism, as outlined by Karl Marx, rejects the
principle of inheritance, and regards it as an erroneous act that
opposes the principles of justice. Thus, it gives nothing to the
deceased's offspring or next of kin.
Capitalism and its corresponding economic systems, on the contrary,
give the owner the full freedom to dispose of his property as he
likes. He has the right to deprive all his kith and kin of his
inheritance and bequeath it to a stranger, say, a friend or an
employee. A man or a woman, in Western societies, even has the right
to bequeath the whole or some of his/her property to a dog or a cat!
According to the Islamic system, inheritance is obligatory for both
the owner of the property and the heir as well. The owner has no right
to prevent any of his heirs from receiving his inheritance; and the
heir gets his share, with no need for a court judgment. In some
systems, the law affirms inheritance only with a court judgment, since
in their sight, it is optional and not compulsory to bequeath and
receive inheritance.
The Islamic system limits the right of inheritance within the sphere
of the family. It requires a sound relationship through blood or
marital relation, and sinceWalaa')allegiance of an ex-slave to his
ex-masters( resembles kinship, it was joined with the categories of
kinship. In this way, neither an adopted child, nor a child born out
of wedlock has the right to inheritance. Within the limits of the
family, the closest of kin, under Islam, is given preference, followed
by the next of kin to the deceased.
However, in the other systems, the case is quite different. According
to the Jews, for example, the heirs are the male sons, and the share
of the eldest is equal to the share of two brothers, whether the child
is legitimate or illegitimate. Moreover, the eldest son is not
deprived of his share even if he is born from an illegitimate
marriage.
According to the Western system, a stranger -- like a friend or an
employee – is eligible to receive inheritance, and the same applies to
the child born out of wedlock.
The Islamic system assigns to the young child a share from the
inheritance of his father equal to that of his eldest brother. Thus,
there is no differentiation between the fetus in the mother's womb and
the eldest son in a big family. The Islamic system also does not
differentiate between the eldest son and his brothers, as is the case
in the corrupted Jewish canon, and the British law. That is because
the young children might be in need of money to build their lives, and
to meet their living expenses, more than their older brothers who can
work and gather for themselves independent property.
The Islamic system also assigns a share of the inheritance to women.
The mother, wife, daughter, son's daughter, sister, and other women
relatives, have definite shares in the inheritance of the deceased, to
ensure them an honorable life, free from the humiliation of
destitution and mortification of poverty, unlike some systems that
deprive the women of inheritance under all circumstances. Some laws
previously deprived the wife of inheritance, and she was not given any
share in it. In the past, the Jews did not give women any portion of
the inheritance.
The Islamic system has made 'need' the basic criterion for preference
in inheritance. The deceased person's children need his money more
than his father because they are likely to face greater difficulty in
fulfilling their requirements, being young and at a stage where they
are beginning their life, unlike their grandfather. Moreover, the
duties and obligations of the son under theSharee'ah)legislation( of
Islam are more than those of his sister. He is the one required to
provide for himself once he reaches the age of maturity, and he is
also required to pay his wife her dowry, provide for her and for the
children. He is responsible for the expenses of education, medical
treatment, clothing…etc. In addition to this, he is required to
provide for his father or relatives if they are poor. However, the
girl is more likely to have someone to provide for her, and not the
other way round, since she will get married and will be the
responsibility of her husband.
These are some of the merits that distinguish the inheritance system
in Islam from the old and contemporary laws that were legislated by
human beings and that keep changing every now and then.