In the name of Allāh,
the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Peace and Blessings of Allāh on Mohammad.
DEDICATED TO
Allāh–the Glorious and the High,
Lord of the worlds
AND TO
Mohammad–who brought the world
to our feet and eternity to our arms.
*
WOMAN’S INHERITANCE HALF OF WHAT A MAN RECEIVES
That a woman’s inheritance is half that of a man’s–(Qur’an 4:11, 177).
Arguably, a man’s wealth is his to dispose of however he pleases; (and so it is in non-Muslim societies). A friend or relative may also make suggestions to the man as to the manner in which to divide his wealth.
To crab at and condemn Allah for instructing Muslim how to distribute his wealth is crass arrogance and audacity.
However, the Islamic apportioning of wealth between son and daughter –giving the son twice as much as the daughter– is not without merit.
This is so because man has the burden of being the maintainer of the family–(Qur’an 4:34) even though his wife may have earnings and may have wealth and even greater wealth than he has.
In cases where both husband and wife work. Whereas a wife can at any stage, and for any reason, quit her job and decides to stay home and be maintained by her husband, a husband cannot quit his job and intend for his wife to maintain him. The burden of support lies on the husband.
(Even in secular society wives, generally, seem to enjoy this benefit of voluntary employment).
Since every ship requires a captain, husbands, by virtue of them being the maintainers of their wives, are given a degree of superiority (in home affairs) over the wives–(Qur’an 2:228). (Though he has this degree of superiority, the wise husband would follow his wife’s judgment if it is superior to his).
Whereas daughters of Islam has right to inheritance whether her father has sons or not. Christian women have NO right to inheritance if a man has son(s):
- “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter”–(Numbers 27:8. Note, the wife/widow inherits nothing. And the daughter only inherits when no son exists).
- “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his” –(Deuteronomy 2115-17. Note, there is no mention of daughter(s) and, unlike Islam, one son receives a “double portion” of what the other receives).