Women have no Inheritance in Islam?

 

By
Sami Zaatari

 

 

 

 

 

There are many Christians who are fond of making the claim that in Islam, women get no share in any inheritance, and get nothing. As usual, they provide no evidence for such claims, so instead we will post the counter claims which refute this lie.  

 

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YUSUFALI: 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.

 

So as we can see, the females to get an inheritance. Now Christians will say why does the male get a portion which equal to that of two females. The reason simple, I shall let the tafsir of Ibn Kathir respond:

 

(Allah commands you for your children's (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females;) Allah commands: observe justice with your children. The people of Jahiliyyah used to give the males, but not the females, a share in the inheritance. Therefore, Allah commands that both males and females take a share in the inheritance, although the portion of the males is twice as much as that of the females. There is a distinction because men need money to spend on their dependants, commercial transactions, work and fulfillling their obligations. Consequently, men get twice the portion of the inheritance that females get. Allah's statement,

(Allah commands you for your children's (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females;) testifies to the fact that Allah is more merciful with children than their own parents are with them, since He commands the parents to be just and fair with their own children. An authentic Hadith stated that a captured woman was looking for her child and when she found him, she held him, gave him her breast and nursed him. The Messenger of Allah said to his Companions,

 

(Do you think that this woman would willingly throw her child in the fire) They said, "No, O Messenger of Allah.'' He said,

 

(By Allah! Allah is more merciful with His servants than this woman is with her own child.) Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "The custom (in old days) was that the property of the deceased would be inherited by his offspring; as for the parents (of the deceased), they would inherit by the will of the deceased. Then Allah cancelled whatever He willed from that custom and ordained that the male get twice the amount inherited by the female, and for each parent a sixth (of the whole legacy), for the wife an eighth or a fourth, and for the husband a half or a fourth.''(http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=4&tid=10541)

 

So as you can see, the only reason a male gets a double portion is because he has more work to do than the female, he needs to take of the familly, of his business and so on. This is logic, and not meant to be degrading or bad. What is more interesting is that we see that the pagans would not give their women anything, Islam fixed this problem.