Response to the slander of ignorant Christians that Islam oppresses women in inheritance

 Inheritance between men and women in Islam

is very common among non-Muslims, and even among many Muslims, that a man takes double what a woman inherits. This is incorrect, as we should not say in general that a man takes double what a woman does at all. However, the one who contemplates the Quranic verses will find that a brother takes double what his sister does. Suppose that you left behind 30,000 (thirty thousand pounds) after your death, and the only heirs are your son and daughter. According to Islam , your son takes 20,000 (twenty thousand), and your daughter takes 10,000 (ten thousand).
But the issue does not end with this division, as the son is legally and religiously obligated to spend on his sister in terms of food, drink, housing, water, electricity, clothing, education, transportation, health and psychological care, and he also marries her off, meaning that his sister also shares with him in the money that God has divided for him (in reality for them both), in addition to the fact that he is obligated to spend on himself and his family, including his wife and children, and if there is someone in the extended family who is insolvent, he is also obligated
to spend on him, whether it is the mother, uncle, grandfather or maternal uncle... (with modification of the division in different cases).

Thus, the daughter takes her share (ten thousand pounds) and shares with her brother in his inheritance, so if she eats as he eats and spends as much as he does, she will have divided his inheritance with him, meaning that she will have taken (twenty thousand) and the brother will have only benefited from ten thousand, so which of them got more in the inheritance? This is if his sister is not married and lives with him. However, if she is married, she saves her money or trades with it, and her husband spends on her and her children, and her brother is responsible for spending on himself, his wife and his children. So the sister has won ten thousand on her own, while the brother has three or four others (his wife and children) sharing the twenty thousand with him, so his actual share is five thousand. That is, also half of what his sister took from the inheritance. Have you seen to what extent Islam protects and honors women ? Islamic legislation was established by the Lord of the Worlds who created man and woman, and He is the All-Knowing, All-Aware of what legislation is appropriate for their affairs. Islam has preserved the rights of women on the basis of justice, fairness and balance. It looked at the duties of women and the obligations of men, compared them, then explained the share of each one of justice, that the son (the man) should take double the share of the daughter ( the woman ) for the following reasons: 1- The man has financial burdens that are not on the woman at all, so the man pays the dowry, as Allah the Almighty says: (And give the women their dowries as a free gift) [An-Nisa’: 4], [a free gift: meaning a named obligation that the man gives to the woman willingly, just as he gives a grant and gives a free gift with his own good will]. The dowry is a right exclusively for the wife alone, and no one shares it with her, so she disposes of it as she disposes of her other money as she wishes, as long as she is an adult, sane and rational. 2- The man is obligated to spend on his wife and children, because Islam did not obligate the woman to do so.







To spend on the husband or on the house, even if she is rich, unless she volunteers her money willingly. God Almighty says: “Let a man of wealth spend from his wealth. And he whose provision is restricted - let him spend from what God has given him. God does not charge a soul except [with that within] what He has given it…” [At-Talaq: 7], and God Almighty says: “…And upon the father of the child is their food and clothing on equitable terms…” [Al-Baqarah: 233].

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said in the Farewell Pilgrimage on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): “Fear Allah with regard to women, for they are captives with you. You have taken them by the word of Allah, and you have made

their private parts lawful for you by the word of Allah. They have the right to be provided for and clothed by you in a reasonable manner.” Men are also obligated to provide for their relatives and others for whom they are obligated to provide, as they carry out the family burdens and social obligations that the testator undertakes as a part of him or an extension of him or an agnate from his agnate .

Have you seen how Islam has raised women as a crown on the heads of men, and even at the head of the entire society ? This is not mentioned in any other divine book or man-made law. The sister who is given the same inheritance as her brother in the West, she is responsible for her own living away from him, and he is not obligated to take care of her if she becomes poor, sick, or even dies. What kind of insult is this to women?! Therefore, the inheritance of women half that of men is not a general position nor a consistent rule in inheritance in Islam . The Holy Quran did not say: “Allah instructs you concerning the male, what is equal to the share of two females.” Rather, it said: “Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.” That is, this distinction is not a consistent rule in all cases of inheritance, but rather it is in special cases, even limited cases among the cases of inheritance. Thus, many of those who raise doubts about the eligibility of women in Islam, taking the distinction between a brother and his sister or a father and his wife in inheritance as a way to do so, do not understand the law of inheritance in Islam . Indeed, the true jurisprudence of the philosophy of Islam in inheritance reveals that the distinction in the shares of male and female heirs is not due to the criterion of masculinity and femininity. Rather, it is due to divine wisdom and divine purposes that were hidden from those who made the difference between males and females in some inheritance issues and cases a suspicion that is taken against the complete capacity of women in Islam . In fact, the difference between the shares of male and female heirs in the philosophy of Islamic inheritance is governed by three criteria:









First: The degree of kinship between the heir, whether male or female, and the deceased person. The closer the relationship, the greater the share in the inheritance. The further the relationship, the less the share in the inheritance, without regard to the gender of the heirs.
For example, the daughter of the deceased takes more than the father or mother of the deceased, as she alone takes half of the estate (this is if the inheritor is the daughter, father and mother only). I will explain the cases in detail later.

Second:The position of the inheriting generation in the chronological sequence of generations.. The generations that welcome life, and prepare to bear its burdens, usually have a greater share of the inheritance than the generations that turn their backs on life. And they are relieved of their burdens, and their burdens usually become imposed on others, regardless of the masculinity or femininity of the heirs, male and female..
- The daughter of the deceased inherits more than his mother - and both of them are female - ..
- And the daughter inherits more than the father! - Even if she was an infant who did not realize what her father looked like.. And even if the father was the source of the son's wealth, half of which the daughter alone has!
- Likewise, the son inherits more than the father - and both of them are males.. And in this criterion of the philosophy of inheritance in Islam, there are profound divine wisdoms and sublime divine purposes that are hidden from many! These are standards that have absolutely nothing to do with masculinity and femininity.

The third is the financial burden that Islamic law requires the heir to bear and undertake towards others. This is the only standard that produces a difference between the male and the female. However, it is a difference that does not lead to any injustice to the female or a reduction in her fairness. Rather, perhaps the opposite is true!

In the event that the heirs agree and are equal in the degree of kinship... and agree and are equal in the position of the inheriting generation from the succession of generations - such as the children of the deceased, males and females - then the difference in financial burden is the reason for the difference in inheritance shares. Therefore, the Holy Quran did not generalize this difference between males and females in all inheritors, but rather limited it to this particular case, so the Quranic verse said: (Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females)... and it did not say: Allah instructs you regarding all inheritors... The wisdom in this difference, in this particular case, is that the male here is charged with supporting a female - who is his wife - along with their children... while the female inheritor is the sister of the male - so supporting her, along with her children, is an obligation on the male who is married to her... so she - despite this deficiency in her inheritance relative to her brother, who inherited double her inheritance, has more luck and privilege than him in the inheritance, so her inheritance is... - With her exemption from obligatory spending - it is a pure and saved financial responsibility, to compensate for female weakness, and to secure her life against risks and fluctuations.. And this is a divine wisdom that may be hidden from many..

And if this Islamic philosophy in the difference in the shares of male and female heirs is overlooked by the two extremes, religious and non-religious, who consider this partial difference a doubt that attaches to the eligibility of women in Islam , then an induction of the cases and issues of inheritance - as they came in the science of inheritance - reveals a truth that may astonish many of their preconceived and mistaken ideas on this subject.. This induction of the cases and issues of inheritance tells us:


A - There are only four cases in which a woman inherits half of a man :

1) In the case of the deceased having children, males and females (i.e. the brothers, the children of the deceased)
according to the Almighty’s saying (Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females) An-Nisa’ 11
2 ) In the case of inheritance between spouses, where The husband inherits from his wife twice what she inherits from him.
3) The father of the deceased takes double what his wife leaves if their son has no heir, so the father takes two-thirds and the mother takes one-third.
4 ) The father of the deceased takes double what his wife leaves if their deceased son has only one daughter, so she gets half, the mother gets one-sixth and the father gets one-third.
B - There are cases that are multiples of these four cases in which a woman inherits exactly like a man: 1) In the case of a brother




and a sister on the mother’s side in their inheritance from their brother, if he has no male ascendant or inheriting descendant (i.e. unless they are prevented from inheriting by an obstacle). Each of them gets one-sixth, as God Almighty says: “And if a man or woman leaves no children or descendants, but has a brother or a sister, then each of them gets a sixth. But if there are more than that, then they share in a third, after any bequest he may have made or debt not to the detriment of others. A bequest from God. And God is Knowing and Forbearing.” (An-Nisa’: 12

) 2) If a man dies and has more than two brothers or sisters, then they take a third equally.

3) Between the father and mother in their inheritance from their son if he has a son or two daughters or more:
According to the Almighty’s saying: “And for his parents, to each one of them is a sixth of what he left if he had a child” (An-Nisa’: 11)

. 4) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband and a full sister: each of them gets half.

5) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband and a paternal sister: each of them gets half.

6) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a mother, and a full sister: the husband gets half, the mother gets half, and the sister gets nothing (according to Ibn Abbas).

7) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a full sister, a paternal sister, and a maternal sister: the husband gets half, the full sister gets half, and the paternal sister and paternal brother get nothing.

8) If a man dies and leaves behind two daughters, a father, and a mother: the father gets a sixth, the mother gets a sixth, and each daughter gets a third.

9) If a man dies and leaves behind a wife, two daughters, a father and a mother: the wife gets one-eighth and her share is 3, the father gets one-quarter and his share is 4, the mother gets one-quarter and her share is 4, and each daughter gets one-third and their share is 8. 10) If a man dies and leaves behind a mother, a sister and a grandfather: each of them gets one-third. The woman

is equal to the man. 11) If a man dies and leaves behind (forty thousand pounds), a son, a daughter and a wife with a deferred dowry (thirteen thousand pounds), you will find that the mother’s share is equal to the son’s share. The division is as follows: Wife: 13,000 + one-eighth of the remainder (three thousand) = 16,000 pounds Son: two-thirds of the remainder 16,000 (sixteen thousand) pounds Daughter: one-third, which is 8,000 (eight thousand) pounds







C - There are more than fifteen cases in which a woman inherits more than a man :

1) If a man dies and leaves behind a mother, two daughters, and a brother,
if the deceased left behind 24,000 pounds, their shares would be as follows:
Mother: 3,000 pounds (one-eighth)
Two daughters: 16,000 pounds each 8,000 pounds (two-thirds)
Brother: 5,000 pounds (the remainder)
, and thus the daughter has taken more than 150% of the brother’s inheritance

2) If the father dies and leaves behind a daughter, a mother, and a father, and leaves behind 24,000 pounds
The daughter takes half, i.e. 12,000 pounds.
The mother takes a sixth, 4,000 pounds.
The father takes a sixth as a fixed share, and the rest as agnatic share, i.e. 4,000 + 4,000 pounds.
Thus, the daughter takes 150% of the father’s inheritance.

3) If a man dies and leaves two daughters, a father and a mother: each daughter gets a third, the father gets a sixth, and the mother gets a sixth.

If the man leaves 24,000 (twenty-four thousand pounds), the share of each of the two daughters would be 8,000 (eight thousand pounds), and the father and mother would be equal, and the share of each of them would be 4,000 (four thousand) pounds. Thus, the daughter takes 200% of the father’s inheritance.

4) If a woman dies and leaves a husband, a mother, a grandfather, two maternal brothers, and two paternal brothers: the husband gets half, the grandfather gets a sixth, the mother gets a sixth, the father’s brothers get a sixth, and the mother’s brothers get nothing.
If the deceased left behind 24,000 (twenty-four thousand pounds), the husband’s share would be 12,000 (twelve thousand pounds), and the grandfather would be equal to the mother, with each receiving 4,000 (four thousand) pounds, and the two paternal brothers would each take 2,000 (two thousand pounds). Thus, the mother inherits 200% of the inheritance of her husband’s brother.

5) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a mother, a grandfather, two maternal brothers, and four paternal brothers: the husband gets half, the grandfather gets one-sixth, the mother gets one-sixth, the paternal brothers get one-sixth, and the mother’s brothers get nothing.

If the deceased left behind 24,000 (twenty-four thousand pounds), the husband’s share would be 12,000 (twelve thousand pounds), and the grandfather would be equal to the mother, and each would receive 4,000 (four thousand) pounds. Each of the paternal brothers would take 1,000 (one thousand pounds), and thus the mother would have inherited four times the share of her husband’s brother, i.e. 400%.

6) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a mother, a grandfather, two maternal brothers, and eight paternal brothers: the husband gets half, the grandfather gets one-sixth, the mother gets one-sixth, the paternal brothers get one-sixth, and the mother’s brothers get nothing.

If the deceased left behind 24,000 (twenty-four thousand pounds), the husband’s share would be 12,000 (twelve thousand pounds), the grandfather would be equal to the mother, and each would receive 4,000 (four thousand) pounds. Each of the paternal brothers would each receive 500 pounds, and thus the mother would inherit eight times the share of the husband’s brother, i.e. 800%.

7) If a person dies and leaves behind two daughters, a son’s daughter, and a son’s son’s son: the two daughters get two-thirds, and each of their shares is 3, the son’s daughter gets one share, and the son’s son’s son gets two shares.
If the deceased left behind 18,000 (eighteen thousand), the share of each daughter would be 6,000, the share of the son’s daughter would be 2,000, and the son’s son’s son would get 4,000. Thus, the daughter would receive 150% of the share of the son’s son’s son.

8) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a full sister, a paternal sister, and a maternal sister: the husband gets half, the full sister gets half, and the paternal sister gets nothing and the paternal brother gets nothing. Thus, the husband and the full sister take the inheritance, but the paternal brother and his sister do not take anything from it.

9) If a man dies and leaves behind two daughters, a paternal brother, and a paternal sister: each of the two sisters gets one-third and each of them gets 3 shares, and the remainder is taken by the brother two-thirds and his sister one-third.

If the deceased left behind 90,000 (ninety thousand pounds), then the share of each of the two daughters is (thirty thousand pounds), the share of the paternal brother is (twenty thousand), and the share of the paternal sister (his sister) is ten thousand. Thus, the daughter takes 150% of the share of the paternal brother.

10) If a man dies and leaves behind a wife, a grandmother, two daughters, 12 brothers and one sister: the wife gets one-eighth and her share is 75, the two daughters get two-thirds and each one gets 200, the grandmother gets one-sixth and her share is 100, the brothers get 24 shares and each one gets 2 shares, and the sister gets one share.
If the deceased left behind 300,000 (three hundred thousand pounds), the wife will take 75,000 pounds, each of the two daughters will take 100,000 (one hundred thousand), the grandfather will take (one hundred thousand), each brother will take (two thousand) and the sister will take one thousand. Accordingly, the daughter will take 37.5 times the brother’s share and will be equal to the grandfather.

11) If she died and left behind a husband, a father, a mother, a daughter, a son’s daughter and a son’s son: the husband will get a quarter and his share will be 3, the father and mother will get a sixth and their share will be 2, the daughter will get a half and her share will be 6, and the son’s daughter and son’s son will get nothing.

If the deceased left behind 12,000 (twelve thousand), the estate must be divided into 13 (thirteen) shares, with the husband taking 5,538 pounds, the father and mother taking 3,692 pounds each, the daughter taking 11,076 pounds, and nothing for the son’s daughter and the son’s son. Here you find that the daughter has taken more than double what the husband took and more than 250% of what the father took.

12) If he or she dies and leaves behind a grandfather, a mother, a full sister, a paternal brother and a paternal sister: the mother takes one-sixth and her share is 3, the grandfather takes one-third of the remainder and his share is 5, the full sister takes one-half and her share is 9, then one share is divided by three for the paternal brother and sister (the male gets twice the share of the female).

If the deceased left behind 18,000 pounds, the mother would take (three thousand) pounds, the grandfather would take (five thousand), the full sister would take (nine thousand), the brother would take approximately (666) pounds, and his sister would take approximately (333) pounds. Here you find that the full sister took more than (13) times what the paternal brother took.

13) If a man died and left behind a wife, two daughters, a father and a mother: the wife gets one-eighth and her share is 3, the father gets one-sixth and his share is 4, the mother gets one-sixth and her share is 4, and each daughter gets one-third and their share is 8. So the number of shares is 27. If the deceased left behind 24,000 (twenty-four thousand), it would have to be divided into 27 shares instead of 24, and each of them would take the number of shares that God has prescribed for him. In this case, the wife will take 2666 pounds, and the two daughters will take 15222 thousand, divided equally between them, i.e. 7111 for each of them, and the mother 3555 and the father 3555. Here you find that the daughter took almost double what the father took.

14) If he or she dies and leaves a mother, a grandfather and a sister: The grandfather takes one-sixth, the mother takes double that which is one-third, and the sister takes half.
If the deceased left 120,000 pounds, the grandfather’s share would be 20,000, the mother’s share would be 40,000, and the sister’s share would be 60,000. That is, one woman takes double that and the other takes three times that.

15) If a man dies and leaves behind (forty thousand pounds), a son, a daughter, and a wife with a deferred dowry of (sixteen thousand pounds), the division will be as follows:
Wife 16,000 + the price of the remainder (3,000) = 19,000 (nineteen thousand) pounds
Son: Two-thirds after deducting the deferred dowry 16,000 (sixteen thousand) pounds
Daughter: One-third after deducting the deferred dowry 8,000 (eight thousand) pounds

16) If her deferred dowry is greater, she will inherit much more than her son. Example:
If a man dies and leaves behind (sixty thousand pounds), a son, a daughter, and a wife with a deferred dowry of (thirty-six thousand pounds), the division will be as follows:
Wife 36,000 + the price of the remainder (3,000) = 39,000 (thirty-nine thousand) pounds
Son: Two-thirds of the estate after deducting the deferred dowry 16,000 (Sixteen thousand) pounds.
Daughter: One-third of the estate after deducting the deferred dowry, 8,000 (eight thousand) pounds.


D - There are cases in which a woman inherits and her male counterpart does not:

1) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a full sister, a paternal sister, and a maternal sister: the husband gets half, the full sister gets half, and the paternal sister and paternal brother get nothing.

2) If she dies and leaves behind a husband, a father, a mother, a daughter, a son’s daughter, and a son’s son: the husband gets a quarter and his share is 3, the father and mother get a sixth and their share is 2 each, the daughter gets a half and her share is 6, and the son’s daughter and son’s son get nothing, i.e. the daughter inherits six times the share of the son’s son.

3) If she dies and leaves behind a husband, a mother, two maternal brothers, and a full brother or more:
the husband gets half and his share (3), the mother gets a sixth and her share (1), and the maternal brothers get a third and their share is each (1), and it is valid from (6), and nothing remains for the siblings to inherit. (Omar ibn al-Khattab)

4) If a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a grandfather, a mother, full brothers and maternal brothers: the husband gets half, the grandfather gets one-sixth, the mother gets one-sixth, the full brothers get the rest, and the maternal brothers get nothing.


There are cases in which a man inherits more than a woman , whether less or more than double:

1) If a son dies and leaves behind a father, a mother, brothers and sisters, the mother inherits one-sixth, and the father inherits five-sixths by agnatic kinship and excludes the brothers. Here, the man inherits five times what a woman gets.

2) If a man dies and leaves behind a wife, a mother and a father: the wife gets one-quarter and her share is 3, the mother gets one-third and her share is 4, and the father gets the remainder and his share is 5. So neither of them gets double. 3) If

a woman dies and leaves behind a husband, a mother and a father: the husband gets one-half and his share is 3, the mother gets one-third of the remainder and her share is 1, and the father gets two-thirds of the remainder and his share is 2. So the husband gets three times what the mother gets.

4) If a man dies and leaves behind a son and six daughters: the son takes one-third and the daughters two-thirds: In this case, the son will take three times that of the six daughters. If he leaves behind 18,000 pounds, the son will take 6,000, and each daughter will take 2,000 pounds. So the brother will take three times that of his sister.

5) She died and left behind a husband, a mother, two maternal brothers, and one or more full brothers: the husband takes half and his share is 9, the mother takes one-sixth and her share is 3, and the three remaining brothers take one-third, and a share for each of them. (Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Maliki and Shafi’i schools of thought adopted it) So the husband takes three times that of the mother.

If she leaves behind 18,000 (eighteen thousand) pounds, the husband’s share will be (nine thousand), the mother’s share will be (three thousand), and the remaining third will be divided equally among the three brothers, each of them getting (two thousand). Here you find that the husband takes three times that of the mother.

That is, there are more than thirty cases in which a woman takes the same as a man, or more than him, or she inherits while her male counterpart does not, in contrast to four specific cases in which a woman inherits half of a man. These are the fruits of extrapolating the cases and issues of inheritance in the science of inheritance, which were governed by the Islamic standards that were determined by the philosophy of Islam in inheritance... and which did not stop at the standard of masculinity and femininity, as many who do not know think! ... Thus, we see the fall of this weak doubt raised about the eligibility of women . This is from the justice of the Most Gracious... 1- We often hear that in European countries, someone died and had unlimited wealth and capabilities, and he left it to a cat or to a dog that the owner of the money was raising, or all the money goes to a maid or to some association, and all the children are deprived of it, so where is the justice in distributing the inheritance? ... As for Islam





It gave freedom to dispose of the inheritance only within the limit of one-third, and there is no will for an heir, and a will is not permissible for a prohibited party or for a dog, for example.

2- Inheritance is mandatory in Islam for the heir and the inherited, and the testator does not have the right to prevent one of his heirs from the inheritance, and the heir owns his share by force without choice.

3- Islam made the inheritance within the family circle and does not exceed it, so there must be a correct lineage or a wife, and it is according to the degrees of the proportion of the shares closest to the deceased.
4- It determined the heirs by the prescribed shares such as a quarter, an eighth, a sixth, and a half, except for the agnates, and there is no parallel to this in the rest of the laws.

5- It gave the young child a share of his father’s inheritance equal to the share of the adult, as well as the pregnancy in the mother’s womb, so there is no distinction between the firstborn and other children.

6- He gave women a share of the inheritance, so the mother, wife, daughter, son’s daughter, sister and the like share in it. He gave the wife the right to collect the dowry and bride-price if she had not received them without her share in the inheritance, as it is considered a privileged debt, meaning she has the priority to pay it before dividing the inheritance, and it is not considered part of her share in the inheritance.