All
that is on earth and in the heavens originally and truly belong to
God, and shall finally return to Him, so declares the Qur'an
emphatically. Whether the humans like it or not, our
moment in the universe is brief and transitory in the onward march of
history- to succeed people who go ahead of us and to be succeeded by
people who come after us. The
riches and affluence of this world is only for a period of time- and
the ultimate end of all affairs is with God. Among the attributive
Names of God, the Qur'an speaks about "Al Waris", the Supreme Heir: "It is We who give life and death; it is We who inherit (everything)"---(Surah Al-Hijr, 15:24). The
Qur’an
thus
provides
an ethical framework for the believers to look at questions of
property, wealth and possessions: upon the death of a person, all property returns to God and the portion to legal heirs are apportioned by Divine Decree, leading to the Divine redistribution of the wealth of the deceased.
Under the Qur'anic framework on succession, both men and women among family relations- children, parents, siblings and spouses- are entitled for a fixed and mandatory share of the wealth of their deceased relatives. “Men have a share in (the assets) that their parents or nearest kin leave behind, and women (also) have a share in the inheritance of their parents and the nearest kin. Be it small or large, the share has been fixed (by Allah)”. (Surah Al-Nisa, 4: 08). Other verses in the Qur'an (4:12-14;177) identify the specific rules for apportioning the estate by Divine Decree. The prescribed shares of the male and female heirs are to be distributed among them after the payment of debts- including funeral expenses- and the fulfillment of the Will the believer may have made prior to death.
On
the basis of Qur'anic rules of inheritance, the
Holy Prophet (sa) issued
practical guidance on new
issues that emerged in the context of the companions' family lives, especially
on matters that the Qur’an did not specifically comment upon. For
instance, to strike a balance between a
person's right to bequeath his property by will to other than one's legal heirs prior to death and to protect the interests of the legal heirs, it was clarified that not more than one-third of the estate can be given away in such a manner. Through
the centuries, by
applying
reasoning and analogy, Muslims
have evolved a vast
corpus
of jurisprudence (Fiqh) on the distribution of shares in
varying contexts of the life of the Ummah. In
his Friday Sermon of 10 August 2018 (27 Dhul-Qaddah 1439 AH), Hadhrat
Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of
Mauritius provides
a magisterial survey of the most important features of Islamic
inheritance law and comprehensively
explains the profound obligations on devout Muslims in this regard-
of making distributive arrangements for smooth transitions in the
wealth and assets they (are to) leave behind, and
also to respect the rights of women and other vulnerable legal
heirs
in matters of succession.
Under the Qur'anic framework on succession, both men and women among family relations- children, parents, siblings and spouses- are entitled for a fixed and mandatory share of the wealth of their deceased relatives. “Men have a share in (the assets) that their parents or nearest kin leave behind, and women (also) have a share in the inheritance of their parents and the nearest kin. Be it small or large, the share has been fixed (by Allah)”. (Surah Al-Nisa, 4: 08). Other verses in the Qur'an (4:12-14;177) identify the specific rules for apportioning the estate by Divine Decree. The prescribed shares of the male and female heirs are to be distributed among them after the payment of debts- including funeral expenses- and the fulfillment of the Will the believer may have made prior to death.
On
the basis of Qur'anic rules of inheritance, the
Holy Prophet (sa) issued
practical guidance on new
issues that emerged in the context of the companions' family lives, especially
on matters that the Qur’an did not specifically comment upon. For
instance, to strike a balance between a
person's right to bequeath his property by will to other than one's legal heirs prior to death and to protect the interests of the legal heirs, it was clarified that not more than one-third of the estate can be given away in such a manner. Through
the centuries, by
applying
reasoning and analogy, Muslims
have evolved a vast
corpus
of jurisprudence (Fiqh) on the distribution of shares in
varying contexts of the life of the Ummah. In
his Friday Sermon of 10 August 2018 (27 Dhul-Qaddah 1439 AH), Hadhrat
Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of
Mauritius provides
a magisterial survey of the most important features of Islamic
inheritance law and comprehensively
explains the profound obligations on devout Muslims in this regard-
of making distributive arrangements for smooth transitions in the
wealth and assets they (are to) leave behind, and
also to respect the rights of women and other vulnerable legal
heirs
in matters of succession.
Read the First part of the Two-part Sermon Below:
According
to Quran and Hadith, according to Shariah, it is
incumbent on a Muslim to distribute his wealth among his heirs. It is
thus his duty to make all necessary procedures so that after his
demise, his wealth is distributed as per the commandments of Allah
and His Messenger (pbuh).
The
share (fraction/ percentage) that a wife or a husband or a mother or
a sister receive is obligatory (Farz) just
like Salaat/ Namaz, Sawm/
Roza, Zakaat are Farz. The
proportion that we have to distribute in inheritance comes
essentially from the Quran. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has
said: “Learn
the laws of inheritance and teach them to others as they are half of
knowledge…” (Mustadrak Al Saheehain).