𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 (445)

Ruling on Depriving Women of Their Inheritance Question: In our country, we do not give women any share of inheritance. What is your advice regarding this? Sheikh Rashād Adh-Dhali'ee ḥafidhahullāh: My advice is to abandon this practice, for it is one of the customs of the pre-Islamic era of ignorance and has nothing to do with Islam. Islam came to abolish such practices. The people of the pre-Islamic period used to deprive women of inheritance, but Islam granted them their rightful share. Allāh, the Exalted, says: “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 — a prescribed share.” [4:7] Whether the inheritance left by the deceased is small or great, women must be given the portion that Allāh has ordained for them. Allāh mentioned the inheritance shares of daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers — including mothers in the broader sense, such as grandmothers — all of whom He specified clearly in the Qur'ān. He also mentioned full sisters, paternal sisters, and maternal sisters. Allāh Himself legislated these shares; He did not leave it to human discretion. Therefore, it is not permissible to evade or manipulate these rulings. Rather, it is obligatory to give women their due rights. In some countries, however, women are shamed or pressured not to claim their inheritance. Even when a woman is in need of her rightful share, she may refrain out of fear of social stigma. People might say, “So-and-so divided the inheritance with her brothers,” considering it a disgrace upon her. One brother mentioned: “My mother was a courageous woman. In our land, it was customary not to give women their inheritance, and anyone who demanded it was seen as shameful. But when my grandfather passed away and they came to divide his estate, my mother demanded her rightful share and stood firm. As a result, this harmful custom was broken in our village.” See how one woman’s courage abolished a wrongful practice — a remnant of ignorance and injustice. Such deprivation of women’s rights is oppression and a continuation of pre-Islamic ignorance.