Forgotten Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

Learn inheritance and teach it for it is half the knowledge and it will be forgotten, and it is the first thing to be ripped from my Ummah.

[Ibn Majah 2710]

He also said:

Learn inheritance and teach it to people for I am a mortal being and knowledge will decrease until two people would differ amongst themselves over inheritance, but wouldn’t find an arbitrator.

[al Nisa’i 6305]

The leader of the faithful and the great companion of the Prophet, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say,

O people, learn Fara-idh with the same concern and effort with which you learn from the Qur'an.

It was also said that Umar said (in the meaning of), if you want to have play, play archery, if you want to speak, speak about mirath (inheritance).

It is incumbent upon each of us to learn Islamic inheritance and apply it. Otherwise you might be denying the rights of certain people or you might be eating wealth that is unlawful for you if you take someone else's inheritance. If you look around you, you will see the truth in this. Many families are divided over property, children are hurt over parental preference in their bequest and siblings are no longer speaking to each other.

Inheritance is known as 'Fara-idh' (plural 'Fareedah') in Arabic, which means something that has been fixed, set or determined. This branch of knowledge is known as 'Fara-idh' because it has been fixed by Allah in the Qur'an (Surah An-Nisa verses 11, 12 and 176).

Islamic inheritance laws are there to preserve certain things, and among those things, is to preserve our families and societies. It gives balance to our lives.

In the family, we learn our first lessons of God and creation, love and discipline, rights and responsibilities, human dignity and human frailty. The strength of our families is vital to our well-being. When inheritance law is not applied, families break apart and we lose the strength and we lose the balance.

Still, many Muslims ignored and abandoned this Islamic teaching and follow the ways and the practices of non-Muslims, in which one person or only a few selected ones would be given or receive the inheritance. In my legal practice, it is very seldom to see, among my Muslim clients, who are keen to divide their estate according to the Shari'ah Law of Inheritance. Rather, many started of by giving their estate to one or a few other persons, and if they are married, only their spouses inherit, even when they have other family members or relatives.

May Allah save us from ignorance and disobedience and protect us from eating haram wealth. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

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