بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
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).
The first branch of knowledge to be taken away from the ummah is knowledge of inheritance. 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]
This is happening now. Students of knowledge either shy away from learning inheritance law or they couldn't find qualified teachers to teach them the inheritance law. And even well known Islamic colleges and universities don't put much emphasis in teaching inheritance law. If you survey the graduates in Islamic studies, you will find that most of them don't even understand the basics of the Islamic inheritance law.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said:
"Learn inheritance and teach it to people for I am a mortal being and knowledge will decrease until two people would differ among themselves over inheritance, but wouldn’t find an arbitrator.” [Nisa’i 6305]
Look around you. You will see the truth of the Prophet’s statement — families divided over property, children hurt over parental preference in wills, siblings no longer on speaking terms with each other.
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 law practice, it is often too common among my Muslim clients to find them not very keen to divide their estate according to the Shari'ah Law of Inheritance. Rather, many started off by giving their estate to one or a few other persons who may or may not be entitled to receive under the Shari'ah, and if they are married, most common inheritor is the surviving spouse only, even though the deceased left parents, children and or close relatives entitled to inherit under the Shari'ah.
The leader of the faithful, Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), used to say,
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.
May Allah save us from ignorance and enable us to learn, teach and apply inheritance law properly, and save us and our families from the trials and tribulations in this life and the next. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
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).
The first branch of knowledge to be taken away from the ummah is knowledge of inheritance. 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]
This is happening now. Students of knowledge either shy away from learning inheritance law or they couldn't find qualified teachers to teach them the inheritance law. And even well known Islamic colleges and universities don't put much emphasis in teaching inheritance law. If you survey the graduates in Islamic studies, you will find that most of them don't even understand the basics of the Islamic inheritance law.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said:
"Learn inheritance and teach it to people for I am a mortal being and knowledge will decrease until two people would differ among themselves over inheritance, but wouldn’t find an arbitrator.” [Nisa’i 6305]
Look around you. You will see the truth of the Prophet’s statement — families divided over property, children hurt over parental preference in wills, siblings no longer on speaking terms with each other.
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 law practice, it is often too common among my Muslim clients to find them not very keen to divide their estate according to the Shari'ah Law of Inheritance. Rather, many started off by giving their estate to one or a few other persons who may or may not be entitled to receive under the Shari'ah, and if they are married, most common inheritor is the surviving spouse only, even though the deceased left parents, children and or close relatives entitled to inherit under the Shari'ah.
The leader of the faithful, 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.
May Allah save us from ignorance and enable us to learn, teach and apply inheritance law properly, and save us and our families from the trials and tribulations in this life and the next. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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