Principles of inheritance share

1. The difference in inheritance shares never contains a value component, and the doubling of a man's inheritance share relative to that of a woman never indicates that men are worth twice as much. The fact that a daughter's inheritance share is more than her father's inheritance does not indicate that she is more valuable than her father or vice versa.
2. The necessity of preserving the proportionality and balance of each individual's rights and responsibilities is the basis for dividing and sharing an inheritance. Attention to this issue dispels the illusion that this distribution is oppressive and discriminatory. If the inheritance issue is viewed as a component of family law and related to the social system, and the family law system is extensively examined as a part of the Islamic legal system, which includes material and spiritual resources, and when the different rights and responsibilities of men and women in the family and society are compared, particularly from an economic standpoint, it is evident that in this division, not only has the woman not been oppressed, but her individual, psychological, and social interests have been taken into account in the best way possible.
3. Although on the surface, this division appears to give the man twice as much inheritance and economic benefits as the woman, the reality is quite different. In the "consumption and allocation" stage, women almost benefit more than men because they keep their share and property for themselves and are not required to spend it. However, through alimony and providing for expenses, the man's share returns to his family, of which women make up nearly half.
4. Typically, a man may utilize his capital more than a woman in the economic circulation of the society, so preventing economic stagnation and paving the way for the economic excellence and growth of the society. Inheritance is a form of financial gain, and it is believed that the money inherited by individuals would circulate in the economy and production cycle. According to the mindsets of men and women, in most cases of inheritance, the man receives a larger share, and he is given more capital for production, and he is expected to use this money in the sphere of production and the responsibility of providing for the family. Therefore, the man focuses on employment and economic activities, while the wife prioritizes household administration and child-rearing. Consequently, women are not required to engage in economic activity.

 

Inheritance for men and women

In jurisprudence, each relative's inheritance share is allocated according to their category and degree of closeness to the deceased; if there is a close relative, the distant relative does not get anything. According to these rules, spouses always inherit from one another. There are three related relative categories. The first category includes the deceased's parents and his children (or their grandchildren in the absence of children); the second category includes the deceased's ancestors and his brothers and sisters (or their nephews and nieces in the absence of brothers and sisters); and the third category includes uncles and aunts, and in their absence, their children.

According to the preceding, so long as the deceased has an heir of the first group, it is not the turn of the heir of the next category; for instance, so long as the deceased has a child, it is not the turn of his brother and sister. Sometimes a woman inherits as a mother and sometimes as a child, as a wife and sometimes as a sister. The woman's share is typically half that of the man, though occasionally it is equal to or even greater.

The initial category of inheritance often exists and inherits, and the subsequent classes are not involved. The deceased's sons receive twice as much as his daughters in the first group. The majority of families consist of a husband, wife, and child(ren), and frequently only the husband and wife pass away, leaving the child(ren), wife, and possibly the parents (especially in cases where a young person passes away) to inherit; consequently, siblings rarely get the chance to inherit.

The examples of "Lal-Zekr Methlo Haz Al-Anthiin" (let the man inherit twice as much as the female) hence predominate. Despite the fact that the death of a kid before the parents is a rare occurrence, if the deceased has a child in addition to the parents, the parents' share is one-sixth. Parents receive an equal inheritance because they are typically elderly and have little wealth. Second, the father is no longer responsible for the children's expenses and has paid his wife's dowry, or he has worked for many years and has a home that may be used to pay the dowry. On the other hand, his capacity for work and economic production is limited. Consequently, the economic logic of double inheritance for parents is rarely applicable. As previously stated, in some instances, a woman's inheritance is not only half of a man's, but is sometimes equivalent to or even greater than twice as much. Equal situations include the decedent having a father, mother, and two daughters. Father receives one-sixth, the mother receives one-sixth, and the daughters receive one-third each. In cases where a woman inherits more than a man, the parents and spouse are the heirs. The mother inherits one-third, the father one-sixth, and the spouse one-second of the inheritance. Consequently, the mother inherited twice as much as the father. When the deceased has several children, some of whom are sons and some of whom are daughters, and the son inherits twice as much as the daughter, a man inherits twice as much as a woman.

• Instances where the share of men and women is the same

Parents of the deceased: If the deceased has a child, the share of the inheritance of the deceased's parents is the same and each of them has one-sixth of the inheritance.

Maternal half-siblings: The deceased's maternal brother and sister inherit equally, not differently. That is, the deceased's maternal sister inherits according to the deceased's maternal brother.

• Instances where the share of women exceeds that of men:

A case in which the deceased's heirs are exclusive to their father and daughter. Here, the father receives one-sixth of the inheritance and the daughter receives the remainder.

The situation in which the deceased's grandson is his heirs. A grandson inherits the same amount as a son, and a granddaughter inherits the same amount as a daughter. In the case that a son's granddaughter is a girl and a daughter's granddaughter is a boy, the girl will inherit twice as much as the boy. Therefore, the inheritance share of women is not always less than that of men.

The most major reasons for the disparity in inheritances between men and women are:

1. Compensating the monetary burden of dowry, alimony, and dowry.

 In some circumstances, a woman's share of inheritance is half that of a male's. One of the most prominent reasons for this is a woman's special status in regard to her rights to alimony and dowry compared to that of a man. According to Shahid Motahari, "Islam considers dowry and alimony to be necessary, and as a result, women's living expenditures have been forced decreased and imposed on men." Islam wants this burden to be balanced through inheritance, which is why it has established the inheritance share for men and women to be double. Therefore, dowry and alimony have reduced the woman's share of the inheritance’’.

Some may question why Islam decreases women's inheritance shares and compensates them with dowry and alimony. Why doesn't he give them an equal share of the estate based on the same western laws and abolish the man's obligation to pay dowry and alimony? In response to this doubt, Shahid Motahari asserts, "First and foremost, these ostensibly concerned individuals have reversed the cause and effect. They believed that dowry and alimony were attributable to the special hereditary status of women, ignorant that dowry and alimony influence the special hereditary status of women. The second misconception is that just financial and economic aspects exist here. Obviously, if only the financial and economic issues were involved, there would be no rationale for a dowry or alimony, or for men and women to receive separate shares of inheritance. Regarding the issue of alimony and dowry, Islam has taken into account a variety of natural and psychological factors. On the one hand, women have many procreation-related requirements and issues, while men are naturally free of them; On the other hand, her ability to produce and acquire wealth is inferior to that of men, and on the third hand, the depreciation of her wealth is greater than that of men. Men should always be the spender for women due to the unique mental and spiritual considerations of men and women, or, in other words, the psychology of men and women. Moreover, there are significant psychological and social factors that reinforce the family relationship. Islam has taken all of these factors into account and deemed dowry and alimony necessary from these perspectives. In order to compensate for this indirect burden on the man's finances, Islam mandates that he get double the woman's inheritance share. In this sense, the question, "Why is it essential to reduce the percentage of women in one place and compensate for it in another? involves more than just financial and economic considerations."

2. compensation for certain social and criminal duties

Other than dowry and alimony, there are several social and family obligations on men that, whether directly or indirectly, place a financial and material weight on them. Women, however, also gain from the outcomes of these social obligations. For instance, the responsibility of Jihad and fighting against the enemy has always been one of the men's responsibilities, and in the interim, men are deprived of commercial and financial labor and livelihood, and must also shoulder a lot of expenses (such as the costs of injury or loss of limbs and treatment Etc). However, women are exempt from paying fees and have social security. Men are still required to serve in the military for two years, depriving them of a prominent opportunity to make money, plan their careers, and secure their financial future. Women, on the other hand, are free to work, or start a family. By doubling the share of men's inheritance, this economic gap can be closed.

3. compensation for the economic and support efforts of male children:

From the beginning to the conclusion of a family's life, sons are typically positioned in the framework of the family's economic system and are actively involved in the advancement of economic tasks under the supervision of the family manager. Additionally, the male children of the family are essentially responsible for the emotional, financial, and custody of other family members, particularly parents, during their old age and state of helplessness. However, the girls in the family not only do not play this role in the development of the family economy but they are also placed under the financial administration of another man outside the family structure after imposing dowry and marriage expenses. Because these responsibilities typically conflict with their marriage responsibilities, they find it harder to care for their parents or other family members. Doubling the inheritance share of male children will serve as an incentive and reward for more effective cooperation on the part of male children, as well as a psychological and material motivation for the custody and support of parents.

4. The effect of inheritance on strengthening the family system

This method of inheritance significantly affects the foundations of the family system, in addition to the prior findings, which each highlight the structure of the family system model. One of the progressive and advantageous aspects of the family system is the emphasis on the managerial role of men, as was stated in the discussion of the strength of men in economic management and external administration of the house. One of the most crucial elements for carrying out this duty is a man's financial stability; in fact, verse 34 of Surah Al-Nisa bases a man's management on this fundamental element. ''Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women).'' The economic preference of men over women in the case of inheritance is undeniably the foundation of men's economic management and serves the best interests of the family and society as a whole.

5. Trust in the reality of wisdom and the usefulness of heavenly decisions, as well as acceptance out of devotion

Religious laws are the prescriptions that God has conveyed to divine prophets in order to secure our prosperity and happiness. When we believe that these rules derive from God's infinite knowledge and that the All-Wise God does nothing in vain, we will be confident that the rules of Islam will be beneficial for us. However, this does not mean that the philosophy of rulings should not be questioned, as the set of Islamic rules is unquestionably based on human interests. Due to the limitations of human knowledge, we are unable to comprehend the underlying idea of some Islamic laws. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) says in Nahj al-Balagha that God tests his servants with a variety of adversities and asks them to worship and serve with a variety of efforts. He also tests them with a variety of things that are contrary to human nature in order to remove their arrogance and self-righteousness and instill humility in them. Should we, as God's servants, obey God's command only when we comprehend its logic and philosophy, and disobey it when we don't? It most certainly shouldn't be this way, and if someone's religious life is like this, he is a long distance from authentic Islam. Because total submission and obedience to God's will are at the heart of Islam. After outlining a few inheritance-related laws and divisions, God declares in Surah Nisa verses 13 and 14: "These are the bounds of God," emphasizing that adhering to Their laws will result in salvation and admittance into heaven while rejecting them will result in fire and humiliating punishment.