Translation of Sahih Muslim (complete collection) by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui

Author:Abdul Hamid Siddiqui
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: [email protected]
Published: 2010-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

The Book Pertaining to the Rules of Inheritance (Kitab Al-Farai`d)

INTRODUCTION

Inheritance is the entry of living persons into possession of dead persons' property and exists in some form wherever the institution of private property is recognised as the basis of the social and economic system. The actual forms of inheritance and the laws governing it, however, differ according to the ideals of different societies.

The law of inheritance in Islam is based upon five main considerations:

To break up the concentration of wealth in individuals and spread it out in society.

To respect the property right of ownership of an individual earned through honest means.

To hammer in the consciousness of man the fact that man is not the absolute master of wealth he produces but he is its trustee and is not, therefore, authorised to pass it on to others as he likes.

To consolidate the family system which is the social unit of an Islamic society.

To give incentive to work and encourage economic activity as sanctioned by Islam.

In the pre-Islamic world and even in modern societies the law of inheritance has so many evils in it, which may be summed up in the following points:

Women had been completely denied the share of inheritance. They were rather regarded as part of the property of the deceased and, therefore, their right to property by inheritance was out of question.

In pre-Islamic Arabia and other countries where there had been tribal societies not only women were deprived of the right of inheritance but even weak and sick persons and minor children were given no share in it, as the common principle of inheritance was that he alone is entitled to inherit who wields the sword.

Then in certain societies there had been existing the law of primogeniture and it exists even today in some of the so-called civilised parts of the world which entitles only the eldest son to inherit the whole of the father's property or to get the lion's share.

Islam introduced so many reforms in the laws of inheritance which can be succinctly summed up as follows.

It defined and determined in clear-cut terms the share of each inheritor and imposed limits on the right of the property-owner to dispose of his property according to his whim and caprice.

It made the female, who had been prevously thought a chattel, the co-sharer with the male and thus not only restored her dignity, but safeguarded her social and economic rights.

It laid the rules for the break-up of the concentrated wealth in the society and helped in its proper and equitable distribution amongst a large number of persons.

It gave a death-blow to the law of primogeniture and thus provided the democratic basis for the division of the property of the deceased.

The above are some of the distinguishing features of the Islamic law of inheritance. While laying down the rules for the distribution of the estate of the deceased, the first principle to be observed is that the property both movable and immovable can be distributed after meeting the following obligations:

funeral expenses;

clearing

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