The Ruling on Depriving Women of Inheritance
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Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: There are people who deprive their siblings of their lawful share of inheritance. When these people die and their sons succeed them, they continue in their fathers' way, meaning they do not give their aunts or their aunts' sons what their fathers withheld from them in terms of inheritance. They say, "The sin is on our fathers, not on us." Is their statement correct, or does the sin that befell their fathers also befall them if they do not give them or their sons their share of the inheritance?
Answer:
The question is a good one. He says: May Allah reward you. There are people who deprive their siblings of their legal inheritance because they are their sisters. His brothers. Because the question implies that they are female siblings. They deprive them. They deprive their sisters of their legal inheritance. So if these people die and leave behind their sons after them, and the sons continue in their fathers' way, meaning they do not give their deceased fathers' sisters their share, and what is mentioned regarding the materials is empty. And he said: Then they continued in their way, meaning they did not give their aunts or their sons what their fathers had prevented them from receiving in inheritance. They say that the sin is upon our fathers, not upon us. Is their statement correct? Or does the sin that befell their fathers befall them if they do not give them or their sons their share of the inheritance? This is the methodology of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) who prevented women from inheritance. As for Islam, it gave women their right in inheritance, as He the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:7] Deceived. He the Exalted said: Allah commands you regarding your children: for the male, a share equal to that of two females [An-Nisa 4:11]. He the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:176]. And He the Exalted said: He is [An-Nisa 4:11]. And by the parents are meant the father and the mother, so He gave the mother inheritance from her child. And likewise the wife. [An-Nisa 4:12]. So He established inheritance for women, whether they are mothers, grandmothers, daughters, or sisters; they have inheritance. And He abolished what the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) were upon, preventing women from inheritance. And He threatened those who...
They contradict this legal ruling; these are the limits of Allah. When He finished the verses on inheritance, He said:[An-Nisa 4:13] And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him into the Fire to abide therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment. Transgressing His limits in inheritance, and it encompasses all limits, but the context here is inheritance. So, this is the one who deprives females of their inheritance from their relatives; this is according to the methodology of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, may Allah protect us from it. Yes.
It is obligatory upon Muslims to prevent this invalid methodology and to give women their right in inheritance. It is obligatory upon the one who prevents women from inheritance to repent to Allah, because if he does this intentionally, it is apostasy (riddah) from the religion of Islam. So the one who does that must repent to Allah and give women their right in inheritance which Allah the Exalted and Majestic has legislated and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus.
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: There are people who deprive their siblings of their lawful share of inheritance. When these people die and their sons succeed them, they continue in their fathers' way, meaning they do not give their aunts or their aunts' sons what their fathers withheld from them in terms of inheritance. They say, "The sin is on our fathers, not on us." Is their statement correct, or does the sin that befell their fathers also befall them if they do not give them or their sons their share of the inheritance?
Answer:
The question is a good one. He says: May Allah reward you. There are people who deprive their siblings of their legal inheritance because they are their sisters. His brothers. Because the question implies that they are female siblings. They deprive them. They deprive their sisters of their legal inheritance. So if these people die and leave behind their sons after them, and the sons continue in their fathers' way, meaning they do not give their deceased fathers' sisters their share, and what is mentioned regarding the materials is empty. And he said: Then they continued in their way, meaning they did not give their aunts or their sons what their fathers had prevented them from receiving in inheritance. They say that the sin is upon our fathers, not upon us. Is their statement correct? Or does the sin that befell their fathers befall them if they do not give them or their sons their share of the inheritance? This is the methodology of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) who prevented women from inheritance. As for Islam, it gave women their right in inheritance, as He the Exalted said:
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 - an obligatory share.
لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ نَصِيبًاof two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half.
الْأُنثَيَيْنِ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَاءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُThey request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, "Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females
يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِي الْكَلَالَةِ إِنِ امْرُؤٌ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ وَلَهُ أُخْتٌ فَلَهَا نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ وَهُوَ يَرِثُهَا إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهَا وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَتَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا الثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَ وَإِن كَانُوا إِخْوَةً رِّجَالًا وَنِسَاءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِAnd for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate
وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَAnd for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave
وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَاجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ مِن بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنٍ وَلَهُنَّ الرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ الثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمThey contradict this legal ruling; these are the limits of Allah. When He finished the verses on inheritance, He said:
These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment.
تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللَّهِ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُIt is obligatory upon Muslims to prevent this invalid methodology and to give women their right in inheritance. It is obligatory upon the one who prevents women from inheritance to repent to Allah, because if he does this intentionally, it is apostasy (riddah) from the religion of Islam. So the one who does that must repent to Allah and give women their right in inheritance which Allah the Exalted and Majestic has legislated and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم من منع أخواته من الإرث ثم من خلفه كذلك يمنعون عماتهم محتجون بأن الإثم على آبائهم؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.