Controversial Issues Related to Women: Inheritance | Dr. Shabir Ally 

Indian Muslim personal law need a reformation

It really surprises me that in India there are lot of laws which are not there in Bangladesh, despite of Bangladesh being an Islamic country, we banned such laws a long time back, anyone can make a will now.

Especially because many people have so many kids… imagine them all fighting over land/wealth which happens quite often.

I find the explanation inadequate. First of all, saying that the inheritance laws in Quran are not in balance itself is problematic. If indeed the inheritance laws are imbalanced, as has been said in this view, this means that there could also be other areas in Quran which are imbalance. Which opens the door about the correctness and relevance of Quran in the modern society. The argument that the women can be bequested an amount outside the legal shares to correct the balance does not address the issue. It is based on the view that even the clear verses of the Quran (not the interpretation which is subject to Ijtihad) are somehow subject to interpretation, are not eternal, and can even be changed subject to time. It is perhaps OK to say that we don’t understand reasons behind difference is the inheritance laws in Quran. We don’t need to be apologetic about controversial issues which we don’t understand.

Every subatomic fundamental particle in the standard model has an equivalent sister (or paired) anti-particle. I've found that verse to be very enlightening.

@@moazzammekan5846 The Quran has few rules and laws, and that is for a good reason. Allah understood that different societies at different times will have need for different rules and laws, and these must necessarily be made by people of those times keeping in view Quran's eternal values. . What is eternal in the Quran are not the rules or laws but the values of justice, equity, fairness and tolerance. Even here humans have to use their intelligence to see what is just and what is not. Slavery, at the time of the Prophet, was seen as an acceptable institution and the Quran does not abolish it or make it haram for people to own slaves. It tries to improve the condition of slaves by requiring owners to treat them kindly. But today will any Muslim justify owning slaves on the basis that it is not forbidden? No because today we see the institution as unjust, and thus it violates Quran's injunction that we must be just!

@@ahmedakhan1 I agree that there are limited numbers of laws in the Quran and the Quran should be understood and practiced within the overall message of the Quran - a just society. Does that mean, however, that we do away with the understood inheritance limitations snd say that these were applicable 1400 year ago and abrogate them. If we do that, what else we can RE-interpret. Would it still make the Quran the eternal word of God. The parallel with slavery is not applicable. The Quran clearly condemns slavery even if doesn’t outlaw it outrightly. But what about, alcohol or pork for example. Can we make an argument that we have better ways to address the negative impacts arising with the consumption of these two and thus we should look at these two injunctions differently?

@@moazzammekan5846 I do not believe in abrogation of any verse in the Quran. The Quran is Allah's word and no one has the right to add or take away from it, even though some scholars believe in abrogation of certain verses! However, the over riding principle in the Quran is equity and justice, and if equity is served by changing the share in inheritance of male and female as circumstances changed, then that is what should be done. Otherwise the division of inheritance, while fair at the time of the Prophet, would no longer be fair in view of changed circumstances! If the Quran is to be valid for all times then it has to be reinterpreted by every generation to peserve the principle of equity and justice. We know that the early Muslims interpreted the Quran and applied it in ways that were faithful to the spirit of the Quran but not to the letter. So even though the Quranic injunction of applying religious freedom was directed only to People of the Book (Jews and Christians), the early Muslims extended this freedom to polytheists as well (in India, for instance). The Muslims of the first four centuries of Islam understood Allah's intent and acted accordingly, rather than be stuck over literal meanings which would have prevented just action. It is only once the religious scholars (from 11th century CE) had gained dominance that Islam moved from being a rational religion to one subject to their "logic" and "reasoning." A recent study has shown a correlation between the decline of Muslim science (starting around 11th century CE) and the rise of Islamic religious scholarship. Perhaps that is why Allah says, "Rabbis and monks determined what was lawful and what was not instead of God" (The Quran, 9:31)! One final point, the scholars of 11th to 14th century (who are much quoted today) interpreted the Quran according to their times and circumstances and not according to conditions of 8th century Arabia, but we still follow their interpretations! To your last point, I would say that in the case of pork the Quran is very clear, it is absolutely prohibited, but in the case of alcohol it is not so simple. While the Quran mentions its harmful effects, it also says that there are some positive aspects to alcohol. We know the damage that drunkenness can do to families and societies today, so if through science its harmful effects can be contained then there is no reason not to drink it! We must remember that Islam is a very rational and reasonable religion, and not what the scholars have made it today a mindless faith with too many restrictions and rules where no disputation with the scholars' views is acceptable!

The Quran doesn't support "equality". Men and Women are different, and it is wise to accept that.

UltimatePiccolo Yes men and women are different, but when we talk about equality we are referring to equal rights and opportunity.

@@georginathompson3788 That depends on what rights and opportunities. In Islam, men and women do not have the exact same rights because of their differences.

UltimatePiccolo Yes I agree with you that men and women have got different rights in Islam. That is why it’s an outdated belief system because we now know contrary to Muhammad’s claims, men and women are equal in intellect - this is scientifically proven fact. So why should the testimony of a smart, intelligent professional female be half that of her less intelligent male counterpart? Such inequality has no basis whatsoever. It is clearly an outdated belief system.

@@georginathompson3788 I've noticed you that you begin with the premise that men and women are equal in intelligence, and that makes them more or less equal. These are 2 of your opinions that you seem to project onto the Quran and the Prophet (saw). In Islam, men and women are treated as equally in the some context, and not equally in other contexts. Equality is not a goal of Islam, fairness and truth is. Not all relationships should be equal, but they should be fair.

x Adam Allah is neither male nor female....... In the Arabic, Neuter Genders are written with either He or She by default......There is no 'it in the Arabic'

we cant everytime compare men n women.... in Islam women r equal bt nt same (different rule) some case women r double like: if two brother n one sister... n some time man take advantages... bt remain equal.... Testing, testing like Adam n eve just fr eating simple Apple.... 21century or wht century we will go.. . law will remain same.... whether we follow or nt.... we cant everytime compare men n women.... in Islam women r equal bt nt same (different rule) some case

Women are treated fairly in the Quran. Don't expect to find your feminism in the Quran though. Feminism doesn't work, Islam works.

True muslims don't violate women rights. So called muslims by name and infidels are not to be guaranteed by anyone so Allah has nothing to do with those violations because they're not asked by Allah to harm women or anyone else... By the way, there is reward and punishment syatem installed by Islam for all acts one practices

Hey shut up yaar, have some shame