The Role of Shari‘ah in Provision of Shares of Inheritance to Women

Abstract

In pre-Islamic Arabia, before the advent of Islam women were deprived from their basic civil rights including the right of having wealth and property. Generally women were excluded from the right of inheritance also. Islam not only recognized her as human being by raising her dignity but also ensured her better economic position by giving her appropriate property rights including inheritance. The Qur’?n and the Sunnah provide the basic provisions of Islamic law of inheritance and eliminate all the unjust custom of woman rights of inheritance before Islam. The Muslim jurists further streamlined the principles of inheritance in such scientific method so they can be easily applicable to actual situations; which undoubtedly is a major contribution in rest of the legal systems.In Islamic law woman can inherit the property of the deceased by varying her place and responsibility in the family as a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, son’s daughter etc. Firstly, this paper describes the pre Islamic custom of inheritance in Arabia with regard to female shares of inheritance. Secondly, this study examines the principles and dynamics of Islamic law of succession and inheritance in the light of different school of laws. This research provides the fact that Shar?‘ah consider woman as an autonomous legal person and give her the right to inherit the property from the deceased. Some scholars claimed that Islamic law indicates inferior status of women by giving her half of the share to men.  This can be understood when the matter is studied as a whole in a comparative manner, rather than partially.This research not examines in detail the provisions of shares of inheritance to women in Islamic lawbut argued that how Pakistani Law of Inheritance related to women evolve in different different periodsof time and Islamize according to Islamic law.