Reinventing the Islamic Law of Inheritance: The Share of Orphaned Grandchild in Islam and Pakistani Legal System
23 Pages Posted: 13 May 2014
Date Written: April 29, 2014
Abstract
The issue of the share of grandchild in section 4 of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 in Pakistan has sparked the hottest debate in the law of inheritance. This work discusses this controversial issue to find out, first, the background of this thorny issue; secondly, to evaluate the arguments of the supporters and opponents of representational succession; thirdly, to check the Islamicity of section 4; fourthly, to analysis how is this section interpreted by the higher Courts in Pakistan; finally, this work looks at the possible alternative to section 4 or representation for the grandchildren. The vast majority of scholars consider it as a re-writing of the Islamic law of inheritance; that its interpretation by the superior courts in Pakistan amounts to its non-existence; that experts of this field prefer ‘obligatory bequest’ over representational succession to provide help to the orphaned grandchildren.
Keywords: Grandchild, MFLO 1961, Share of Grandchild, Grandchildren, Islamic law of Inheritance, Islam, Pakistani Legal System, Representational Succession, Obligatory Bequest, judiciary, Peshawar High Court, Lahore High Court, Supreme Court of Pakistan.
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