Muslim Women’s Inheritance Rights: Between Ordained and Practice

Abstract

The inheritance laws in Islam are comprehensibly outlined in the Quran. These laws provide recommendations for the transfer of a deceased person’s wealth among their heirs. In Islam, inheritance rules are founded on fairness and justice, to ensure the well-being and financial stability of family members. Although inheritance laws are the same for men and women, there are minor variances in the shares assigned to male and female heirs. Such differences are determined in terms of the status and conditions of each case. However, Reality reflects less justice and more prejudiced distribution of the heritage, with women being the typical victims in each case. Attempts are made to improve the status of women and guarantee them their full religious rights as stated in the Sharia Law, including the right to inherit.

Keywords: Muslim women, Inheritance, Sharia, Contemporary Islam, Quranic exegesis