Allah, the Exalted, stated in the Glorious Qur'an:
As for the children, God decrees that the share of the male is equivalent to that of two females.[1]
When we encounter this verse of the holy Quran we may ask why is it that in Islam, a woman gets half of the share of a man in inheritance?
Allah, the Exalted, stated in the Glorious Qur'an:
As for the children, God decrees that the share of the male is equivalent to that of two females.[1]
When we encounter this verse of the holy Quran we may ask why is it that in Islam, a woman gets half of the share of a man in inheritance?
In an answer to this question we can say,
First of all, we need to know that the rule of inheriting what is equal to half a male’s share is not an invariable rule in all cases that pertain to women. There are different cases where males and females take an equal share of the inheritance.
For instance, both the father and the mother take the same share of their son’s inheritance. Also, the share of the brother and the sister when a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants, both the sister and brother would take one sixth.
Secondly, In the answers that have reached us from the leaders of religion, the following points have been stressed:
The reason that the inheritance of man is more is because the upkeep of women is upon the shoulders of men. In other words, aside from the fact that a man must look after himself, he is also responsible for the expenses of his wife and children. From another point of view, it is the man who gives the dowry to the woman and she is the one who takes it from him.
In reality, it is possible to say that what the woman takes in the form of inheritance and dowry is tantamount to her savings, whereas the portion of the inheritance of the man is spent on the expenses of his daily life and that of his wife and children.
Aside from this, certain other responsibilities have been placed on the shoulders of a man, which necessitate his spending money in order to carry them out.
For example a man must spend money in the way of war, or if one of his relatives accidentally kills someone or injures someone he must pay certain amount of money to the family of the victim, whereas a woman has no responsibility in this regard. So even though what is apparent is that the share of a man in inheritance is two times that of a woman, in all practicality his share in the sum total of personal wealth is far less than hers. While on the other hand, in exchange for the “excess” inheritance, man has heavier responsibilities to shoulder than a woman. So in brief it can be said that the inheritance of men and women being different is so as to implement a sort of balance between the rights and responsibilities of each group.
At the end. I would like to finish this article by mentioning a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq in which someone asks him the same question and he replies,
the reason for this is that a man has more responsibilities and he must go to war, enduring many expenses in the process. Aside from his own expenses, a man must also take upon himself the expenses of his spouse and children. What’s more, he must give money to the family of a person accidentally injured by one of his family members.[2]
Notes:
1. {4:11}
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّـهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْن...ِ
2. al-Kafi, vol. 7, pg. 85:
مَا بَالُ الْمَرْأَةِ الْمِسْكِينَةِ الضَّعِيفَةِ تَأْخُذُ سَهْماً وَاحِداً وَ يَأْخُذُ الرَّجُلُ سَهْمَيْنِ قَالَ فَذَكَرَ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِنَا لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع فَقَالَ إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهَا جِهَادٌ وَ لاَ نَفَقَةٌ وَ لاَ مَعْقُلَةٌ وَ إِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى الرِّجَالِ وَ لِذَلِكَ جَعَلَ لِلْمَرْأَةِ سَهْماً وَاحِداً وَ لِلرَّجُلِ سَهْمَيْنِ