Why does the Quran set the rule for women to inherit HALF what men do?

Question

There are many verses in the Quran that set the rule for women to inherit half what men do. Among those verses there is one particular verse [Al Nisa'a 4:12] that says:

"In what your wives leave, your share is a half, if they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts"

The above verse simply means that if a woman dies with no kids, her husband inherits HALF of her estate, while if a man dies with no kids, his wife inherits only QUARTER of his estate.

Is there any reason for the discrepancy?

For people who answered the question without reading it (especially Iris, Black Gravity and BY_All), would you please READ the question first and stop copying_and_pasting?

Answer 1

wow finally a meaningful question from you

the answer later

you missed the one directly before it which starts with

[11] Allâh commands you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females;

It is thought that the male is asked to support the female this is why he get twice the inheritance.

but with some Shiit Muslims they don't follow that and they divide it equally

God bless

Answer 2

Well let's put this into context. Why does a women inherit half compared to a man? Well firstly this is half more than Christianity.

When a women gets married she leaves the family house i.e. she become part of another family. So it would be unfair if she took her family's hard earned money to another family. As males have responsibility to provide for their family (eg wife kids, parents etc) it is there to help them, even though a woman has the right to in Islam, she is not responsible for providing for the family, and does not have to contribute towards it. I hope that makes sense, may be it's a cultural thing.

So refering to the verse:
The inheritence will stay within the husbands family, and the family will care for her untill she is married again, which maybe to someone else outside the family, so she doesn't take away the wealth.

I'm not sure if that made sense of what I was trying to get at.

Answer 3

The Glorious Qurâ€â„¢an contains specific and detailed guidance regarding the division of the inherited wealth, among the rightful beneficiaries.

The Qurâ€â„¢anic verses that contain guidance regarding inheritance are:

* Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 180

* Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 240

* Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 7-9

* Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 19

* Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 33 and

* Surah Maidah, chapter 5 verse 106-108

There are three verses in the Qurâ€â„¢an that broadly describe the share of close relatives i.e. Surah Nisah chapter 4 verses 11, 12 and 176. The translation of these verses are as follows:

"Allah (swt) (thus) directs you as regards your childrenâ€â„¢s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females, if only daughters, two or more, their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; If only one, her share is a half.

For parents, a sixth share of the inheritance to each, if the deceased left children; If no children, and the parents are the (only) heirs, the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

In what your wives leave, your share is half. If they leave no child; but if they leave a child, ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave, their share is a fourth, if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child, they get an eight; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question, has left neither ascendants nor descendants, but has left a brother or a sister, each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two, they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to anyone). Thus it is ordained by Allah; and Allah is All-Knowing Most Forbearing"
[Al-Qurâ€â„¢an 4:11-12]

"They ask thee for a legal decision. Say: Allah directs (them) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs. If it is a man that dies, leaving a sister but no child, she shall have half the inheritance. If (such a deceased was) a woman who left no child, Her brother takes her inheritance. If there are two sisters, they shall have two thirds of the inheritance (between them). If there are brothers and sisters, (they share), the male having twice the share of the female. Thus doth Allah (swt) makes clear to you (His knowledge of all things).
[Al-Qurâ€â„¢an 4:176]

In most of the cases, a woman inherits half of what her male counterpart inherits. However, this is not always the case. In case the deceased has left no ascendant or descendent but has left the uterine brother and sister, each of the two inherit one sixth. If the deceased has left children, both the parents that is mother and father get an equal share and inherit one sixth each. In certain cases, a woman can also inherit a share that is double that of the male. If the deceased is a woman who has left no children, brothers or sisters and is survived only by her husband, mother and father, the husband inherits half the property while the mother inherits one third and the father the remaining one sixth. In this particular case, the mother inherits a share that is double that of the father. It is true that as a general rule, in most cases, the female inherits a share that is half that of the male. For instance in the following cases:

1. daughter inherits half of what the son inherits,

2. wife inherits 1/8th and husband 1/4th if the deceased has no children.

3. Wife inherits 1/4th and husband 1/2 if the deceased has children

4. If the deceased has no ascendant or descendent, the sister inherits a share that is half that of the brother.

In Islam a woman has no financial obligation and the economical responsibility lies on the shoulders of the man. Before a woman is married it is the duty of the father or brother to look after the lodging, boarding, clothing and other financial requirements of the woman. After she is married it is the duty of the husband or the son. Islam holds the man financially responsible for fulfilling the needs of his family. In order to do be able to fulfill the responsibility the men get double the share of the inheritance. For example, if a man dies leaving about Rs. One Hundred and Fifty Thousand, for the children (i.e one son and one daughter) the son inherits One Hundred Thousand rupees and the daughter only Fifty Thousand rupees. Out of the one hundred thousand which the son inherits, as his duty towards his family, he may have to spend on them almost the entire amount or say about eighty thousand and thus he has a small percentage of inheritance, say about twenty thousand, left for himself. On the other hand, the daughter, who inherits fifty thousand is not bound to spend a single penny on anybody. She can keep the entire amount for herself. Would you prefer inheriting one hundred thousand rupees and spending eighty thousand from it, or inheriting fifty thousand rupees and having the entire amount to yourself?

Answer 4

Simple. Because whatever a woman owns is hers alone, but whatever a man owns is also the property of his wife if he remarries. He also is obligated to support his children out of his own inheritance, but if the husband dies, the children are supported out of their own inheritance.

Contrary to tradition in many predominantly Muslim countries, Islam encourages widows and widowers to remarry.

Answer 5

In Islam,the man is responsible financially for his woman,meaning he's responsible of her food,drink,home,clothes and so on.
So,in most cases,he inhertis more than the woman because he'll spend on his family.On the other hand,the woman who inherits the money is totally hers and not obliged to share it or spend any of it in her home and she's free to do whatever she wants with it

Answer 6

In Islam, Men have to support the men, It a woman's right to have her husband Pay for The essentials (Food, clothes, housing, medical care...etc).

Since Woman don't have as many financial duties, they need less money.

EDIT: I don't copy and paste, and as i said, Women aren't obliged to pay for anything, if their husband dies, the father, Brother or son will support her, In islam, women don't have to pay a dime.

For more questions, don't hesitate to email me again.