The rulings regarding inheritance within the Shariah are fixed and clear, but few Muslims today follow them. In this episode, we reflect on how the inheritance laws of Islam help keep families together, even after death.
TEXT IN FOCUS:
Narrated Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ came to visit me in my sick illness in the year of the Final, Farewell Pilgrimage when the illness was intense [such that I thought I would die from it]. So I said, O Messenger of Allah, The pain has reached the degree that you can see on me, and I possess wealth. And nobody is my heir except my daughter. Shall I give two-thirds of my wealth away in charity? He said: No. A half? He said: No. Then he said, “[Give away] a third, and a third is a lot. For you to leave your heirs after you enriched and not in need is better than to leave them soliciting alms with their hands from other people. You don’t spend any expenditure by which you seek the Favor of Allah, save that you will have a reward for it, even [a morsel] you put in the mouth of your wife.
Hadith related in Bukhari
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:33 Hadith of Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas
3:40 Inheritance rules are fixed
6:00 Weird inheritance case of Hollywood actor
11:30 Inheritance laws differ across the US
12:25 The impartiality of the Shariah
14:10 Fixed shares and the one-third wasiyya
16:05 Sinful to not follow Quranic inheritance shares
17:35 Inheritance as Social Glue
19:15 Receiving money softens the heart
20:32 Your kin matters
23:00 Supporting your family is sadaqa
26:10 Gender and inheritance shares
29:58 Daughters get half of sons
32:00 Men falling short on duty
34:00 Men who fulfill their duty
38:25 Training sons from a young age
44:20 Seek out sources to do inheritance right
Tags:
Islamic inheritance
family bonds
Sadaqa