Sunday, March 15, 2020

CIRA International at the notary; flawed Quranic inheritence?

In answer to the video "Islamic Inheritance Math in the Quran - Scientific Miracles of the Quran Ep. 5"

4:11
Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; then if they are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half; and as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and (only) his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has brothers, then his mother shall have the sixth
4:12
And you shall have half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of what they leave after (payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child then they shall have the eighth of what you leave after (payment of) a bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt; and if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by "kalala" neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third
The above 2 verses, along with 4:176 cover every possible family configuration thanks to the Quran's unique ability to eloquently concentrate its speech. This is why in this matter, as well as many others, it is crucial to study and be familiar with the Quranic style and choice of words before drawing any conclusions.

As clearly stated as early as Ibn abbas the default law of inheritance (after the payment of eventual debts, followed by the execution of the deceased' will 2:180. The will cannot compromise the financial rights and security of the mentioned inheritors) is based upon:
1- those that take from the total amount before other inheritors, their portion is therefore fixed and is distributed first
2- those that take from what is left

The parents' share must be based on the total because it is dictated upon whether the deceased has children or not:
"and as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and (only) his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has brothers, then his mother shall have the sixth"
The "no children" clause cannot refer to the amount left after the children have been paid out, because obviously there are no children.

So the parents' share must be based on the total amount of inheritance.

The same is the case for spouses:
"and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child then they shall have the eighth of what you leave"
By ordaining shares of a group (parents, spouses) based on the conditional existance of some family members (children), the Quran is telling you that there is a group that must come first (parents, spouses), meaning the second (children) will get from the remaining balance of what the deceased left.

4:11 is not sequential, ie first the children then the parents. It starts with a general statement regarding the children and does not end there. 4:11-12 goes on to mention the parents and the spouse's shares and the words used in describing their shares clearly imply that they are to be given a fixed proportion of the total inheritance first, then the children are to share the balance remaining.
It is the same as saying: "Give 2/3 of what the deceased left to the children; if there are children, give 1/6th to each of the parents. If there are no children, give 1/3rd to the mother (ie the rest to the father)." It simply means that, we must first look if there are children or not then give the parent's share based on the total amount. Then the children will get 2/3 of the remaining amount that has now decreased.

So because the parents and spouses' shares must come first, then it follows that the children's share must be based on the balance of what the deceased left after the first group get their shares.
The words employed in both the parents and the children's cases is "ma tarak"/he (the deceased) left. The children's share is based upon what the owner has left behind, just as the parent's share is based upon what the owner has left behind.

How much of that "ma tarak" is conditional to what relatives still exist in relationship to the deceased. Again, it is not defining the inheritance sequentially, i.e. first you distribute to the children then the parents, it is defining the shares in terms of kinship.

Now with this in mind, if there are parents still existing, then the children's share would be determined after the parents inheritance is determined from the "ma tarak"/he (the deceased) left. This means that the balance of the "ma tarak"/he (the deceased) left has now decreased, but it is still "ma tarak"/he (the deceased) left.

So how is the inheritance split between three daughters, two parents and one wife?

In this case, the deceased has children, so the parents inherit each 1/6 of the total. The wife also gets 1/8 of the total while the daughters get 2/3 out of what is left.

A man dies leaving 25.000$:
Wife 1/8 = 3.125$
Father 1/6 = 4.166$
Mother 1/6 = 4.166$
25.000$ - (3.125$ + 4.166$ + 4.166$) = 13.543$
Daughters 2/3 of 13.543$ = 9.028$
25.000$ - (3.125$ + 4.166$ + 4.166$ + 9.028$) = 4.515$ remaining.

Nowhere in the Quran or in the prophet Muhammad's sunna is it stated that the total inheritance must be distributed in all cases
4:7"Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion".
This system forces the surviving family to consider other relatives and weak members of society 4:8,33 as well as serves to securize a minimum portion of inheritence for each family member. Also, as per 4:11-12 and 2:180 the deceased knows what will be in some familial configurations each of his close inheritors' minimum share and can, before the division, assign to anyone he wants a specific amount in order not to leave an important balance after division. This is the foremost rule of the division of inheritence; paying debts and if there is a will, it must be taken out of the total before the division. This opens up the possibility to the deceased to balance as he deems fit the portion of his wealth to be distributed among family members on one hand, and to society as a whole on the other hand.

4:12 continues the same theme as 4:11 but covers also the division of the inheritence when there are no descendants nor ascendants (children or parents), which is the meaning of kalala. Then, those next in line to inherit are the siblings. While 4:176 also speaks of a kalala situation, it is slightly different as it is more general, speaking for siblings on the father’s side or sharing both parents. If a person leaves siblings on the mother’s side and the father’s side then the ones on the mother side are still guaranteed their portion as per 4:12 and the rest goes to the others. The 2 kalala verses should then be read together, with 4:176 applying after having given the spouse their portion of the inheritance as per 4:12.

Another possible interpretation is that kalala may mean, depending on the context, either a situation where no descendants and ascendants are left, as in 4:12, or when only the descendants are missing as in 4:176, hence the starting clause "If a person dies not having children.."
Based on this understanding, the 2 verses 4:12,176 should be seperated as they prescribe rules for 2 different situations.

An important thing of note, the husband is bound by the Islamic sacred law to take care of his parents, wife, children even if mature enough to work but are still unmarried. So the income he makes isnt really his income but belongs to the welfare and maintenance of his family. That is besides his other, religious duties for which he must contribute, including governement taxes and military jihad if required for the safeguard of his community.
The wife is not bound by Shariah to provide any kind of material need to the family or husband, and any income she makes belongs to her and no one else. She will even benefit from the wealth passed on by her deceased husband to other close family members. The inheritance is based on those presuppositions. If these presuppositions dont apply, in cases where a woman is sustaining herself and the family instead of a man, then the law doesnt prevent the wealth to be distributed as anyone deems it fit prior to death. As a final note, the portion of a woman varies, it isnt fixed, and depends on whether she is a wife, mother, only sister or one of the sisters. Sometimes she may get the double of a man. If a woman dies and is survived only by her husband, mother and father, then the husband inherits 1/2, the mother 1/3 and the father 1/6.

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