Why Do Women In Islam Inherit Half of What Men Do?

Women's inheritance in Islam is considered to be half that of men's. A son inherits twice as much as a daughter, a brother twice as much as a sister, and a husband twice as much as a wife. Why? If you ask women's rights activists, they will say it is for the same reason that a man's testimony is valued twice that of a woman's, that men have the right to divorce, and that in the Quran, men are considered guardians of women. However, religious intellectuals have a different interpretation. They argue that women's inheritance is half that of men's because men have more responsibilities and duties. Men are the breadwinners of the family and are responsible for providing maintenance and dowry; a discourse that has changed significantly in today's Iranian society, where women's roles in the family and economy are not related to what was reported 1,400 years ago in early Islam. This week, in a discussion on the taboo topic, Sajjad Nikayin, a religious scholar, and Zhila Mohajer Shari'at Panahi, a Quranic researcher, will discuss this issue. Mr. Nikayin begins the discussion by asking why, in Islam, which claims to be a religion of equality, women's share of inheritance is less than that of men. What justification exists in Islam for this issue? Sajjad Nikayin: Of course, Islam is not the only religion that claims to have this attribute; others also make such claims. Therefore, the issue is how we understand and define equality. Should we define equality in terms of opportunities? Or is equality merely about sameness, regardless of the talents and backgrounds that each person can grow in? If we take equality in opportunities, yes, Islam claims to provide equal opportunities for all, but if we understand equality as sameness regardless of abilities and capabilities, then naturally, that may open the door to disputes... So I need to correct my question and ask what capabilities and advantages are 'not' present in women that... Nikayin: No, no, no, I am not talking about women's capabilities at all. I consider equality to be an ambiguous concept that if someone claims it—if Islam also made such a claim—should be asked, equality in what? How is equality defined? My point is not that the basis of inheritance is that one is more capable than the other. When the issue of inheritance is raised, and it is often cited regarding the lack of equality between men and women in Islam; this is due to a one-dimensional perspective. Let's see if this inheritance is only this inheritance or if Islam has a package of recommendations, legal mechanisms, and rights in mind. For example, Islam, which speaks of men's inheritance being twice that of women in a specific case, also has exceptions in other cases, and this is not universal. In some cases, women's and men's inheritance becomes equal, and in other cases, women's inheritance even increases. Islam does not base its view on women being of lesser value or, God forbid, inferior. If it were to have such a view, in other cases, this equal inheritance would not arise. Where Islam states that inheritance is double, it is because men have financial responsibilities towards three women in their lives: their mother, sister, wife, and daughter. That's four. Now, I have combined the wife and daughter. These four women, even if they can financially support themselves and do not need maintenance, the man is obliged to cover these expenses. As soon as a man marries, he has twelve financial responsibilities. Now, you put all these responsibilities together. Should we allocate a financial source for these responsibilities or not? Or should we just tell the man that you are responsible and not provide any additional source or budget for these responsibilities, and then tell Islam that you have wronged women? Who is responsible for providing the necessities of daily life, such as housing, food, and clothing? It is the man's responsibility. A woman in her husband's house is not even obligated to cook. Now, our custom considers this a duty, which is another matter. I am discussing jurisprudence here. The man is responsible for even cooking by the woman if she demands compensation. Even in raising children and caring for them, a woman has the right to demand financial compensation. There were good points to enter the discussion. Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi, you heard Mr. Nikayin's arguments, which summarized that the economic duties of men in the family institution under Islamic laws necessitate these conditions. Now, aside from the points that Mr. Nikayin raised, there is also the issue of dowry. The issue of maintenance and dowry is often raised by those who defend this situation of women's inheritance in Islam. I want to know, as someone who does not agree with this situation, what your argument is? Zhila Mohajer Shari'at Panahi: Yes, of course, as he said, this can be related to maintenance, but I have not found any connection for this in any part of the Holy Quran. The reason why maintenance is the man's responsibility goes back to the noble verse that says, 'Because Allah has favored some over others and because of what they spend.' This means that because talents differ among some compared to others, men provide maintenance. Here, where talents are different, it has never been said that a man's talent is less than a woman's in any area. Rather, it is a division of favor. If they want to relate these, they must bring us a Quranic reason; otherwise, I say that there are now Quranic solutions for equality without reducing maintenance. The responsibilities of men are due to the mutual responsibilities of women, which generally relate to pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Regarding solutions, one of them is that we have now approved the equivalent of wages for women before divorce, and our request is that half of the property be given to women before dividing the inheritance, considering the duties that—Mr. Nikayin also said are not their responsibility—but are accepted as a custom. My question to Mr. Nikayin is, if someone made a will in such a way that daughters inherit equally or more, is the maintenance of that daughter not the husband's responsibility? These are not directly related. In any case, in Mr. Nikayin's remarks, there is a point that if the man is responsible for financially supporting the family—even in today's society where many families are headed by women or where both men and women manage the family together—but there are still families where the man is the sole financial provider of the family—why do you demand equal economic power for women there? Because the man is managing the family. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi: Yes, you see, family life is not just about money. In the family institution that I have derived from Islam, there is a division of labor, and as the Quran states, men are 'qawwamun' for financial matters of the family, and women are righteous. This means they have a very heavy emotional duty to bring affection and love into the family. So if we want to put these on two scales, it has nothing to do with inheritance. The affection that a woman must bestow on her husband and children is in exchange for having no financial concerns, but since she has the ability to work financially, if she wants, she can also do financial work, but she is not obliged to participate financially. Why? Because she must save for her own and her children's rainy day and when the family is in a situation where it cannot last, for example, if the man goes missing or a divorce occurs. Therefore, in a family system independent of the state, this division must take place. Now we have more questions for Mr. Nikayin. Mr. Nikayin, Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi believes that the issue of inheritance has nothing to do with maintenance and the costs that men must pay for life, and then the point they raise is that if a woman wants, she can work, but there is no obligation for her to have economic participation in the family, and she can save for her own rainy day or if a divorce occurs. Here, perhaps we should ask, well, if a divorce occurs, after all, dowry is also considered. I don't know what your answer will be? Nikayin: Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi demanded evidence from the Quran, and fortunately, she herself mentioned the evidence. 'Men are the maintainers of women.' This means men have financial responsibility. We are talking about the realities of the world. When we talk about responsibility, we cannot fabricate responsibility without allocating any budget. We tell the man, well, you have all these responsibilities, work, and if the woman has an income, it belongs to her... I think the paradigm of slavery is no longer such that this is demanded unilaterally from the man without allocating any source and any consideration for these responsibilities. Moreover, let me tell you this. Suppose this double inheritance goes to the man. This man who received double the inheritance, meaning he received twice as much from his sister; where is he going to spend this? This man, I mentioned, has financial responsibility towards his sister. This means the man is simply and solely a slave. Furthermore, the woman has no responsibility. The discussion of raising [children] is merely a kindness, a gift. We cannot simply say that because we are feminists or advocates for women's rights, we can now pass over equality; with the explanation that Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi provides, we have officially passed over equality and are entering the paradigm of slavery, extreme matriarchy. Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi, what is your response? Are you in favor of slavery? Shari'at Panahi: No, I reject the term. You see, dowry is not for divorce. Dowry is a gift that must be within the man's means and must be given at the time of marriage. Like gifts that even now in the West are given to women at marriage, and this is a very beautiful custom. Regarding the financial budget of the family, my question is, well, if a man has no inheritance and his parents have nothing to leave him, does that mean all his financial responsibilities are nullified? It does not. Well, now I say the woman works, the man works, and both have equal salaries, and both spend, but when they want to have a child, who is the one that must become pregnant? Who must give birth? Who must breastfeed? Even in the twenty-first century, in no country has maternal mortality reached zero. Therefore, maintenance is provided in exchange for the emotional attention and physical troubles of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding for women. We also mentioned household chores, and with the approval of equivalent wages as half of the husband's property, upon the husband's death, it will compensate for that. The men say that it is slavery. Now that we see the slavery of women. If men had shown kindness and provided this maintenance without enslaving women, where even a woman cannot leave the house without her husband's permission; then our world would have been a much more loving place, and equality between men and women would have been achieved. Many believe that this economic superiority in the family institution has produced inequality; just as Ms. Mohajer Shari'at Panahi pointed out that if maintenance were not conditional on a thousand and one restrictions that the man can impose on the woman, perhaps these issues would not have arisen at all. The maintenance we are discussing or the twelve responsibilities you mentioned are actually in return for the rights and conditions of superiority granted to men. What will you say about this? Nikayin: I am surprised. Well, the explicit text of the verse states that for male children, there is a double share compared to female children. 'Men are the maintainers of women.' Men are responsible for the economic management of the family. Well, put all these together. I do not know how a legal system is seen and extracted without paying attention to these explicit texts. Now let me put this discussion aside. They raised the issue of childbirth and breastfeeding. I do not know how a biological difference, which nature has placed in the lap of women, and has essentially made women responsible, should be considered the basis for inequality? If they have a way for men to become pregnant and give birth, I would be happy. Both they and others who want to reach that paradigm of slavery should present that men should also become pregnant, and then before marriage, both parties should clarify that, for example, I, the woman, will be pregnant with the first child, and you, the man, will be pregnant with the second child, and in this dimension, equality should be achieved. Well, how can we base a series of rights on a biological difference? Based on a biological difference for which the man has no fault in not being able to become pregnant.