Chapter: The Laws of Inheritance

The word farāʾiḍ is the plural of farīḍah, which means “that which has been fixed as an obligation.” Al-mafrūḍ, likewise, denotes something that has been precisely allotted, for the root farḍ itself carries the sense of apportioning. Hence the Qur’anic phrase “a fixed share” (Q 4:7) points to an assigned, well-known portion.

Technically, this discipline is the knowledge of how estates are divided among those entitled to them.

Its primary proof-text is the Book of Allah, in His statement: “Allah instructs you concerning your children…”—the two verses that follow. The Sunnah likewise establishes it, as will be seen in the forthcoming ḥadith of Ibn ʿAbbās, and the Muslim community has reached a consensus on its rulings in general.

Because wealth and its distribution provoke human greed, and because the heirs are often weak or still minors, Allah—majestic and exalted—undertook to apportion the estate Himself in His Book, laying it out clearly and in detail so that no room remained for personal opinions or whims. He set the heirs on an equal footing in accordance with the demands of justice, benefit, and advantage that He alone fully knows. He alluded to this wisdom when He said: “You do not know which of them will be of greater benefit to you” (Q 4:11). Thus, this division is perfectly just, grounded in fairness and the common good, and the verse hints at one aspect of that justice.

To pursue analogical reasoning here would take us beyond the purpose of this book and needlessly lengthen the discussion. Reflecting on the Book of Allah, in the light of human circumstances and with guidance and illumination, reveals something of His wise secrets.

Yet after the division ordained by the All-Wise, the All-Aware, self-styled “reformers” infatuated with the West step forward, seeking to alter Allah’s ruling and replace His allotment—although His words have already been perfected in truth and justice—claiming that their scheme is fairer and better than the judgments of Allah. “Who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who are certain?” (Q 5:50).

The fact is that these deluded souls are ignorant of the heavenly laws and of earthly realities alike; they croak about matters they have never understood. Their noise comes from one of three sorts: a woman suffering an inferiority complex who rebels against the law of Allah; a pretentious dandy who wishes to adorn himself with atheism and heresy; or a loudmouth who merely echoes what he cannot comprehend—nothing but a call and a cry, for they grasp nothing.

This science, then, is a noble and august discipline. The Prophet ﷺ urged its study and its teaching in several ḥadiths, among them the marfūʿ report from Ibn Masʿūd: “Learn the laws of inheritance and teach them to the people.” In that narration the term “farāʾiḍ” may, in fact, be intended to cover legal rulings in general.

Scholars have devoted many separate works—both in prose and in verse—to this field and have treated it at length.