Write a comprehensive note on the right of inheritance granted to women by Islam.

Introduction

Islam gave women a fixed, legally enforceable right to inherit at a time when in most societies women had little or no such right. This was not a matter left to a father's goodwill. The Quran itself sets out the shares in detail and calls them obligatory. Yet in Pakistan many women are still deprived of what Allah has given them, so this subject is a matter of present concern as well as history.

Women and inheritance before Islam

In pre-Islamic Arabia, inheritance generally went to adult males who could fight and defend the tribe. Women and young children were commonly excluded, and a widow could herself be treated as part of the estate. In many other ancient societies, too, women had limited property rights. Against this background the Quranic reform was revolutionary.

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَن تَرِثُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ كَرْهًۭا …

"O you who have believed, it is not lawful for you to inherit women by compulsion…" (An-Nisa 4:19)

Quranic basis

The fundamental statement of principle is found in Surah An-Nisa. It gives men and women their own distinct rights and closes every excuse: small estates count, and the shares are obligatory.

لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ٱلْوَٰلِدَانِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ٱلْوَٰلِدَانِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ ۚ نَصِيبًۭا مَّفْرُوضًۭا

"For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much: an obligatory share." (An-Nisa 4:7)

Reports link the detailed verses with the case of the widow of Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' (RA), who came to the Prophet ﷺ to complain that her husband's brother had taken the whole estate, leaving his two daughters with nothing (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi). The right was therefore established in response to a woman's own complaint.

Shares of women

Daughter

A single daughter with no son receives half of the estate. Two or more daughters share two-thirds. With sons, each son receives twice the share of a daughter.

يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَٰدِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ …

"Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females." (An-Nisa 4:11)

Mother

She receives one-sixth when the deceased leaves children, or brothers and sisters, and one-third otherwise.

Wife

She takes one-quarter when her husband leaves no children, and one-eighth when he does (An-Nisa 4:12). If there is more than one wife, they share this portion.

Sister

Her share depends on the presence of other heirs, and it is set out in An-Nisa 4:12 and 4:176.

These shares are paid only after funeral costs, debts and any valid bequest have been settled. A woman's unpaid dower counts as a debt on her husband's estate, so a widow takes this before her inheritance. Bequests are limited to one-third and cannot normally be made to a legal heir, so a father cannot easily disinherit a daughter through a will.

Wisdom behind the "half share"

Critics often point to the son's double share as proof of inequality. The objection overlooks the wider financial system in which the rule operates.

Financial responsibility rests on men

A man must pay his wife's dower, and maintain his wife and children, and often his parents and unmarried sisters. A woman has no duty to support even herself after marriage, however wealthy she may be. She keeps her dower, earnings and inheritance entirely as her own.

The result in practice

A son's larger share is largely spent on others, while a daughter's share is hers to keep. Her family is not entitled to any of it without her consent.

The half share is not a universal rule

Both parents receive one-sixth each when the deceased has a child, whether they are male or female. Maternal half-brothers and half-sisters share equally (An-Nisa 4:12). In some situations a woman may receive more than a male relative. Inheritance depends on closeness to the deceased and financial responsibility, not on gender alone.

It is fair to add that modern conditions, such as women who support their own families, raise real questions. Where a man fails in his duty to maintain, the correct remedy is to enforce that duty, and a person may also make gifts to dependent daughters in his lifetime, within the rules on fairness among children.

Denial of inheritance in Pakistan

Despite clear law, many women in Pakistan never receive their share, particularly in the case of agricultural land.

Customary practice

Families often seek to keep land in the male line. Some women are pressured into signing away their rights in favour of their brothers.

Social pressure

A woman who claims her share risks being cut off by her family, losing a brother's support when she needs it most. Many "give up" their shares in name only.

Harmful customs

Forced marriages, and in extreme cases a so-called "marriage to the Quran", have been used to keep property within the family.

Weak enforcement

Court cases are long and expensive, while women have little access to land records.

None of this has any basis in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ warned that whoever unjustly takes even a hand-span of land will be made to bear it round his neck on the Day of Judgement (Bukhari, Muslim).

Law and remedies

Pakistan has tried to address the problem. The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1962 ended the use of custom in place of Islamic personal law in succession matters. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2011, known as the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, made it an offence to deprive a woman of her inheritance by deceitful or illegal means. The Enforcement of Women's Property Rights Act 2020 provides a faster remedy in the Islamabad Capital Territory, and Punjab has taken similar measures on land records through its computerised land system and special efforts by revenue officers.

Further steps are needed: automatic transfer of inheritance to all heirs in land records, free legal help for women, scrutiny of any relinquishment of rights, wider public awareness, and clear teaching on the subject in Friday sermons.

Conclusion

Islam made women direct heirs as daughters, mothers, wives and sisters, with fixed shares that no one has the right to alter. The difference in shares reflects the financial duties placed on men, and the woman's property always remains her own. The real injustice today lies in the denial of these rights by custom. Giving a woman her share is not an act of generosity by her brother but an obligation from Allah, and Pakistan will honour its Islamic identity only when families and courts uphold it.

The writer can be reached at ma6749429@gmail.com