It is unfortunately common for family members to have inheritance disputes. For Muslims, the term “terrorist” comes up as a way to actually deny people inheritance. Terrorism actually came up twice in two different cases when I was in court a few days ago, in front of the same Judge (only one of those cases was mine). This was in probate court. None of this had anything to do with actual terrorism.
In Illinois, police said a family dispute over inheritance led to a double murder and suicide. A trust worth Millions led a man to kill his own 4 year old son, his niece, then himself.
In India, the New York Times reports on a woman who has been crusading against false accusations of witchcraft, which leads to the death of thousands of women a year. The accusation may sound quaint, but it is often over an issue that is familiar throughout the world and throughout time: Inheritance rights.
So how do we break this cycle, and not allow family members to treat each other viciously, just because a parent died?
Obviously, the answer for Muslims lies in the Islamic rules of Inheritance. The Quran is a mercy to mankind. That is not a slogan. It is statement grounded in cold, hard facts. When inheritance rights are ordained by Allah, your brother is not your enemy. Your father, your mother, your uncles and aunts- none of these people are your enemies. A system that incentivizes their becoming your enemies is gone, only if you let it be gone. Nobody can profit from calling you a witch, a terrorist, or even a fasiq. You get what you get, because the Quran says you get it.
Yes of course, Muslims do commit injustices against family members in inheritance cases. That is generally the fault of the deceased. It is their parting shot against the people they claimed to care about when they were alive. It is the fault of relatives who do what relatives do when the system they have is more “lord of the flies” than it is “mercy to mankind.”
The thing about Islam is that it is only valuable to you if you practice it. Otherwise, it is just an empty slogan.
Get my report, 6 mistakes Muslims make in their living trust.