One of the biggest challenges in the Islamic Rules of Inheritance is that the concept is outside of the normal experience for most people. It is not something that we readily understand, nor is it often explained to us being part of Islam. It is half of all useful knowledge according to a hadith. In my view, there is a desperate need for this knowledge to spread.
I spend much of my time educating people about Islamic Estate Planning one on one. Sometimes, I go through months without ever explaining why it is daughters get half the Inheritance of boys. Some months, it’s always coming up in conversations. I recently had a wonderful discussion with a 13-year-old girl, who met with me to answer questions about her father’s Islamic Estate Planning. But America is different no? Is the Islamic Estate Planning Attorney a misogynist?
For those who are open-minded, including young people, these rules and the desire of Muslim family members to follow those rules as obedience to Allah is easy to understand. Your legacy on this earth is you following the command of Allah; prayer, fasting, charity, Hajj, and doing justice as best as you can with your family, your neighbors, and everybody else. Doing an injustice as your parting shot as you leave this world is not something a Muslim would ever want to do.
Why are the Rules What they are?
I am not going to pretend to understand why the rules are what they are. I can only explain what they mean to me and how beneficial these rules are for society. The rules of Inheritance that are in the Sharia are probably not the rules most of us would come up with on our own. We also won’t come up with praying five times a day on our own. It’s not about what we would do if we made up our own religion; it is about what Allah has ordained that we do. Inheritance is too essential to a strong system of families and a community, and we can easily confuse justice with vanity if left to our desires. In my experience, heirs get this, even if they end up not being especially religious.
We do our best. We hope our children think well of us and make dua for us. We pray we do not raise children who would withhold their prayers for their dead parents that followed Allah’s command on inheritance. I have never heard of that happening before, I doubt you have either.
Yorba Linda Masjid
I am speaking at the Masjid for the first time since the pandemic sort ended and came back again. Being back at the Masjid is essential for all of us, including our children. If you are in or near Yorba Linda, please feel free to bring your family. I will be talking about Islamic Estate Planning for a relatively short keynote. Would you please stop by and say Salam if you do come?
To schedule a 15-minute mini-consultation on Islamic Estate Planning, click here.
