India has a fascinating and complicated history. There is no way I can do justice to the nuances of that history in this post. Like the history of most places, it involves powerful people exploiting their power to become rich, usually at the expense of others. Before the British Empire took over most the subcontinent, most of it was part of the Mughal Empire – a collection of “princely states.” Long after the Mughal Empire ended, these “rulers” continue to be important. Some even came to power after the British came to rule.
This history is important, not necessarily because they ruled anything, but because a legacy of accumulated wealth can also be a legacy of accumulated pain.
Primogeniture as a Muslim tradition
Say for example, you have acquired vast lands, collectors of art and other trappings of wealth because you are the head of the feudal system were you ruled as “Lord” over people less important than you. A sort of Scotland in South Asia.. The wealth that you have is not merely the money and land that can be subdivided, but all the combined is what gives your title worth. If you were to follow the Islamic rules of inheritance, which is a uniform system dividing up shares of inheritance, distribution will be fair and just. However, your title and the importance that you have in your society cannot be passed down to anybody because everything has been diluted.
Primogeniture is the historic European system for inheritance. The system is easy to understand. The eldest son gets everything.
This is also the system in India for feudal lords, including the Muslim ones. Is this is permissible in Islam? Of course not. Leave aside that the wealth of such families was not built through industry and hard work. It was taken by force from people who were being lorded over, not for the benefit of society, but for the benefit of a particular family, or a man, followed by the eldest son of that person. Of course that does not matter. The same rule would apply to a business owner who favors one child as heir of his business empire. Islamic inheritance is mandatory for Muslims.
The Fight in Rampur
Recently, we saw the end of the 49-year court battle between the various other beneficiaries of what was a contest between an inherently unjust to the point of absurdity inheritance tradition known as “primogeniture” and the Islamic rules of inheritance. Fortunately, for the various ancestors of the Nawab, the result was a win for the Islamic rules.
India is of course a majority non-Muslim country and for historical reasons, the Islamic system of inheritance tends to prevail over there for Muslims. There have been exceptions though. Luckily, this is not one of them.
Tendency for Injustice
Our tendency to do an injustice when it comes to inheritance often has to do with how we see our own legacy. It is true that rulers tend to have a more obvious path to injustice, in part because that is probably what they have been doing their entire lives and in part because this legacy of injustice would simply end if they follow the commands of Allah and distribute inheritance based on the rules of Islam.
There are other situations where such injustices can take place within families. The most likely place these days is in family businesses. I’ve seen it in other situations as well, including with real estate and brokerage accounts. Sometimes, one particular beneficiary figures he (it is pretty much always a he) is more deserving and more privilege than anyone else, so much so that there is no cause even feel badly if the other siblings get absolutely nothing.
Your Legacy Is Peace, or Power?
The larger your wealth becomes; it takes on greater meaning then merely sustenance for yourself and your family members. Your wealth may become political power, it may mean that you will have many wives and many children from those wives (which is what happened in Rampur). Those people have rights in Islam.
Your legacy of wealth must dissipate through the generations, not consolidate. This is a necessary part of our own devotion to the command of Allah. Surah Nisah (which contains the verses of inheritance, opens with the following:
Oh humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate, and through both He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah- in Whose Name you appeal to one another- and honor family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you.
Do your own Inheritance Planning
To discuss the process of Islamic Estate Planning, you can schedule a 15-minute mini-consultation over zoom by clicking here.