Comments on “Understanding the Law of Inheritance of the Qur’an”

Comments on “Understanding the
Law of Inheritance of the Qur’an” ^**

I received the following letter from a brother (Mr.
Irfan Iqbal): (The Learner)

Assalaam-u-Alaikum,

Dear brother what do you say about
the following criticism by Salim Morgan. I would appreciate if you could reply to me with
your answer. At the same time I would like to mention that there are a few typos in the
article (on inheritance law) on your web page. Please correct them whenever you get time.
I have included all previous communication for your reference.

Jazak Allah Khair

Irfan Iqbal

(Letters Have been arranged in the chronological
order)

The First Letter

On Wed, 19 May 1999, Ahmad Qamar wrote:

Assalaam-u-alikum

OK guys, no responsibilities here. I didn’t read the
article. Besides I don’t know much about the inheritance stuff except for Salim’s lecture
that he delivered some time in Spring or Summer 1997. That’s why I am not sending it on
the list.

http://www.understanding-islam.com/articles/quran/utloiotq.htm

You can also follow the link ‘Articles’ from the main
page and then ‘Quran’ to reach the index page for articles related to Quran
including this one.

You can contact the authors thru email, too. You may
want to check their sites for other stuff, too :

http://www.renaissance.com.pk
http://www.understanding-islam.com

Jazakumullahukhairan

Assalaam-u-alikum

Muaz

The Second Letter

On Thu, 20 May 1999, Irfan Iqbal wrote:

Assalaam-u-alikum,

Did anyone get a chance to visit the site Muaz
mentioned? Please let me know what you think about the article.

I am not sending this to MSA List because, like Muaz,
I don’t want to create any confusion or win points against anyone. My only desire is to
acquire better understanding of Qur’an.

jak

The Third letter

Assalamo Alaikom,

I have read what Al-Tabari said about kalaalah.
I have read what Al-Bukhari said about Kalaalah (his saying not hadith). I have
read what a dictionary named “The end of the strange words of hadith and athar”
about Kalaalah. The explanation of the word uses other hadiths that use the same
root…

I have come to disagreement where the vast mejority
consider Kalaalah to be a human who dies without parents and children. The other
opinions that disagree are mentioned in Al-Tabari only and they are: A man died
without children or a man died without parents (not necessarily both).

Another point:

The nomination of a person, relative or not, to get
the rest of the inheretence does not seem right. What is his source to support this point?
Did the Quran mention it?! No book nor dictionary refared to nomination!!!

Another IMPORTANT point:

I reached the case when the sum is greater than 1. He
solves it by giving the parents their share then the daughters 2/3 of what is left. This
way he will never have greater than one.

That is completely wrong and against the clear verse.
Read the three translations we have for the verse 4.11 and compare it to his way of
solving the problem. The verse clearly says “2/3 of what he (died person) left”
NOT “what is left”.

Sultan

The Fourth Letter

As-salaamu alaikum:

I have some “recollections” (please NOTE
DISCLAIMER) from when I studied this subject in college.

1) Kalaala has the two meanings as you have
said. However, the meaning in the verse is the first one (no parents OR offspring)
because that is the only way it makes sense in that context. In the area of
inheritance law, I don’t believe this is an area of any difference of opinion among the
scholars.

2) The application of the hadith “Laa wasiyyata
liy waarithin” (You cannot will anything to any heir) is that you cannot make a
wasiya to ANY of the “potential” heirs even if they are not inheriting anything
in the current situation due to the presence of those who supercede them. This would
include those mentioned in the verse of kalaala. This is the only way which makes
sense, actually, since you must make wasiya while still alive and you do not have
knowledge of who your heirs will be at death. Can you check on this question?
I remember for certain that you can make wasiya to persons who would never inherit from
you regardless of the configuration of survivors such as an unrelated friend or a
charitable organization. Also, I was taught that you can make wasiya to a non-Muslim
relative (even parent or child) since they too would also never inherit from you.
I’m not sure if there is a difference of opinion in that one. What you definitely
cannot do is make a wasiya to someone who will inherit from you in order to distort the
portions which Allah has assigned. I believe this includes a portion of
“zero”, i.e., that you cannot make wasiya to an uncle for example who is not
inheriting anything because of the presence of other heirs.

Just in case anyone is not aware, let me just include
here that the will of a Muslim can only involve AT MOST one third of his/her property.
The rest MUST be distributed according to the portions assigned by Allah.

I hope someone can check on this last point (number 2
above) before I can as I am very busy and my house is still torn up after a plumbing leak
under the floor.

— Salim Morgan

It is primarily the third and the fourth letter which
criticises the point of view that I have expressed in my original article.
I shall first of all try to summarise the points of criticism in these letters and after
that give my comments on these points.

1) The first point that is mentioned in the third
letter is related to Mr. Sultan’s opinion of the word Kalaalah. Unfortunately, I
am completely unable to understand his point of view regarding the implication of this
word as used in the Qur’an. He writes: “I have come to
disagreement where the vast mejority consider Kalaalah to be a human who dies without
parents and children. The other openions that disagree are mentioned in Al-Tabari only and
they are: A man died without children or a man died without parents ( not necessarily
both).” I am unable to understand his opinion about the implication of the
word Kalaalah, and therefore would refrain from commenting on it.

2) The second point that is mentioned in the third
letter is related to the issue of nominating any person (whether related or unrelated) in
case any balance of the deceased’s property is left undistributed. Mr. Sultan writes that
such a nomination, in his opinion is not allowed. He has asked me to provide the source to
support my point of view.

3) The third point that is mentioned in the third
letter is related to the method of distributing the shares. I had expressed my opinion
that the share of the daughter(s) shall be given after the shares
of the inheritors of the first category are distributed. Mr. Sultan has stressed that
my interpretation is not according to the words of the Qur’an. According to Mr. Sultan,
the words of the Qur’an require us to give the daughters two-thrids of the total property
left by the deceased, not that of the balance left after giving away other shares.

4) The fourth point that is mentioned
in the fourth letter relates to the meaning of word Kalaalah in the Qur’an.
According to Mr. Salim Morgan, the word “Kalaalah” is used in two
meanings. In the verse under consideration, the word is used to imply “a person who
has no parents or no offspring.

5) The fifth point that is mentioned in the fourth
letter relates to the implication of a saying ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding the
right to will. Mr. Salim Morgan writes that the implication of a narrative ascribed to the
Prophet (pbuh) is that no person can bequeath in favor of any other such person who is a
potential inheritor of the first person.

6) Finally, the sixth point that is mentioned in the
fourth letter relates to the ratio of property regarding which a person is allowed to
bequeath. According to Mr. Salim Morgan, this ratio cannot exceed one-third of the total
property of the bequeathing person.

Now, besides the first point mentioned above, I shall
give my point of view regarding these points. Because of the length and nature of my
responses, I have posted these in separate files. The following links shall take you to
these responses (the last two comments have been covered together in the last link):

Nominating a
Person as an Heir

The Daughters’
Share

The Meaning of the Word “Kalaalah“

The Implication of
Narratives Ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) In Relation to Bequest

I hope this helps. In case any aspect of my answers
remain unclear, please feel free to write back to me at your convenience.

Regards

The Learner