Islamic Economics: A Short History

economic thought in the qur"àn and sunnah 79

that they may have bequeathed. Your wives shall inherit one quar-
ter of your estate if you die childless. If you leave a child (children),
they shall inherit one-eight, (all) after payment of your debts and
any legacies you may have bequeathed.” (Qur"àn, 4:12).
The half-brother, who might be in a weak position among the
other full brothers, needs a further emphasis, “If a man or a woman
leave neither children nor parents and have a (uterine) brother or
sister, they shall each inherit one-sixth. If there be more, they shall
share the third of the estate, (all) after payment of debts and any
legacies that may have been bequeathed, without prejudice to the
rights of the heirs” (Qur"àn, 4:12).
Furthermore, to complete the rules of inheritance, the Qur"àn con-
cludes, “God instructs you regarding those that die leaving no descen-
dants or ascendants as heirs: If a man dies childless and he has a
sister, she shall inherit the half of his estate. If a woman dies child-
less, her brother shall be her sole heir. If a childless man has two
sisters, they shall inherit two-thirds of his estate; but if he has both
brothers and sisters, the share of each male shall be that of two
females” (Qur"àn, 4:176).
From the above verses, it is noted that:

1. debts should be deducted from the deceased estate before
   distribution,


2. although the verses state that legacies that may have been
   bequeathed by the deceased should be enforced before distribu-
   tion, the Prophet limited that to the third of the estate unless
   heirs agree unanimously, “No bequeathed legacy beyond the third”,


3. the male’s share is twice that of the female, though this should
   be looked at in light of the fact that the husband is responsible
   for his wife and the family financially; the wife’s financial entity
   is separate from her husband’s and she is not obliged to support
   the family financially even if she is rich, and


4. the wealth is distributed among a wide range of heirs, this helps
   prevent, or alleviate, the concentration of wealth in the hands of
   the few and works towards circulating the accumulated wealth
   among a greater number of individuals.

The encouragement of giving alms, the enforcement of paying Zakàh
and the commandments of distributing inheritance are deemed as
three important tools that help achieve socio-economic justice.