A Letter to a Dear One — Page 101
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan 101 Under the Islamic inheritance law, after the death of a man, his widow, father, mother, sons and daughters, whoever survive him, are heir to his estate. However, males have double the share of females. As the Islamic system has plenty of heirs, the estate is well distributed and does not accumulate in one place. Non-Muslims often object to the fact that males have double the share of females. The answer to that is that in Islamic law the husband is obligated to provide for his family no matter how hard up he is and no matter how much personal property his wife has. That is to say that each man has been given the responsibility to support his wife and children whereas, a woman, regardless of her wealth, has not been given any such responsibility. As man has been given this obligation and the woman is independent of any such duty, man has been given double the share in matters of inheritance. In case of a disabled person, who cannot afford to support himself and does not own property that can earn him a living, his heirs-to-be have a responsibility to support him in proportion to their standing in the law of inheritance. In short, Islam has established an economic system, subject to which, the beneficial elements of individuality and partnership have been put together—either canceling their excesses and deficiencies or reforming them. Similarly, Islam lays down detailed instructions about government and to the public—the rights, duties and inter-relations. There are also directives about international relations. In short, no aspect of human life has been left out from a series of principled directives. The Reality of Death I shall now give a brief account of life after death according to the teachings of Islam and indeed my own perceptions. The first and foremost point to remember about death is that it is not a calamity or a pain in itself. Indeed it is painful when a dear one departs from this world. This is a natural emotion. However, death in itself is not something to regret. When an offspring separates from the parents for higher education, all concerned are sad. However, the separation, which is the cause of the sadness, is in