DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

DOUBLE STANDARD IN INHERITANCE:-

The unequal division of inheritance between men and woman is sometimes cited as
an example Islaam';s oppression of women.
1. Before looking at the division of inheritance in Islaam with regard to women, one
needs to look at Western inheritance laws. The right for women to inherit and own
property was only given to women in the West at the turn of the century, whereas that
right was given to women in Islaam 1,400 years ago. Furthermore, in the West, a
person may legally write a will giving all of their wealth to their dog or cat and
exclude their wife, children and other relatives. In the Islaamic system, the rights of
wives, children and relatives to inherit are protected. Set portions of the inheritance to
be given to them are identified in the Qur’aan. No one can write a will and cancel or
modify what is due to them. A will can be written to give up to a maximum of one
third to those who would not inherit by law. As to leaving even the third of one’s
wealth to animals, the Muslim State could step in on behalf of the inheritors and
cancel such a will as it obviously indicates some form of mental disorder. The third
would then be divided up among the natural inheritors.
2. In Islaamic society men are responsible for the maintenance women. For example, if
a son, a daughter and a mother inherit, the son also has the additional responsibility of
looking after his sister and his mother. Consequently, based on the male role, Islaamic
Law awards the son twice the portion of the daughter.3
3. However, the two to one division is not applied in all cases. For example, the Qur’aan
states (4: 11): “If a man or woman [died and] left neither descendents for ascendants,
but left behind a brother or a sister, each gets 1/6th; and if they are more than two,
they equally share 1/3rd.”

TWO WOMEN EQUAL TO ONE MAN:-

The finger is also pointed at Islaam as considering women inferior since the witness
of one man is equal to that of two women.
1. The Qur’aan does state in Soorah al-Baqarah (2: 282): 􀂳Get two of your men as
witnesses. But if two men are not available, then get a man and two women
agreeable to you as witnesses, so that if one of them makes a mistake, the other
can remind her...􀂴 However, this principle is not applied in all cases. This is specific
to business contracts as the beginning of the verse indicates. Since women in Muslim
society generally stay at home and men work outside the home, they tend not to be
that familiar with business dealings and as such they may forget some of the details –
as the verse explains.
2. This consideration may seem quaint in the West where women have been a part of the
work force for much of the 20th century. Women entered the work force as a product
of the need for them in the society and the munitions factories during the two World
Wars. Millions of men in their prime were sent overseas to fight and their jobs had to
be filled by women. Once the wars ended, many refused to return to their homes and
the feminist movement was born. Eventually, many women came to look at
3 The mother would receive 12.5% (1/8th ), the daughter 29.2% (1/3 of 7/8) and the son 58.3% (2/3 of 7/8).
fulfillment in the work place and not at home. Even if her job was only that of a
secretary, harassed by her boss, smiling sheepishly to keep her job, she felt it was
better than being stuck at home cooking, washing dishes, changing diapers and
preparing bottles of milk. Many Western women became familiar with business
dealings, so the previously mentioned considerations would seem to them irrelevant.
However, even in America, the vast majority of women are housewives, spending
most of their lives in their homes, while their husbands work and bring home the
bread.
3. In areas of female expertise, the witness of a single woman is sufficient. For example,
when ‘Uqbah ibn al-Haarith complained to the Prophet that a former slave woman
informed him that she had wet-nursed both himself and his wife, Umm Yahyaa bint
Abee Ihaab, he replied, “
 How can you object when it has already been
stated?”4 According to Islaamic law, those who suckled from the same breast before
the age of two become suckling brothers and sisters and are not allowed to marry.
Consequently, their marriage was annulled on the basis of a single woman’s
testimony.                  

                                                                                             SOURCE:- DR. BILAL PHILIP
                                                                                                                BOOK OF DAWAH