inheritance in islaam

[aless]

:salam2:

maybe someone can help me understand a few issues on inheritance by giving me a link or a reference to a book that explains things on the laws of Allah in relation to inheritance. I have not read much about it ... a sister yesterday asked me some questions that I did not know absolutely how to answer:

She said, "but what happens to the widow when her husband dies if the widow takes only 1 / 8 (one eighth) (and if the husband had two wives, 1/ 16 (one sixteenth)... and so on) after the inheritance is distributed to the brothers of the deceased husband and the (male) children of the same, how would his wife survive? 1/8 seems a vey small portion"

I (very humbly) I responded: "Perhaps the sons will take care of her? or perhaps her family of origin will take care of her until she remarries (if possible)?"

My friend replied "but what if the widow has no sons, and has no family of origin, and what happens if the wife (widow) has never worked?"

I don't know :shymuslima1:

Is there someone who can add to this conversation with a bit of knowledge that I am missing?


her question in summary was: If the woman does not work, how does she survive when left alone with so little portion of inheritance and no children or family of origin?

I know the question may reveal a lot of my ignorance... but am try to learn
jazakallahu khayr

 

[hana*]

:salam2:

i think thats a very good question, i never thought of it that way. as you probablly already know, all the inheritence issues are stated in surah al-nisa. as for the widow question, either her son or her brother would have to spend on her and provide her with a regular income. its sad that whilst it was the Muslims (Omar ibn al-khattab) who initiated the benefits system of widows benifit and single mothers benefit scheme, this is no longer seen in Muslim countries but in the west.

 

[q8penpals]

:salam2:

She said, "but what happens to the widow when her husband dies if the widow takes only 1 / 8 (one eighth) (and if the husband had two wives, 1/ 16 (one sixteenth)... and so on) after the inheritance is distributed to the brothers of the deceased husband and the (male) children of the same, how would his wife survive? 1/8 seems a vey small portion"

I (very humbly) I responded: "Perhaps the sons will take care of her? or perhaps her family of origin will take care of her until she remarries (if possible)?"

My friend replied "but what if the widow has no sons, and has no family of origin, and what happens if the wife (widow) has never worked?"

her question in summary was: If the woman does not work, how does she survive when left alone with so little portion of inheritance and no children or family of origin?

Assalam aliekum

I have not posted for a while, and I thought I should "ring in" on this, because this is the exact situation one of my mother-in-laws has. When my father-in-law died, he had two elderly wives - one has 3 kids from her first marriage (she was a widow when he married her) plus one child from him; the other had no children and no brothers (she was one of 5 sisters). So yes, when he died, this woman got her tiny, tiny inheritance, and is now living alone with just a maid, cook, and driver (that may seem like a lot, but in Kuwait, household servants are paid so incredibly little that pretty much everyone EXCEPT the maids have maids) and has no one. Her sisters are all elderly as well. I asked my husband (because, although he is not required to, he does a lot for this step-mother of his) who is responsible for her, and he said her nephews first, then her cousins, then her cousins kids.

That's what I know - she is just thankful that because she never worked when she was married (for 30+ years), Kuwait gives her a portion of her husband's retirement now that he is dead, and that's how she pays her bills. But she has no close (blood) family members to actually care for her, if she needs it.

 

[aless]

In the example you gave, the wife's share of 1/8th is hers alone. Her livelihood must be taken care of by the sons/brothers who inherited the bulk of the estate. BTW, if she is the sole heir, she inherits the entire estate.

:salam2:
jazakAllahu khayran for your answer, I've a question in relation to what you said... the answer may seem obvious but just so to clarify...
when you say "brothers" you mean the blood brothers from the family of origin? or the brothers-in-law that got the inheritance of the dead husband?

 

[aless]

Assalam aliekum

I have not posted for a while, and I thought I should "ring in" on this, because this is the exact situation one of my mother-in-laws has. When my father-in-law died, he had two elderly wives - one has 3 kids from her first marriage (she was a widow when he married her) plus one child from him; the other had no children and no brothers (she was one of 5 sisters). So yes, when he died, this woman got her tiny, tiny inheritance, and is now living alone with just a maid, cook, and driver (that may seem like a lot, but in Kuwait, household servants are paid so incredibly little that pretty much everyone EXCEPT the maids have maids) and has no one. Her sisters are all elderly as well. I asked my husband (because, although he is not required to, he does a lot for this step-mother of his) who is responsible for her, and he said her nephews first, then her cousins, then her cousins kids.

That's what I know - she is just thankful that because she never worked when she was married (for 30+ years), Kuwait gives her a portion of her husband's retirement now that he is dead, and that's how she pays her bills. But she has no close (blood) family members to actually care for her, if she needs it.

:salam2: :blackhijab:

jazakiAllahu khayran for sharing your story, very interesting...

 

[q8penpals]

Salam

This is something that really should be addressed - in the majority of societies, women outlive men; in the age-group over 60 years old, there are almost (world-wide) only 3 men for every 5 women (meaning, lots of women with no husbands), and most men, when they look to get a second wife, tend to go YOUNGER, when the women who need the MOST care (the older women) are neglected. Now, I am not saying that a 25 year old guy should take a 70 year old second wife, but how about the 50-60 year old guys taking a second that is somewhere in their age range? Elderly women comprise (world-wide) the highest percentage of poverty stricken people - where are the people to step-up and take care of them?

My husband helps his mother, and BOTH his step-mothers (he was an only-son) and none of them WANT to get married again (they are all old), but seriously, if one of the step-moms needed full-time care, he would not have them live with us, so I don't know what would happen to them (well, the one has 2 sons from her first marriage, so they should care for her, but the other has no children at all).

 

[aless]

Whoever is closer to her. The responsibility falls on the woman's closest male relatives first, and if she has none, then on the farther out male relatives, and if there are none, then on the local authority (e.g., mayor) and if still not done then on the head of state (Khaleefa).

:salam2:

jazakallah khayr