Please explain me the ayah no 11 of surah an nisa ( the right of daughter in father’s property)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
The verse mentioned in your query is as follows:
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلاَدِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الأُنثَيَيْنِ…(النساء: 11)
Allah commands you in regards to your children’s (inheritance): to the male, a portion equal to that of two females…( Quran 4: 11)
In this verse Allah Ta’ala is making mention of how the inheritance must be distributed amongst the inheritors. You have asked specifically about the portion of the daughter in your query. In this ayah Allah Ta’ala is informing us that the portion of the son will be two times that of the daughter.
During the time of ignorance the people would only give from the inheritance to their sons and the daughters would be deprived of their portions completely. Therefore, after Islam came it removed this oppression and gave the daughters their right of inheritance. The son is given two times the amount of the daughter because he (son) is required to spend from his wealth to maintain the household and fulfill the needs of his wife and children. On the other hand the daughter is full owner of her portion of the inheritance and is not required to spend from her wealth in order to maintain the household. Thus, it will be completely just to give the son two times the amount of the daughter.
(Ma’rif ul-Qur’an, 2/ 319, Deoband)
فقوله تعالى: { يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الأنْثَيَيْنِ } أي: يأمركم بالعدل فيهم، فإن أهل الجاهلية كانوا يجعلون جميع الميراث للذكور دون الإناث، فأمر الله تعالى بالتسوية بينهم في أصل الميراث، وفاوت بين الصنفين، فجعل للذكر مثل حظ الأنثيين؛ وذلك لاحتياج الرجل إلى مؤنة النفقة والكلفة ومعاناة التجارة والتكسب وتجشُّم المشقة، فناسب أن يُعْطَى ضعْفَيْ ما تأخذه الأنثى.
(تفسير ابن كثير، 1/ 404، المفيد)
And Allah knows best
Wassalaamu `alaykum
Ml. Sajid bin Shabbir,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah