The story thus far: A Muslim couple from Kerala, advocate C. Shukkur and his spouse Sheena, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, lately determined to get their marriage registered beneath the Special Marriage Act (SMA), nearly 30 years after having solemnised their nikaah in response to Islamic ideas. Mr. Shukkur claimed to have gotten the wedding registered beneath SMA, in order that ideas of the secular Act may apply to issues of inheritance in his household, and allow his daughters to inherit the couple’s property beneath the Indian Succession Act, 1925. The couple has three daughters and no sons.
What does Islamic law say?
This choice has put the highlight on Islamic ideas of inheritance. The Koran, by way of Surah Nisa clearly outlines the ideas of inheritance for each direct and oblique heirs. Verse 7 states, “For men there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave, and for women there is a share in what their parents and close relatives leave — whether it is little or much. These are obligatory shares.”
According to unanimously agreed guidelines on the division of property in Islam, a daughter will get half the share of the son. So if a son inherits a plot of 100 metres from the daddy, the daughter will get a plot of fifty metres or half the worth of the 100-metre plot. On marriage, in response to Islam, it’s the man who is meant to bear the household bills, together with residence, meals, clothes and drugs apart from upkeep of his spouse, schooling of his youngsters and taking care of his mother and father. If the husband predeceases his spouse, she will get a one-eighth share of his property, if the couple has youngsters. Otherwise, she will get one-fourth. There can be a share for paternal uncles, aunts, and many others, so long as they’re blood kin. Same for grandparents if they’re alive. Each mother or father will get one-sixth if the son passes away earlier than them, and leaves youngsters behind. The downside, as within the case of the Kerala couple arises, when a pair has solely a daughter or daughters. The daughters can inherit solely two-thirds of father’s property, because the holy e-book says, “If you leave only two or more females, their share is two-thirds of the estate.” Beyond that, the shares are for the mom and for paternal blood kin.
What are the varied choices?
Within Islamic law, choices can be found to such a pair in case they need the property to stay inside the household. The first possibility is to make a will or vasiyat beneath which an individual can declare that upon his loss of life, a specific inheritor shall inherit no more than one-third of the property. This is commonly accomplished in case one of many youngsters just isn’t financially sound, or has particular wants, or has served his or her mother and father greater than different youngsters. For occasion, if two youngsters keep overseas and one youngster stays again with mother and father to take care of them in previous age, such a provision could also be used. Many Muslim households used this provision throughout the Partition when many households had been divided. While some youngsters crossed over to Pakistan, others remained right here with their mother and father.
Besides vasiyat, there’s additionally the idea of virasat. Under virasat or inheritance, there’s the choice of hiba which permits unrestricted switch of wealth or property to an individual throughout the lifetime of the donor. In the case of the Kerala couple, hiba provisions may have been used to switch all of the property within the identify of the daughters throughout the lifetime of the mother and father. This is sort of a reward deed. Importantly, whereas the Islamic division of property clauses for kin comes into drive as soon as an individual dies, a present deed might be made throughout one’s lifetime. The jury is out whether or not the Kerala couple’s actions went towards the tenets of Islam or arose from mother and father’ anxiousness to safe the way forward for their youngsters.
