In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
Extract from QUR’AANIC
STUDIES – A Modern Tafsir PART I:
180. Kutiba AAalaykum itha hadara
ahadakumu almawtu in taraka khayran alwasiyyatu lilwalidayni waal-aqrabeena bialmaAAroofi haqqan AAala almuttaqeena
2:180. It is prescribed for
you that when death confronts any of you, the dying person, if he/she leaves
behind any property, makes a will in favour of parents and relatives in a fair
manner. Mandatory upon the pious! 298 to 302
298.
As regards 'the pious', please refer to Chapter Note 2
of these Studies.
299. In Verses 4:11 and 4:12, the Qur'aan has given the
details of the shares divinely prescribed for different relatives of the
deceased. But it has also been laid down in those Verses, in clear terms, that
the prescription would apply only to what remains of the deceased's property
after execution of the deceased's will and repayment of his/her debts, if any.
And there is no warrant in the Qur'aan for restricting the scope of the will to
only third parts of the deceased’s property, as most Muslims believe.
300. Making of a will is made obligatory on those who
become reasonably aware of death approaching them. But death may often come
suddenly, without notice. And the person may, on this account or on any other
account, fail to make a will before dying. In that case, the law of inheritance
as laid down in the said Verses 4:11 and 4:12 shall have to be followed, in the
distribution of the deceased person's entire property.
301. But where a person does make a will, there is
nothing in the Qur'aan that binds him/her to stick necessarily to rules laid
down in Verses 4:11 and 4:12. He/she has of course to take heed of the divinely
laid down rules overall, but the All-knowing Allah has given him/her the leeway
to deviate from those rules to suit his/her circumstances. For example, the
will may make better provisions for a son who is not financially well off than
for a better-placed son.
302. It makes one sad to note, time and again, that we
Muslims are wont to give more importance to what the ahaadheeth and the scholars
say than to what the Qur'aan says in unambiguous and clear terms. The matter of
inheritance dealt with in this Verse, read with Verses 4:11 and 4:12, is yet another
instance of how the Satan is constantly at work to deviate us from Allah's Word.
No wonder our beloved Prophet (peace and Allah's blessings be upon him) would
sadly say, on the Resuurection Day, "... my Ummah had taken this
Qur'aan as a thing of no importance." [Q: 25:30]
Friday, the 12th
of July 2019.
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