It is made quite clear in the Holy Qur'an and Prophet's Sunnah that under Islam women are entitled to their full rights to inheritance. Yet some people violate these teachings by depriving women of their inheritance under the pretext of false claims made in the pre-Islamic era. The situation is so typical that courts are seeing many cases filed by women trying to reclaim their inheritance, Al-Jazira Arabic newspaper said. It spoke to some legal experts about their views about this disgraceful behavior. Dr. Muznah Maizal Al-Eid, assistant professor of Islamic jurisprudence at Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University, explained that Islam has brought justice and status to women after they were treated badly and without respect. Islam has given women the right to accept or refuse husbands, to complete their education, to work and to have a share of inheritance. She pointed out what Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an: “For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much – an obligatory share.” Today, Dr. Al-Eid added, some greedy people still deprive women of their inheritance's share by stealing their money. “Some take their inheritance and give them a small share, a simple gift or threaten to deprive them of education or marriage if they don't turn down their shares. Some beat them to force them to relinquish their shares. This is oppression and ignorance.” She urged guardians of women to fear Allah the Almighty and give women their lawful and full Shariah rights. Sheikh Redwan Abdul Kareem Al-Mishaiqah, a lawyer and Shariah consultant, said that Allah the Almighty has clarified women's inheritance share in the Holy Qur'an. Sometimes women are entitled to take the same share of inheritance as men, sometimes less but occasionally even more. “It's an act of ignorance to deprive women of their rights. We, as lawyers, have dealt with tens of cases where male heirs don't give female heirs their shares of inheritance due to problems between the heirs themselves. One of the reasons why this happens is because the inheritor didn't specify his inheritance,” he said. Al-Mishaiqah explained that inheritance often leads to family feuds which mostly affect women's claims. “It is really sad when women are deprived of their rights to inheritance at the hands of their own brothers.” The newspaper also spoke to Dr. Mezher Bin Muhammad Al-Qarni who is a judge at the Riyadh Court of Appeal. He said some people still follow the practice of ignorant men from the pre-Islamic era, who considered women as property and deprived them of many rights. “But when Islam came, it gave women their rights and restored their dignity and specified their shares of inheritance from the property of parents, brothers, husbands etc,” he said. Despite the dishonorable behavior Dr. Al-Qarni pointed out that women often refrain from suing their brothers who deprive them of their inheritance because of tribal laws and customs, However, Dr. Al-Qarni said these men will eventually be punished. He said: “Anyone who deprives women of their rights to inheritance is considered to have done a great sin and that he will be punished on the Day of Judgment.”
