B U S I N E S S N A M E

Reflections
From the Glorious Qur’ān
I S S U E N O . 6 1 5 T H F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9

Wife Inheritance
‫ي َ َأُّيه َا ذ ِاَّل َين َءا َمنُو ْا ََل َ ِي هل مَ ُ ُْك أَن ت َ ِرثُو ْا‬ In many African societies, the custom In the Bible, there are two examples
of wife inheritance had been practiced of the custom of wife inheritance in
‫امن ِّ َسا َء َك ْرهًا َو ََل ت َ ْعضُ لُوه ذُن ِمتَ ْذ َه ُبو ْا ِب َب ْع ِض‬ for centuries and is still common in Genesis 38 and in Ruth 4:7. The law

‫َما َءاتَيْ ُت ُموه ذُن إ ذَِل أَن ي َ ْأ ِت َني ِب َفا ِح َش ٍة همبَيِّنَ ٍة‬ some tribes. From the Zulu of South
Africa to the Luo of Kenya, the Nde-
of levirate is outlined in the book of
Deuteronomy 25:5-10, however, in
‫وف فَإِن َك ِر ْه ُت ُموه ذُن‬ ِ ‫َاِشوه ذُن ِِبمْ َم ْع ُر‬ ُ ِ ‫َو ع‬ bele of Zimbabwe to the Bobo of Matthew 22:23-30, Jesus is said to
POINTS TO Burkina Faso, all engaged and (to have argued against this law with
‫اَّلل ِفي ِه‬ ُ ‫ىس أَن تَ ْك َر ُهو ْا َش ْيا ً َو ََي َع َل ذ‬ َ ‫فَ َع‬ some extent) still engage in this prac- the Sadducees.
PONDER
UPON ‫َخرياً َك ِثريًا‬ tice today.
Among the Arabs in the age of Jāhili-
The practice of levirate (where a yya, women would be inherited just
O you who believe! It is not lawful for widow is forced to marry her brother- like property. Sons would inherit
 Wife Inheri-
you to inherit women forcibly; and do in-law) was also common among the their fathers’ wives and marry them
tance was prac-
ticed in many
not press them to take away part of ancient Elamite peoples of Iran, the to whomever they wished. If the
cultures. Why? what you have given them, unless they Jats of Punjab, the Xiongnu of China, heir desired to marry the widow
are guilty of gross indecency. And treat the native American Apache, the himself he would do so without
 Judaism is the them kindly; then if you dislike them, it Mongols and the Tibetans. paying any mahr as she was
only major may be that you dislike a thing but ‘inherited’ and if he married her off
world religion Allah has placed abundant good in it. to someone, he would take the
that still prac- (al-Nisa [4]:19) mahr for himself. In some cases, he
tices wife inheri-
would just lock up the widow until
tance today.
she died and then inherit any wealth
Where did this Wife inheritance or widow inheritance
she may have had.
practice among is a practice in which a widow is given
them start? in marriage to a family member of her In this verse of the Glorious Qur’an,
deceased husband, often his brother. Allah forbids the believers from the
 Islam gives practice of wife inheritance and
This practice is seen to have been
more rights to Wife inheritance is a form of forced
prevalent in many cultures, especially according to some exegetes, it for-
women than any marriage that has been (and is still being)
in societies with strong clan structures practiced in many cultures bids taking the inheritance that
other world
in which exogamous marriages (i.e. rightfully belongs to he widow of
religion yet
Muslims are marriage outside the clan) was forbid- In Judaism, it is obligatory for the the deceased.
den. brother of a man who dies without a
accused of op- Islam gives men and women equal
pressing child to marry his widow. This form of rights as far as choosing a spouse is
This type of marriage comes in various
women! marriage is known as yibbum. For concerned. Women are free to
forms and has different functions. In
those widows who do not wish to
some cultures it is justified as being a marry whomever they want (within
marry their brothers-in-law, they have the boundaries of the Shari’ah) and
means to protect the widow and her
to perform a ritual known as halitza
children and also ensures that wealth they cannot be forced into mar-
where the widow, in the presence of riage. The fact that certain Muslim
does not leave the patrilineal family.
elders, removes the shoe or sandal tribes and nations still force their
In early Vedic literature, one finds from her brother-in-law’s foot, spits in
daughters to marry does not reflect
references to the practice of niyoga front of his face and pronounces a few
on the teachings of Islam but rather
wherein a woman whose husband dies words after which she becomes ‘free’
on their own ignorance.
without leaving any children may seek to marry anyone else.
Please send your out his kinsman to sire a child with This verse is among the numerous
comments and Though reformist Jews shun the prac- verses of the Qur’an that teaches
her. The same practice was common
suggestions to: tice of yibbum and halitza, it is still
in ancient Sparta. Similar practices are believers to be kind to womenfolk,
considered very much a part of Jewish respect their rights and recognize
tridhaj@yahoo.co.uk also recorded among the Australian
tradition and is even a requirement of them as possessors of their own
Aborigines.
the law in the state of Israel.
wealth.