Book reference: p.86 — "Write a comprehensive note on the rights of inheritance granted to women by Islam."

Pre-Islamic Background

• In pre-Islamic Arabia, women (and children) were generally excluded from inheritance entirely.
• Women were sometimes themselves inherited as property by male relatives of a deceased husband.

The Qur'anic Reform

• Islam made female inheritance an explicit, fixed, divinely-ordained legal right — not subject to family discretion.
• Detailed fixed shares (Fara'id) were revealed, chiefly in Surah An-Nisa (4:7, 4:11-12, 4:176), covering daughters, mothers, wives and sisters in defined circumstances.
• The commonly-cited "male gets twice the female's share" rule (4:11, in the case of children inheriting from a parent) is explained by classical and modern scholars in light of the differential financial obligations Islam places on men
  • E.g. Mahr and full financial maintenance (Nafaqah) of the family fall on men, while a woman's inherited wealth remains entirely her own with no matching obligation.

Qur'anic Evidence

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لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِّلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ مِّمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ ۖ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا

اردو: مردوں کے لئے بھی اس مال میں سے حصہ ہے جو ماں باپ اور قرابت دار چھوڑ جائیں، اور عورتوں کے لئے بھی اس مال میں سے حصہ ہے، مقرر شدہ حصہ۔

English: "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."

— Surah An-Nisa 4:7

يُوصِيكُم اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ

اردو: اللہ تمہیں تمہاری اولاد (کی میراث) کے بارے میں ہدایت دیتا ہے کہ لڑکے کے لئے دو عورتوں کے برابر حصہ ہے۔

English: "Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females..."

— Surah An-Nisa 4:11

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Hadith Evidence

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أَلْحِقُوا الْفَرَائِضَ بِأَهْلِهَا

اردو: مقررہ حصے (وراثتی حصے) ان کے حقداروں کو دو۔

English: "Give the [fixed] shares of inheritance to those entitled to them."

— Sahih al-Bukhari 6732; Sahih Muslim 1615

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Significance and Impact

• Made women financially independent legal persons under law, centuries before comparable Western reforms.
• Removed inheritance entirely from arbitrary family/tribal discretion — shares are fixed by revelation, not negotiable.
• A woman's inherited wealth is hers alone; she owes no financial maintenance from it to husband or children.

CSS Exam Tips

• Always explain the "why" behind the 2:1 rule via the Qiwamah/Nafaqah (financial responsibility) argument — examiners reward this nuance heavily.
• Mention specific relatives and their Qur'anic shares if time allows (daughter, wife, mother).
• Cross-reference: Rights of Women in Islam, Human Rights Granted in Islam.