ASSIGNMENT :

MUSLIM INHERITANCE LAW

SUBMITTED BY
A.KARAN RAJ(18BLA1058)

SUBMITTED TO
PROF:ANKIT KUMAR PADHY
INTRODUCTION :

This paper revolves around analysing the principles of inheritance under Muslim law. The law related to
inheritance derives its principles from four principal sources of Islamic law. The holy Quran, The Sunna
i.e. the practice of the prophet, the Ijma i.e. the consensus of the learned men of a community on a
particular point of law and Qiya i.e. the analogical deductions of what holds just and right and in line with
principles of god. Muslim law recognises two types of heirs , firstly, sharers, the ones who are entitled to
certain sharers, the one who are entitled to certain share in the deceased’s property and secondly
Residuaries, the ones who would take up the share in the property that left over after the sharers have
taken their part.

Succession under Muslim law in absence of a will, i.e., non-testamentary succession is governed by the
Muslim personal law(shariat) application act, 1937. On the other hand, in case of testamentary succession
when a deceased made a will, the shariat law of Muslim applies for the inheritance of the property of the
deceased which is generally practised by shai and sunni Muslims. Moreover, in case of testamentary
succession, for immovable property specifically located in the state of west Bengal or property falling
under the jurisdictiom of the Bomaby and Madras high courts, The succession is conducted as per the
Indian Succession Act 1925.

Under the Muslim law of Inheritance , there is no specific difference between immovable property or
movable property and incorporeal or corporeal properties and flexible definition of property under the
Muslim law , all the types of properties owned by the deceased are subject to inheritance. Though all
types of properties owned by the deceased are liable to be inherited the portion of the property which can
actually be inherited is determined only after the appropriations like debt and the expenses of the funeral
are paid out of such properties. Once these appropriations are made, the remaining property can now be
disposed of off by inheritance . Unlike the Hindus , there is no distinction between self-acquired property
ancestral property under the Muslim law of Inheritance . Therefore, when a Muslim person dies, all of his
property can be inherited to his heirs irrespective of that he himself acquired that property or received it
from his ancestors.

Under the Muslim Law of inheritance , the distribution of the property can be done in two ways per capita
distribution and per stripes distribution. The per capita distribution method is majorly used in sunni law.
According to this method, the estate left over by the ancestors gets equally distributed among the heirs. In
per capita distribution, the properly is divided equally among all the heirs. This means that the number of
heirs of the deceased determines the amount of share for each heir in the property of the deceased. The
branch of the family which the heir belongs to does not influence the inheritance that he or she is subject
to receive. Per stripes distribution of property is followed by shia branch of Islam . Under per stripes
distribution , the property is distributed among the heirs of a branch of the family. According to this
method of property inheritance, the property gets distributed among the heirs according to the strip they
belong to . Hence the quantum of their inheritance also depend upon the branch and the number of
persons that belong to the branch.

MUSLIM PERSONNAL LAW APPLICATION ACT, 1937:

The Muslim Personal Law application act was passed in 1937 with the aim to formulate an Islamic law
code for Indian Muslims. The British who were at this point I time governing Time , were trying to ensure
that Indians be ruled according to their own cultural norms . when it came to distinguishing between
laws made for Hindus and those for Muslims, they laid out the statement that “clear proof of usage will
outweigh the written text of the law” in case of Hindus. For the Muslims on the other hand, the writings
in the Quran would be foremost importance. Since 1937 therefore , the shariat application act mandates
aspects of Muslim social life such as marriage , divorce, inheritance, and family relations. The act lays out
that in matters of personal dispute the state shall not interfere.

RULES OF INHERITANCE BY MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW:

1.A son gets double the share of the daughter wherever they jointly inherit.

2.The wife gets one-eighth of the share if there are children and one forth of the share . if there are no
children. In case the husband has more than one wife, the one eighth share is divided equally among
them. The husband gets one fourth of the share of his dead wife’s property if there are children and one
half there are no children.

3. If the parent has more than one daughter, only two thirds of property is divided equally among
daughters. If the parents has only one daughter, half of the parent’s property ids inherited by her.

4.the mother gets one sixth of her dead child’s property if there are grandchildren, and one third of the
property if there are no grandchildren.

5.parents, children, husband and wife all cases, gets shares, whatever may be the number or degree of the
other heirs.

ISSUES RAISED RECENTLY ON INHERITANCE:

In a recent development, a public litigation has been filed asking for an amendment in the Muslim
Personal law on inheritance , alleging that Muslim women are being discriminated on the issues relating
to sharing of property in comparison to their male counterparts.

The petition claimed that a bare perusal of the law shows that a wife should receive 1/8 th of the property
of her husband on his death if they have children. In case there are no children born out of marriage, she
is entitled to 1/4th of the property. A daughter will receive half of the share of a son. In stark contrast , the
men receive 1/4th of the property of his wife on her death if they have children. In case there are no
children born out of the marriage, he is entitled to half the property. A son receives double the share of
the daughter, the plea alleged.

The petition further states that the discrimination based on customary laws as well as the statutory law
violated Muslim women’s fundamental right to equality enshrined under article 14, 19, 21 and other
relevant provisions of the constitution included personal laws, including Muslim personal laws. The Delhi
high court has now sought the centre’s response on the PIL filed by advocate Raghav Aswasthi

PROPERT RIGHTS OF DAUGHTER IN MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW:

Under Muslim law, the rules of inheritance are rather strict. A son takes double share of a daughter, on
the other hand, the daughter is the absolute owner of whatever property she inherits. If there is no brother,
she gets half a share. It is legally hers to manage, control, and to dispose it as and when she wants. She is
also eligible to receive gifts from those she would inherit from. This is contradictory because she can
inherit only one-third of the man’s share but can get gifts without any hassle.

Till a daughter is not married, she enjoys the right to stay in her parent’s house and seek maintenance. In
c(approximately three months) is over. However, if her children are in a position to support her, the
responsibility falls on them.

PROPERTY RIGTS OF WIFE IN MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW:

In the famous case of shah bano case, the supreme court had held that in case of a divorce, it is the
responsibility of the husband to make reasonable and fair provision to maintain his former wife even after
separation under section 3of the Muslim womenact,1986. This period extends beyond iddat as the women
retains control over her goods and properties. In the event of the death of her husband, a widow gets the
one-eight share ( in case there are children). If there is more than one wife, share may come down to one-
sixteenth.

PROPERTY RIGHTS OF MOTHER IN MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW:

A Muslim mother is entitled to inherit from her children if they are independent. She is eligible to inherit
one sixth of her dead child’s property if her son is a father as well. In the absence of grandchildren, she
would get the one-third share.

Also, if a mother inherits property from any relation, she becomes the absolute owner of her share and
can dispose it ad her own will. She cannot give away more than one-third share of her property and if her
husband is the only heir, she can give two-third of the property by will. There are other provisions, too, in
the law that ensure financial security of a Muslim woman.

REFERENCES:

Muslim Personal Law Application Act(1937)

ARTICLES AND RESEARCH PAPERS:

Muslim law of inheritance-medium

Indianexpress.com/article/research

Principles of inheritance under Muslim Law-Legal Bites

Legal services of India-Muslim Inheritance Law.

JUDICIAL PRECEDENTS: