Let us first present some examples, and your human intellect will automatically guide you that these inheritance laws are unjust and devoid of any wisdom.

There are many online Islamic Inheritance Calculators present online. For example:

Please use any online calculator to verify the following examples. 

1st Example: Old Widow will get 25%, while a "MALE" relative (even a distant one like cousin, or his son, or his grandson) will get 75% 

If the deceased person has no children, but only a wife, and only a distant male relative, then they will get shares as under:

Relative Share Fraction Share Percentage
Wife
1/4
25%

Any distant male Relative like 
Cousin (or even his descendents)

3/4
75%

A wife stays with her husband the whole of her life. But when she is old and becomes a widow, then she will get only 25% of inheritance. While the 75% inheritance goes to any distant male relative, like cousin (or any of his descendent), whom the deceased person might not have seen in his entire life. 

  • Does this make any sense to you?
  • Do you see any Divine Wisdom in this Islamic law?
  • Do you think Muhammad/Allah has done justice with women here?

But the opposite is not valid, i.e. if a woman dies then the Husband will inherit all her property, despite the presence of her distant relatives. 

2nd Example: Mother will get 33.33%, while distant relatives (like cousins, or his son, or his grandson) will get 66.67%

Similarly, if a deceased person has only an old mother and a distant male relative, then they will get their share as under.

Relative Share Fraction Share Percentage
Mother
1/3
33.33%

Any distant male Relative like 
Cousin (or even his descendents)

2/3
66.67%

So, the old mother will get only 33.33%, while a cousin (or his descendents, whom the deceased person might not have seen in his entire life) will get 66.67%.

Why?

Do you see any divine WISDOM here?

3rd Example: Sister will get much more share in inheritance than the mother and the wife

Even if the sister is married, still she will get more share in inheritance than mother. 

Relative Share Fraction Share Percentage
Mother 2/5 40%
Sister 3/5 60%

Mother is more closely related to her son, then brother/sister relationship. But the illogical division of shares by Quran made it happen that a sister gets more than mother in inheritance (even if the sister is married). 

Moreover, a widow will get even less than the mother, and the sister's share will become even bigger. 

Relative Share Fraction Share Percentage
Wife 1/4 25%
Sister 3/4 75%

Moreover, even if a deceased person has a daughter, still half of the property will go to the sister (even if she is married). 

Relative Share Fraction Share Percentage
Daughter 1/2 50%
Sister 1/2 50%

All these unjust and ridiculous shares are a product of illogical Islamic laws of inheritance, which are devoid of any divine wisdom. 

 

Islamic LOGIC : A woman will get only HALF as compared to the man

(Taken from a post of Ex-Muslim_HOTD)

Ibn al-Qayyim explains the Islamic logic, why women receive half:

As for inheritance, the wisdom of preference (for the male) is obvious. The male is in greater need of the money than the female because men are supporting women. And the male is more beneficial than a female to the deceased while he is alive.

Ibn al-Qayyim, Ilam al-Muwaqqin an Rabb al-Alamin 2/115

Several points:

1- Inheritance is a one-time benefit, independent of who is working to financially support the family. A woman can use inheritance for the benefit of her spouse and family just as capably as a man can.

2- The rules are excessively rigid and do not adapt to the unique circumstances of each family.

3- It is bizarrely unfair. Imagine a wealthy parent who dies, leaving only a married son and a married daughter, both wanting to start their own families. It is illogical that the son gets double the wealth of the daughter. The most equitable scenario would be that the son and daughter receive the same amount and both new families equally benefit.

4- Half-a-man does not make sense for spousal inheritance because the widow typically has no source of income. As a very simple example, imagine a married couple, 50 years old, with no kids. The wife receives only 25% from her deceased husband, but the husband receives 50% from his deceased wife.

If anything, the wife should receive a HIGHER share, especially in an Islamic society, because: 1) her employment prospects are poor, and 2) her prospects of getting remarried—and thus financially supported—in her 50's are poor. She likely will have to fend the rest of her life with no income.

5- Given Islam's logic, the premise must be that the woman does not earn income. If a woman earns income, as plenty of Muslim women do, then she should receive more than half of a man. In fact, if a woman earns similar income to her husband and still does the bulk of the housework, she deserves more than the man.

6- The last point made by Ibn al-Qayyim--"And the male is more beneficial than a female to the deceased while he is alive"--is particularly dubious. I do not feel that my son has been “more beneficial” to me than my daughter, and that certainly should not be justification for me giving my son double the inheritance of my daughter.

Bottom line, "Allah's” one-size-fits-all inheritance rules poorly adapt to the unique circumstances of every family—and are sexist to boot.

 

 

Already Read the Article?

...but your task is still not finished.

Dear seeker of truth,
Reading about the flaws in a belief system is only the first step. To truly break free from indoctrination and reach a final, unshakable conclusion, you must apply these four critical tests to what you've just read.

Test 1: Divine Revelation or Human Drama?

The Core Challenge:
God does not appear before us, nor do His angels manifest themselves, and He performs no miracles today like the claims made in the tales of ancient times. Despite this absence, we are still demanded to recognise God through His "commands"  only. 
Let us examine these commands, and see if they give the impression of Divine Revelation, or of "Human Drama."

Please reflect:

  • Do the teachings in this article display flawless wisdom, justice, consistency, and coherence that could only come from an Omniscient Creator?
  • Or do they resemble the kinds of laws, contradictions, exceptions, and inconsistencies that one would expect from ordinary human decision-making?

Test 2: Would These Same Arguments Also Defend a False Prophet?

Imagine a man in a different era who claims to be a prophet. He marries multiple women, claims divine permission for his personal desires, issues harsh punishments, and makes scientific errors—acting exactly like Muhammad. How would you distinguish this hypothetical false prophet from Muhammad?

The truth is, Islamic apologists would easily spot him as a fraud or a cult leader, using the exact same logical critiques you just read. Yet, when Muhammad does these exact same things, apologists invent endless rationalizations to defend him.

The Rule of Logic: If your defense of a prophet works equally well to defend a proven fraud or a cult leader, your defense is not based on evidence. It is based on "special pleading", giving one man a free pass that you would never give anyone else.

Test 3: Just One Confirmed Error Is Enough

Islam makes an extraordinary claim that Allah exists, is absolutely perfect, and cannot make even a single mistake. Therefore, if even one confirmed error, injustice, or flaw is found in Islam, its entire claim to divine perfection collapses. The remaining 99.99% of the religion cannot save that claim. You cannot simply argue, "But everything else is correct."

Test 4: The "Unbiased AI" Evaluation

Artificial Intelligence models are programmed to be highly deferential toward major world religions. If you ask an AI to critique the Quran, it will  treat Islamic theology as unquestionable facts rather than claims to be tested. This creates a false "tie" in debates.

To get a truly objective, logical evaluation of the article you just read, you must force the AI to drop its religious deference. Read the prompt below, then click the button to copy it. Paste it into your AI chat before asking it to analyze the article.

When reviewing the article, keep the following principles in mind:
The Qur'an and Hadith cannot be used as evidence of their own divine origin. They are claims whose origin is being examined. Your task is to evaluate whether the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Islamic legal system are better explained as Divine Revelation or as human authorship. Therefore:
• Treat the Qur'an and Hadith as claims, not proof.
• Evaluate the article using logic, internal consistency, factual accuracy, and principles of justice.
• Treat scholarly interpretations as arguments in favor of Islam, not as binding authority.
Based on these principles, answer this question: Do the objections raised in the article expose flaws that reason and justice cannot reconcile, or do the strongest Muslim apologetic arguments successfully answer those objections?

Note: The AI’s response is not a final judgement. The final decision must be made by you, using your own reason and understanding. 

About the Author & This Website

About the Authors: 

The ideas, arguments, research, article structure, and final conclusions are my own. AI tools are used only as editorial assistants to improve grammar, wording, readability, and clarity.

About the Website:

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