Q. I came across some Arabic books on the Islamic system of inheritance. When I requested some of my Arab friends to explain certain passages, they said that they could not understand them. How can I learn this important subject which the Prophet (peace be upon him) encouraged some of his companions to learn?
Zainab Anwar
A. The Islamic system of inheritance is simple and straightforward. There is no difficulty to hinder its applicability in any case, complex as it may appear. However, because of the endless situations that occur in life, there are many rules that have to be taken into account. These are not easy to understand in theory. Yet they relate to very real cases.
What happens when the shares allocated by God to the first-degree heirs make a total of 13, but the case is one of 12 shares only? This happens if there are three heirs, one taking a quarter, the other taking a third and the last one having one half of the estate. We say that this case is one of 12 shares, because 12 is the lowest common denominator applicable here.
There is a simple rule for such a situation, but the rule is not easy to grasp theoretically.
Those who take 3, 4 or 6 shares are to take the same number but the estate is divided into 13 shares instead of 12. If you do not know this principle and try to read about it in books of Islamic law, even specialized ones, you will come across special terminology, which is not easy to understand unless you are guided by a teacher. You have to remember that this is a very specialized branch of Islamic law. Therefore, I do not advise that you rely on a self-teaching book. You need to study this under a scholar with a special interest in it.
Unexplained Fear
Q. Because of some terrible things that happened to some of my close relatives, I have become very negative, feeling that something terrible is bound to happen to me or my family. I cannot clear myself of the thought that God is out to get some people. How should I deal with this situation?
M. Ahmad
A. You must not give in to such thoughts. You must remember that God is most compassionate, ever merciful. He is not out to get anyone, because He can destroy anyone, and indeed all human life in less than one second.
It does not affect Him in any way that we should be very obedient and religious, or disobedient and unbelievers. Why would He, then, be out to get us? Are we beyond His control? Can anything we do cause Him any harm? Certainly not. We should trust in His mercy and pray for His grace.
You may wonder: why do some people suffer in this life? You should remember that this present life is a test. Everyone of us is being tested.
The test may be different in each case, but we all have to go through some difficulty of some sort to prove our faith in God.
Therefore, you should trust in God’s mercy and be sure that whatever happens in life is for our benefit, provided that we place our full trust in God and pray to Him to bestow His mercy on us. Having said that, what you say suggests that what happened to your relatives might have caused your depression.
If this is the case, then you may need to have a course of anti-depressants. This should be prescribed by a specialized doctor.
Some people feel that it is a stigma to admit that they have depression. This is certainly untrue. Today, depression is one of the most common illnesses throughout the world.
We may all suffer from it at one time or another. When we do, we should take the right measures to have the right treatment. Otherwise, it could linger on and affect us for life.