ANALYTICAL STUDY OF SOME CASES OF INHERITANCE DISTRIBUTION IN MALIKI AND OTHER SCHOOLS OF LAW
ANALYTICAL STUDY OF SOME CASES OF INHERITANCE DISTRIBUTION IN MALIKI AND OTHER SCHOOLS OF LAW
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Date
2024-12
Authors
SHEHU, Zubairu
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Abstract
This study, titled “Analytical Study of Some Cases of Inheritance Distribution in Maliki and
Other Schools of Law”, explores the divergent opinions between Maliki School of law and
otherSchools of law (Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali) in some casesof inheritance.The research
was motivated due to the fact that Inheritance distribution among the contemporary Muslims
poses significant challenges, particularly in a country like Nigeria where a specific Sunni
School of law is dominant. Many Muslims struggle to understand these issues, which lead to
misunderstandings and arguments about inheritance rights. These issues include a case where
a grandfather inherits alongside the siblings of the deceased, Dhawil Arham in the absence of
a public treasury (Bai-al-mal), the status of children born out of wedlock, and a situation
where a man divorces his wife while in death sickness. Furthermore, contemporary issues
such as the inheritance rights of Test-tube babies and individuals with atheistic or pantheistic
beliefs create additional obstacles for the contemporary Muslims. This indicates that there is a
pressing need for solutions to foster awareness, understanding, and harmony in inheritance
matters within Muslim communities.The objectives of the research include: to analyse the
differences between the Maliki School and others (Hanfi, Shafi'i and Hanbali Schools of
law), regarding the inheritance rights of grandfather alongside siblings of the deceased,
Dhawil Arham (distant kindred/uterine relatives), children born out of wedlock and the
aforementioned contemporary cases(such as the inheritance rights of test-tube babies and
Muslims with atheistic or pantheistic dotrine). The methodology employed wascomparative
content analysis approach, which effectively identifies and compares common and differing
themes in textual data.The major findings revealed that grandfather can inherit alongside with
siblings of the deceased, Dhawil Arham are more entitled to inherit the estate left behind by
the deceased in the absence of sharers or agnatic heirs, rather than taking it to the public
treasury (Bait-al-Mal),Test-tube baby conceived within a valid marriage without the
involvement of a third-party has the same inheritance rights as any other child of the parents.
The study recommended that, inheritance distributors should adhere to the views of the
majority of the Schools of lawwho permitted inheritance between a grandfather and siblings
ofthe deceased, there isneed to transfer the estate left behind by the deceased to Dhawil
Arham in the absence of sharers and agnatic heirs, than taking it to bait-al-mal (public
treasury), there is also need for the Muslims parcularly the Schoars to give awareness to those
couples having infertility challenges to avoid involvement of the third party in the process of
having a Test-tube baby,there is also need for the Muslims of the contemporary period to
have a unified "Muslim Code of Inheritance Law" that reconciles the diverseopinions of the
four most famous Sunni Schools of law(Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali)to incorporate
the most relevant opinions from these Schools of law to form a unified and
suitableinheritance law for the Muslims of their country.By identifying the key areas of
differences and commonalities to develop a comprehensive and inclusive code of inheritance
law. Summary and conclusion were also made.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES,
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN
ISLAMIC STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE EDUCATION
ISLAMIC STUDIES SECTION
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA