OUR DIALOGUE

Q: My only brother (I have three sisters well) died one year before my father, who, in turn, passed away three years ago. My brother left behind two wives, five sons and eight daughters. Shortly before his death, my father transferred all his '.property which comprised agricultural if land, houses and domestic animals to the name of my eldest nephew. I was away from home, working in Saudi Arabia, When I learned this. Perhaps he was pressured into this. Later on, I managed to get small portion of the agricultural land transferred in the names of my two sons, f But this share is much less than what I |would have inherited from my father had he not made this transfer. May I ask whether my action represents a disobedience to my late father?

A: I do not know whether I would be able to answer this question on the basis of the in-Information provided. You say you have recovered a small portion of the land which is now registered in your sons' names. If we are talk­ing about inheritance here, your sons do not inherit their grandfather in your presence. How did you make this recovery? What about your sisters' shares? What about your own share? What about your mother's?

If we are taking this case on the basis of a gift made by your father to his grandson, I have often spoken about gifts from parents to children pointing out that a parent must be fair to all his children. By transferring his property to one of his grandsons, your father was unfair to you, your sisters and to his oth­er grandchildren. His heirs could object to his deed and a court of law may find that he acted illegally and revoke his action. All this depends on the circumstances of the case and the evidence presented. The alternative would be for your father's heir to sit down to­gether and look at the matter in an amicable way which seeks to do justice to everyone. Sometimes this is exceedingly difficult, be­cause the beneficiaries of a particular situa­tion would not wish to lose their benefits. In this case, your nephew could easily say that he received a gift which he would not relin­quish.
If we are talking about the inheritance, your father's action could be interpreted as deprivig you and your sisters and your moth­er of your rights of inheritance from him. If that was his intention, then he was clearly guilty of something very grave indeed. It may be that you cannot put right what he has done.

You have to consider whether to file a law suit to redistribute his wealth among his rightful heirs. You should consult a lawyer about the possibility of making a successful legal application.
What worries me about your question is the way you argued the case. You do not speak at all about the rightful shares of your sisters whom you say they are already mar­ried. Let me make it clear that a married daughter is still entitled to her full share of in­heritance from her parents.

The fact that she has got married does not mean that she has no claim to her share. For your information, at the time when your fa­ther died, the property he has, including the land, the animals, the houses, etc. should have been divided in the following manner: One eighth to your mother and one eighth to each of your sisters. You take one quarter or two eighth.

The other quarter goes to the children of your deceased brother on the basis of the principle of the compulsory will. His five sons and eight daughters share it together on the basis of one share each to every daughter and two shares to each son.

I reiterate that I am not able to give you a direct answer to your question. However, if a man takes arbitrary measures before his death to give his estate or much of it to one or more of his heirs to the exclusion of oth­ers, it is perfectly legitimate for those de­prived others to get back their shares through a court action.

Q: Why has polygamy been allowed in Islam? What is the punishment for illegal contact between man and woman? What is available to a woman who is unhappy in her married life and her husband is planning to have a second wife?

A: Polygamy has been permitted in Islam as a solution to social problems that may not have any other satisfactory solution. Take, for ex­ample, the case of a woman who has a chronic illness which makes her unable to satisfy her husband's needs. Rather than divorce her, her husband is allowed to have a second wife. Oth­er examples can be given in which marriage with a second wife provides a better solution to a problem than any other alternative.

There is an important condition for second or a third marriage, namely that the husband should treat his wives with absolute fairness and equality. If he feels that he may not be able to do that, then he must not marry a sec­ond wife.

You ask about the options open for a wom­an who is unhappy in her marriage. If her un: happiness is such that she would prefer to be divorced, she can certainly apply for a nullifi­cation of her marriage. She may be required to pay back to her husband any dower which he might have given her at the time of the mar­riage. The nullification can be approved by the court, if it determines that it is the appropriate option. At the time of the Prophet, a woman came to him and told him that she could not complain about her husband's manners or strength of faith. Nevertheless, she felt unhappy about continuing to be married to him. The Prophet spoke to him and the man requested that an orchard which he gave to his wife as dower be returned to him. The Prophet asked her to do that and divorced her.

Punishment for fornication or adultery by unmarried persons is flogging in public with 100 lashes. Punishment for adultery by mar­ried people is stoning to death. However, these punishments cannot be enforced unless proof is obtained either through freely given confes­sion, (which, incidentally, may be retracted), or through the testimony of four men who tes­tify under oath to have seen the offense being committed.

Otherwise, punishment is left to Allah to in­flict on the Day of Judgment, or in this life as He pleases. It is his prerogative to inflict pun­ishment or to forgive the offender.

Q. 1 - If a woman always encourages her husband to give money to needy people, does she stand to earn any reward for what the husband pays in this respect, knowing that the money is his own and it is he who earned it? Her role is simply to encourage him and to identify the needy people.

Q. 2 - I am in the habit of reading certain surahs in prayers. Is there anything wrong with that?

Q. 3 - What is the best way to reduce the suffering in the grave?

A. 1 - Anyone who encourages another to do something good stands to earn reward from Allah for that encouragement. A Hadith tells us that "a person who points out something good to be done is in the same position as the person who does that good." In this case, a woman who encourages her husband to give financial assistance to poor and needy people stands to earn the same reward as her husband, although the money is his and the ultimate decision is his. This is particularly so in the case of a person who may not in normal circumstances pay much attention to helping the poor. If his wife knows the people who are needy and encourages him to help them and he responds well, both stand to earn great re­ward.

I wish to add a small remark. Often readers ask me whether this or that good action earns reward. We should always remember that Al­lah is most generous in His rewards. He actually credits us with at least ten times the value of every good deed we do. He may increase that to as many as 700 times its value, or even more. After mentioning the fact that He Spy give His reward multiplied 700 times, He adds: "Allah may multiply (His reward) to whomever He wills" (2;261).

A. 2 - There is no harm in reading certain surahs in certain prayers, but maintaining this habit all the time is unnecessary. There is specific reason to read the surah entered Al -Asr, for example, in Asr prayer. The similarity of the names is of no particular significance in this connection.

A. 3 - The Prophet tells as that a person's grave is "either apiece of the garden of neaven, or a bit of fire." This means that people who are good and have spent their lives trying to do what Allah has bidden them to do and avoid what He has forbidden, will find their graves very comfortable and will suffer no torment. On the other hand, people who disbelieve in Allah will suffer torment in the grave. The Prophet has informed us that people are ques­tioned in the grave by two angels about their faith and their deeds. Those who have done well in life, will pass this questioning easily and will enjoy a comfortable transition in the hereafter, when the time of resurrection arrives. Therefore, the torment in the grave will not be suffered by people who have strong faith and are conscious of their duties toward Allah. If a person tries hard to abide by the teachings of Islam, he or she will surely not suffer this torment. In the Qur'an, Allah asks this rhetori­cal question: "Of what use is it to Allah to in­flict suffering on you if you are truly grate­ful and you believe in Him?”
(4; 147)