The Female Is the Basis in Inheritance Calculation

Editorial verification status: This atom is extracted from an explanatory audio-visual source, and it has now been linked to the closest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.

Formulation of the claim

Shahrur argues that the female is the reference basis in some inheritance rulings, and that the other ratios are understood from it.

Explanation

He says that the text began with the formula “for the male, the equivalent of the share of two females” because there is a reference standard, namely the female’s share. He then returns to confirm that the female’s share is not marginal, but rather the center against which the males’ shares are measured in distribution. This reverses the traditional conception that makes the male the basis of the calculation.

Its place in the episode’s argument

This idea serves the construction of recentering the female in inheritance law, and supports his mathematical reading of the text.

Limits of the claim

This does not mean that the female always receives half or that she is always the basis in every verse.

Brief evidence

“The basis in inheritance is the female.”

  • Shahrur - Islam and Faith
  • Shahrur - Jurisprudence
  • Muhammad-Shahrur-the-Qur’an-in-Contemporary-Thought

Book connections