Abstract

A source of significant controversy both inside and outside the Muslim community is the Islamic law of inheritance with regard to women. Islam revolutionized women’s inheritance rights by clearly stating in the Quran that women have the right to inherit for themselves, and thus it changed the status of women in an unprecedented manner. The controversy at present centers around the share that is to be inherited by her, that is, equal share. There are many women based NGOs in Bangladesh and progressive civil society that have made demands for equal shares of women in inheritance. And there are a number of orientalists who have projected in their writings that Islam has been unjust to women. However, most of the Muslim women of Bangladesh do not regard these issues to be important. They are interested in re-examining the proper application of the laws of inheritance as they stand. Muslim women want a more just understanding of and adherence to Islamic principles. They appear to believe that existing laws and practices are not conducive to a happy home or a just society specially in the rise of nuclear family. Consequently, many Muslims, male and female, are struggling today with the following questions: How can they introduce just share into the Islamic law of inheritance, protecting the cause of Islam while at the same time how can they benefit by recognition of the legitimate rights of women without inadvertently destroying their highly valued familial ties.