Why Do Females Inherit Less Than Males?

Why do males inherit twice as much as females? – الميراث

About inheritance, the Qur’an states:
لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ
“A son should receive the equivalent share of two daughters.” [4:11].

These shares are divided based on ‘responsibility’, not based on gender…

For example:

1- DOWRY (مهر)

Imam Ibn al-Mundhir said:
وأجمعوا: أنَّ للمرأة أن تَمْنَع من دخول الزَّوج عليها حتى يُعطِيَها مهرها
“All scholars agree that a wife can prevent her husband from cohabitating with her until he pays her dowry.”
[“Al-Ijmaa”, 74].

Imagine this scenario:

A man has 1 son and 1 daughter.
The man dies, the inheritance is split, and $15,000 is left to be split between his children.
The son gets: $10,000 & The daughter gets: $5,000.
Soon, the son marries, and gives: $5,000 dowry…
Then the daughter marries, and gets: $5,000 dowry…
The son is now left with: $5,000.
The daughter now has: $10,000.

Who is better off?

2- SUSTENANCE (النفقة)

Imam Ibn Rushd said:
واتفقوا على أن من حقوق الزوجة على الزوج: النفقة
“All scholars are in agreement that the wife has the right of sustenance on her husband.”
[“Bidayat al-Mujtahid”, 2/44].

Imagine this scenario:

A man has 1 son and 1 daughter.
The man dies, the inheritance is split, and $15,000 is left to be split between his children.
The son gets: $10,000 & The daughter gets: $5,000.
Soon, the son marries, and spends: $10,000 on the wedding, house, clothing, food, medical expenses, gifts, feeding guests etc… If he has other female relatives who nobody can take care of, he also has to financially support them too.
If he needs to start a business to earn money, he has to invest part of this money into that.
If his wife is incapable of working or cooking, he has to pay these expenses from his own pocket.
When the daughter marries, she still has her $5,000 inheritance, and now gets: $5,000 dowry + all her expenses covered by her husband.
The son is now left with: $0.
The daughter has: $10,000 + all expenses covered.

Who is better off?

CONCLUSION:

There are many instances where females receive more than men, but in principle: the reason why men inherit more is because they have to spend more.

Females are financially fully secure – at all times:

When a female is a child, it is her fathers responsibility to take care of all her expenses. When she has no father, it is her brothers responsibility. When she marries, it is her husbands responsibility. Even if a woman is rich and earns money – it is still the responsibility of her husband to financial take care of all her needs.

Even if a woman is a multi-millionaire, nobody can touch her money. It’s all hers. She technically doesn’t have to spend a penny of it on her family… it’s all on the men. Females keep 100% of their wealth & inheritance, while males have to spend it.

It is better to get $10 and keep 100% of it, than to get £1,000 and spend 100% of it.

For females, it’s like booking an all-inclusive vacation – everything is free , all covered by the man. The man is put at her service. It’s his duty to pay all the bills. At least, this is how it SHOULD be, I’m not saying that this is how it always WILL be. If men don’t fulfil their obligations, they will be liable in the sight of God and Islamic courts will force them to fulfil their obligations towards their families.

Islam does NOT call for equality, but for justice… at times, equality can be injustice.

If the financial responsibilities [التكليفات المالية] were all on males, and they received the same amount as the females – it would have been unfair to the males.

وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًۭا
“And your Lord wrongs no-one.” [Qur’an 18:49].