An astounding revelation–of which many people happen to be uninformed of–is the fact that, according to Shia Hadith, a woman does not inherit land or fixed property. How is it that the Shia accept it for Fatima (رضّى الله عنها) to inherit Fadak, when their own Hadith does not allow the succession of a woman to land or fixed property?
In the Shia book of Hadith al-Kafi, al-Kulayni has included a chapter entitled “Women do not inherit land.” In this chapter, he narrates a Hadith from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir:
“Women do not inherit anything of land or fixed property.” (al-Kafi, vol. 7 p. 127, Kitab al-Mawarith, hadith no. 1)
He asked Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq about what a woman inherits. The Imam replied:
“They will get the value of the bricks, the building, the wood and the bamboo. As for the land and the fixed property, they will get no inheritance from that.” (Tahdhib al-Ahkam, vol. 9 p. 299; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 104 p. 351)
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir said:
“A woman will not inherit anything of land and fixed property.” (Tahdhib al-Ahkam, vol. 9 p. 298; al-Istibsar, vol. 4 p. 152)
Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq said:
“Women will have nothing of houses or land.” (Tahdhib al-Ahkam, vol. 9 p. 299; Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 104 p. 351)
So the Shia Hadiths themselves would deny the inheritance to Fatima (رضّى الله عنها) even if the Prophets were allowed to give inheritance to their heirs (even though they are not). This makes the Shia arguments against Abu Bakr (رضّى الله عنه) even more useless.
Next: Part 5, Fatima’s Anger (رضّى الله عنها)
