Topic > Historical context of Islamic law

To understand Islamic succession law as a whole it is useful to first consider the succession system that operated in the Arabian Peninsula before the revelation of the Qur'anic injunction on succession. While we do not have the exact details of the system in place before the Qur'anic revelations, we do not know whether the inheritance system was limited to male agnates who were relatives of the deceased.[1] Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe object and purpose of the ancient customary system of inheritance among the Arabs was the maintenance of property within the family. Inheritance among the early Arabs was determined by consanguinity, adoption, or contract. Like other ancient societies, ancient Arab society enjoyed complete freedom of testamentary dispositions. In the old customary system, women not only had no share in inheritance, but they, like other ancient systems, were themselves heritable. Uterine relationships such as uterine siblings were also completely excluded. Among the male agnates there were priority rules that determined which of the surviving male agnates had the right to inherit. It is likely that the priority rules operating in the "Asabah in Shari" law are a carryover from the old customary agnatic system.[2] By specifying clear rights and specific quotas of female relatives, Islam not only elevated the position of women but at the same time safeguarded their social and economic interests as early as 1400 years ago. The Islamic inheritance system also has the effect of breaking the concentration of wealth among a few hands, thus ensuring the socio-economic well-being of society at large. The Sultanate of Malacca has been regarded by historians as the culmination of the Malay-Islamic period. civilization of that era. It was unparalleled in the Malay Archipelago. Unfortunately, this civilization, cultivated for more than a hundred years, failed to leave much of its intellectual legacy to the next generation. The Malay-Islamic intellectual heritage existed only after the Malacca Sultanate fell to the Portuguese in 1511. book Sejarah Melayu, considered a book of great value and importance, was written in 1612 by Tun Seri Lanang, the then Bendahara of Johore. As a scholar of the time, he realized the importance of writing down these intellectual heritages. With great diligence and seriousness, he eventually managed to gather facts and information despite limited reference sources and under pressure, as he was then a prisoner of the Sultan of Acheh. According to the Sejarah Melayu, Malacca was the center of learning and propagation of Islam in religion. [4]Many illustrious scholars and treatises were mentioned in the annals. In addition to this, events such as the book parade in the Malaccan townships were evidence of the existence of the Sultans and the public recognition of intellectual works. However, today almost all the treatises cited in the Annals are no longer available. No attempt had been made to trace them back to their original sources, for example, in their original languages ​​such as Arabic, Persian or Hindi.[5]In addition to the Sejarah Melayu, two other books which discussed the customs and traditions of the Malays from that era have been found. They were the Hukum Melayu Melaka and the Undang-Undang Laut. However, both books were not mentioned in the Sejarah Melayu. The two books mentioned above were very important to researchers as they provided the results of the time. Both books also helped researchers understand the information mentioned in the Sejarah Melayu and at the same time provided clues that could help them gauge the level of.