One of the greatest concerns of every family is who will take care of its members after the father's death. In many modern societies, this question is left to the desires of the one writing the will and to its subsequent legal interpretations by interested parties, lawyers, and possibly even law courts. Muslims do not face this quandry, for the Qur'an and hadith literature contain abundant information on each family member's share, thereby making sure that everyone receives his or her fair share. Concise account of the Islamic rules of inheritance are presented as to which relatives are eligible to inherit a share of the estate, how to deal with specific special cases, with plentiful examples of how to calculate the correct shares.

Author: Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Rauf, an Egyptian, Hafiz-Qur'an, a Ph.D. in philosophy from University of London, has been the rector of the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the director of Islamic Missions at al-Azhar, and The Islamic Center of Washington DC, and chairman of the Council of Imams of North America. His writings include several books and articles on Islamic history, culture, and civilization.