Is a Muslim woman's inheritance less than man's inheritance?

Is a Muslim woman's inheritance less than man's
inheritance?

1. In the pre-Islamic era, women were deprived of the
right of inheritance. However, with the avent of Islam,
they were granted a definite share of the inherited estate,
despite the opposition voiced by many Arabs at the time,
who considered that the right to inheritance was a
privilege for men since they defended the tribe and fought
its enemies.

In some cases in Islam the male heir inherits double the
inheritance of the female: "God (thus) directs you as
regards your children's (inheritance): to the male a portion
equal to that of two females". [4/11] A hasty opinion on
this matter may consider that such a ruling is injust.

However, the faith of Islam is completely innocent in this
case, since the difference in the inheritance of males and
females has nothing to do with favouring males and is
based upon the responsibilities which are obligatory for
men and not for women.

2. According to Islamic Law it is a man's religious duty
to maintain and provide for his wife, children and other
members of his family, which might include his father,
mother, and brothers and sisters if they are not able to
support themselves. His wife, on the other hand is not
charged with any financial responsibilities, and she is not
even financially responsible for herself, however wealthy
she may be, and her husband is responible for her
maintainance. If we understand this, we will realize that
when she inherits half of any inheritance, her financial
position is still superior to a man's financial position.
3. In this connection it is important to emphasize that
there is absolutely no general rule in Islam that women
should inherit only half of what men inherit. Concerning
this question of inheritance there is in the Qur’an only one
rule concerning what children inherit:

“God (thus) directs you as regards your children’s
(inheritance): to the male a portion equal to that of two
females...”. (Sure 4/11)



Many Egyptian Christians go to the Egyptian Islamic
centre for legal opinions in order to follow the Islamic
system of inheritance which settles all disputes between
the heirs.

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The Reference :
http://islamic-council.org/lib/FACTS-E-PDF/p5-123.pdf