THE
HOLY QURAN – PART 49
IMAM AL-‘ASKARY (A.S.) & THE HOLY QURAN- (SECTION 2)
A
WOMAN GETS HALF OF WHAT MAN GETS IN INHERITANCE
Allah (SWT)
says: “…Then for the male shall be the like
of the share of two females…” (4:176)
A person
well known for his knowledge and virtues came to Imam Hasan al-‘Askary
(as) and asked, “Women are naturally weaker than men. Then why is it
that they are given one share in inheritance? And men, despite their
strength are given two shares? Justice demands that it should be on the
contrary”. Imam (as) said, “You have seen
apparent weakness of women but have not reflected on the duties of men
and women. The difficulties of men are much more than those of women.
Jihad is incumbent on men and not on women; the responsibility of
earning livelihood rests on men and not on women; the maintenance of
women is on men. Then in such circumstances if the share of men is
double, is it against justice and equity?” (Akhlaaq al-Aimma)
TAFSEER AL-‘ASKARY (A.S.)
The level
of Imam Hasan al-‘Askary (as)’s knowledge can be estimated from the
Exegesis of Quran that is famous as ‘Tafseer of Imam Hasan Al-‘Askary’.
Late Syed Haider Hussein Shamsi in his book entitled ‘The Times and Life
of Imam Hasan Al-‘Askary’ writes:
As the grip of the rulers tightened and degree of suppression of the
Imams increased, it became harder and harder for the followers to gain
access to him to obtain direct guidance. Since most of the questions
asked used to be on the interpretation and expounding the meanings of
the Book of Allah, the Imam (as) found necessary to have this material
committed to pen. This was collected in the form of a book known as the
‘Tafseer Al-‘Askary’.
The book that is available today is incomplete, as it does not cover
the Quran in its entirety. It is possible that several sections of
it were lost or destroyed due to many turmoil the world of Islam had
endured with time. It is possible that the Imam had only a limited
time to have such a mammoth task completed before his martyrdom. It
is also possible that he had given lectures and interpretations to
some of the learned students and entrusted them to complete the task
after him, and in turn they were also eliminated by the tyrants of
the time. However, what is available today reveals the enormity of
the rich language and the depths of the meanings extracted from the
verses of the Quran. Besides a book of learning, it is a beautiful
piece of literature attributed to the eleventh pillar of the
Ahlul-bayt for the devotees.
mulla@almahdi.org.uk |