Mrs. Bennet’s nerves were shot. Five daughters and no prospect in sight. After all, with their estate entailed to that Mr. Collins, she did not have much time to tarry if she was to marry off her daughters before the good Mr. Bennet, bless his heart, left this world. Where was she to find five, yes, five good matches for her precious girls.
If only they were Muslims. Oh yes, Mrs. Bennet had heard from dear Mrs. Gardiner some very interesting news, that Muslim women had a great many rights, the like of which the British Empire had yet to see. Why, hadn’t she come over for a visit just a fortnight ago, telling news of a cleric who had traveled all the way to Arabia? And what had he discovered while trying to save those poor souls? Although if any soul needed saving, it was Mrs. Bennet herself who deserved that good cleric’s attention. Instead of journeying all the way to Arabia, he should have simply journeyed up to Longbourn and saved her girls from destitution and despair by arranging good, eligible matches.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Gardiner had come back with the most interesting news. She said that Islam absolutely mandated that women along with men inherit their parents’ property. Mrs. Bennet was beside herself with astonishment and unconcealed envy. If only the British Empire mandated such a thing. Not only that, but the wife inherited a portion of her husband’s property and a sister could inherit a fixed portion of her sibling’s property under certain conditions. Why, even the mother could inherit a portion of her child’s property. Mrs. Bennet fussed with her handkerchief, thinking to herself that Muslim women must live very comfortable lives indeed to have such financial security.
Dear Lizzy was greatly interested and asked a great many questions, but Mrs. Bennet did not need to hear another word, for even she could see the sense in this Islamic commandment. Oh, her poor nerves. If only they were Muslims, but alas, they were not.
If the Bennets had been Muslims, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice would be radically different. The girls would have nary a care if the eligible match offered five thousand a year or 10,000 a year. The mother would not have to wonder what would become of her family if Mr. Bennet was to suddenly pass on. The five daughters and Mrs. Bennet would be assured of their financial security, protected by God’s commandment.
God Almighty very carefully enumerated the apportioning of inheritance in the Holy Qur’an as a safeguard for women:
“…but if there be females only, numbering more than two, then they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased leaves; and if there be one, she shall have the half. And his parents shall have each of them a sixth of the inheritance, if he have a child; but if he have no child and his parents be his heirs, then his mother shall have a third; and if he have brothers and sisters, then his mother shall have a sixth, after the payment of any bequests he may have bequeathed or of debt. Your fathers and your children, you know not which of them is nearest to you in benefit. This fixing of portions is from Allah. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, Wise.” (4:12)
Although it is unlikely that Jane Austen was familiar with Islam and the commandment that females inherit a portion of their relative’s inheritance, her novel is a critique of the real trials English women faced during that time. Women were at the mercy of finding a good match to secure their financial future whereas Islam had already secured women the right to financial security through inheritance some 1200 years earlier. The Islamic commandment on the division of inheritance was just one of many ways in which God protected women. One which Mrs. Bennet would have surely appreciated, and wouldn’t that have been a balm to her poor nerves?
About the Author: Nila Ahmad lives in the northeastern United States with her family. She has a particular interest in dispelling misconceptions around women’s status in Islam. She currently serves as the Head of the Women’s Section for The Review of Religions.
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