Integrating Islamic Ruling and the Medical Concept: A Study of the Hermaphrodite Inheritance

Abstract

Determining the gender of the heirs is important in the ruling of Islamic inheritance. Hence, Muslim jurists made efforts in determining the gender of hermaphrodites. Taking the safer position, the common practice is for the inheritance to be divided into two: the greater part of the share is withheld and the lesser portion is given out to the hermaphroditic inheritors along with their heirs until their gender is certified. This typically leads to disagreements among the jurists, hence, subsequently leading to a tedious process of certification. This protracted disagreement combined with a much prolonged certification process may harm the inheritors’ right due to the delay in judgement. This research aims to define the biological identity of a hermaphrodite and determine his sex according to the medical concept, as well as integrating the methods adopted by Muslim scholars to solve the issue of hermaphrodite inheritance. Both descriptive and analytical approaches are used in ensuring accurate knowledge transfer and trust in attribution. This research has found that the medical definition of a hermaphrodite is the most accurate and the most correct to end the dispute when dividing inheritance. Hence, this opens a wider area for further research that relies on medical information as evidence to be taken when studying Islamic legal rulings in ensuring the cohesion of society by preserving the rights of its members and maintaining their material and moral properties.