CHALLENGES OF AL-FARĀ’IḌ APPLICATION IN A MULTI-RELIGIOUS SOCIETY: THE CASE OF YORUBA MUSLIMS OF LAGOS AND OYO STATES, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA
Keywords:
al-farā’iḍ, application, challenges, multi-religious society, Yoruba MuslimsAbstract
Yoruba Muslims of Southwestern Nigeria are among the foremost West Africans who had the earliest contact with Islam before the advent of British colonization in the 1850s. By 1775 C.E, Islam had been firmly entrenched in the nooks and crannies of Yorubaland, Southwest Nigeria, where Mosques and Madāris (Islamic Schools) were established to preach and teach the religion. However, with the British intrusion and amalgamation of the then Southern and Northern Protectorates to form a country called Nigeria, the colonialists had submerged all existing legal systems, whether customary or religious, under the control of English common law; hence, the application of Islamic law (Sharī‘ah) became a herculean task. To this end, with the dichotomy syndrome in Islamic law application between Northern and Southern Nigeria, Yoruba Muslims have been battling the non-statutory recognition of Sharī‘ah for over a century with no solution in sight. This, without mincing words, has deeply affected the application of the Islamic law of inheritance (al-farā’iḍ) on deceased’s estates as enshrined under Islamic law. Therefore, this present paper, through an analytical method, examines the challenges facing Yoruba Muslims in Lagos and Oyo States, Southwest Nigeria, in utilizing Islamic law of inheritance on deceased’s properties amidst the enforcement of the Nigerian legal system, the Yoruba customary law and States’ Administration of Estate Laws. It also enunciates the judicial prospects as being utilized by Muslims in the absence of statutory Islamic courts through the Independent Sharī‘ah Panels. The paper discovered that the challenges of al-farā’iḍ application might not be overturned in the near future until Yoruba Muslims reinvigorate their agitations for constitutional review to enforce statutory Sharī‘ah recognition and application in all matters that concern Muslims within the purview of the Nigerian legal system.
Downloads
References
A. A. Kolajo, Customary Law in Nigeria through the Cases (Nigeria: Spectrum Books, 2000).
Abdul-Fatah Kola Makinde, ‘The Evolution of Independent Shari‘ah Panel in Osun State, South-west Nigeria’, in Shari‘ah in Africa Today: Reactions and Responses, ed. John Chesworth & Franz Kogelmann (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2015).
Abdul Hai A’rfi, Islamic Law of Inheritance (Extracted from Ahkam-E-Mayyit), 1st ed. trans. Muhammad Shamim (Karachi, Pakistan: Darul Ishaat Publication, 1994).
Abdul Musa Oloyede, The Classical Caliphate, the Islamic Institution (Lagos, Nigeria: Islamic Publication Bureau, 1998).
AbdulRaheem Abdulwaheed Yusuph, ‘Adoption under Islamic Law: Correcting Misconception’, Islam and Civilization Renewal (ICR), vol. 9/2 (2018).
‘Abdus-Sami‘i Imam Arikewuyo, ‘Women’s Inheritance Rights in Yoruba Custom and the Islamic Law: A Comparative Analysis’, Kwasu Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 1/1 (2017).
Adegoke Kazeem Adekunle, ‘Shari’a Debates and Constitutional Development in Nigeria’, Waikato Islamic Studies Review, vol. 6/1 (2020).
Adetona Lateef Mobolaji, ‘Da‘wah (Islamic Propagation) in Yorubaland- From the Advent of Islam to the End of Colonial Period’, The Journal of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 19 (2010).
Adetona Lateef Mobolaji, ‘The Dynamism of Independent Shariah Panels in Lagos State, South-Western Nigeria’, NATAIS Journal of the Nigeria Association of Teachers of Arabic and Islamic Studies, vol. 8 (2005).
Anderson James Norman Dalrymple, ‘Colonial Law in Tropical Africa: The Conflict between English, Islamic and Customary Law’, Indiana Law Journal, vol. 35/4 (1960).
Andrea Buchler & Eveline Schneider Kayasseh, ‘Fostering and Adoption in Islamic Law-Under Consideration of the Laws of Morocco, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates’, Electronic Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL), vol. 6 (2018).
Bambale Yahya Yunusa, Acquisition and Transfer of Property in Islamic Law (Lagos, Nigeria: Malthouse Press Limited, 2007).
Bamgbose Oluyemisi, ‘Dispute Settlement Under Yoruba Culture: Lesson for the Criminal Justice System’, in The Yoruba in Transition: History, Values and Modernity, eds. Toyin Falola and Ann Genove (Durham: North Carolina, Carolina Academic Press, 2006).
Busari Jamiu Muhammad, A Concise Primer to inheritance Law in Islam (n.p.: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2018).
Cooper Elizabeth, Women and Inheritance in 5 Sub-Saharan African Countries: Opportunity and Challenges for Policy and Practice Change (n.p.: Chronic Poverty Research Centre, 2010).
Coulson Noel James, Succession in the Muslim Family (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971).
Cynado Ezeogidi, ‘British Conquest, Colonization and Administration in Nigeria’, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334377114, 1-19, accessed on 18 March 2019
Dadem Yilzum Yusufu, Property Law Practice in Nigeria, 2nd ed. (Jos, Nigeria: Jos University Press Ltd, 2012).
Dalhat A. Idris, ‘An Appraisal of Legal Pluralism in the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria’ (PhD Thesis, Department of Public Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, 2018).
Doma-Kutigi Halima, ‘Certification of Islamic Marriages in Nigeria: Realities, Challenges, and Solutions’, Electronic Journal of Islam and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL), vol. 7 (2019).
E. I. Nwogugu, Family Law in Nigeria (Nigeria: HEBN Publishers Plc, 1990).
Gbadamosi Tajudeen Gbadebo Olusanya, ‘Shariah in Southern-Nigeria: The Experience of Yorubaland’, in Understanding Shari’ah in Nigeria, eds. A. M Yakubu et al (Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books Limited, 2001).
Gbadamosi Tajudeen Gbadebo Olusanya, The Growth of Islam among Yoruba 1841-1908 (London, UK: Longman Group Ltd press, 1978).
Gurin Aminu Muhammad, An Introduction to Islamic Law of Succession (Zaria, Nigeria: Tamaza Publishing Company, 1998).
Hussain Abid, The Islamic Law of Succession, 1st ed. (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, 2005).
Ibrahim Abikan Abdulqadir & Hussein Ahmad Folorunsho, ‘The Status of Shari’ah in the Nigerian Legal Education System: An Appraisal of the Role of Mada’ris’, IIUM Law Journal, vol. 24/2 (2016).
Ipaye O. A, ‘Intestate Succession in Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Bendel and Lagos States’, The Nigerian Journal of Contemporary Law, vol. 16 (1989).
Ismael Saka Ismael & Oba Abdulmumini Adebayo, ‘Legal Challenges concerning some Beneficiaries of Estates Law in Nigeria’, IIUM Law Journal, vol. 25/1 (2017).
Jaafar Imani, ‘Practical Islamic Estate Planning: A Short Primer’, Mitchell Hamline Law Review, vol. 42/3 (2016): 928, http://mitchellhamline.edu/mhlr/vol42/iss3/4, accessed on 4 January 2020.
Jamiu Muhammad Busari, ‘Shari‘a as Customary Law? An Analytical Assessment from the Nigerian Constitution and Judicial Precedents’, AHKAM, vol. 21/1 (2021).
Jasni Sulong, ‘Inheritance Law for Women: Islamic Feminism and Social Justice’, Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture, vol. 3/1 (2015).
Al-Jibali Muhammad, Inheritance Regulation and Exhortation, 2nd ed. (Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia: al-Kitaab and as-Sunah Publication, 2005).
John Onaiyekan, ‘Shariah in Nigeria: The Issues from a Christian Perspective’, in Understanding Shariah in Nigeria, ed. A. M Yakubu et al (Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books Limited, 2001).
Johnson Oluwole, ‘Widows and Inheritance Hijacking Practices in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria’, African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies (AJCJS), vol. 9/1 (2016).
J. O. Ajibola, Administration of Justice in the Customary Courts of Yorubaland (Ibadan, Nigeria: University Press Limited, 1982).
Lagos State Judiciary, High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure (Lagos, Nigeria: Lagos State Printing Corporation, 2019).
Law Reform Commission of Lagos State, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, vol. 2 (UK: Thomson Reuters Limited, 2015).
Makama Godiya Allanana, ‘Patriarchy and Gender Inequality in Nigeria: The Way Forward’, European Scientific Journal, vol. 9/17 (2013).
Makinde AbdulFatai Kola & Ostien Philips ‘Legal Pluralism in Colonial Lagos: The 1894 Petition of the Lagos Muslims to their British Colonial Masters’, Die Welt Des Islams, vol. 52/1 (2012).
Makinde AbdulFatai Kola, ‘The Entanglement of Shari’ah Application in South-western Nigeria’, Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 10/5 (2017).
Makinde AbdulFatai Kola & Ostien Philips, ‘Independent Sharia Panel of Lagos State’, Emory International Law Review, vol. 25 (2011).
M. G. Piwuna, ‘An Appraisal of Selected Native Estate Laws and Custom in Nigeria’, Journal of Private Law, vol. 1/1 (2013), 332, https://dspace.unijos.edu.ng/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1792/1/an%20appraisal%20of%20selective%20native.pdf, accessed on 27 April 2022
Mohammad Aminfard, ‘Why Does Islamic Thought believe in Half Inheritance of Women in Comparison to Men Inheritance?’, Journal of American Science, vol. 9/4 (2013).
Mohamad Khairul Anwar Osman, ‘Farāi’ḍ in the Pahang State of Malaysia: Theory and Practice’ (Ph.D Thesis, Department of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies, The University of Leeds, 2001).
‘MURIC Calls for Review of Shari‘ah System’, Muslim Rights Concern’s (MURIC), https://www.muricnigeria.com/about-muric/publications/, accessed on 16 September 2021.
Muslim News Nigeria, ‘MULAN visits, commends Lagos Chief Judge for Customary court hearing of Islamic personal laws’, Muslim News, https://muslimnews.com.ng/2021/10/16/mulan-visits-commends-lagos-chief-judge-for-customary-court-hearing-of-islamic-personal-laws/, accessed on 12 November 2023.
Mutallib Atanda Ambali, The Practice of Muslim Family Law in Nigeria, 3rd ed. (Lagos, Nigeria: Princeton Publishing, 2013).
Mutallib Atanda Ambali, The Practice of Muslim Family Law in Nigeria, 2nd ed. (Lagos, Nigeria: Princeton Publishing, 2003).
Oba AbdulMumini Adebayo & Ismael Saka Ismael, ‘Challenges in the Judicial Administration of Muslim Estates in the Shari’ah Courts of Appeal in Nigeria’, Electronic Journal of Islamic Law and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL), vol. 5, (2017).
Obilade Akintunde Olusegun, The Nigerian Legal System (Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Law Publishing, 1979).
Okhaide Paul Itua, ‘Legitimacy, Legitimation and Succession in Nigeria: An Appraisal of Section 42(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as Amended on the Rights of Inheritance’, Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution, vol. 4/3 (2012).
Okhaide Paul Itua, ‘Succession under Benin Customary Law in Nigeria, Igiogbe Matters Arising’, Journal of Law and Conflict Resolution, vol. 3/7 (2011).
Okunola Muritala, ‘Relationship between Islamic Law and Customary Law of Succession in Southern Nigeria’, in Towards a Restatement of Nigerian Customary Law, vol. 10, eds. Prince Bola Ajibola, Yemi Osinbajo & Awa U. Kalu (Lagos, Nigeria: Federal Ministry of Justice,1991).
Olatoye Kareem & Yekini Abubakar, ‘Islamic Law in Southern Nigerian Courts: Constitutional and Conflicts of Laws Perspective’, Benin Journal of Public Law, vol. 6 (2019).
Olatoye Kareem, ‘Inheritance in a Muslim Family: The Nigerian Experience’, in A Digest of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence in Nigeria, ed. Zakariyau I. Oseni (Auchi, Nigeria: Darun-Nur, 2003).
Onakoya Olusegun, ‘Family Head versus Family Members: Legal Issues in Management of Family Land under Yoruba Customary Law’, IISTE Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, vol. 39 (2015).
Onuorah Chioma Patricia, ‘Child Adoption: Prospects and Problems in Nigerian Contemporary Society’, Nigerian Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 10/1 (2014).
Opeloye Muhib Omolayo, ‘The Realization of the Shari‘ah in South-western Nigeria: A Mirage or Reality?’, in A Digest of Islamic Law and Jurisprudence in Nigeria, ed. Zakariyau I. Oseni (Auchi, Nigeria: Darun-Nur, 2003).
Opeloye Muhib Omolayo, ‘The Yoruba Muslim’s Cultural Identity Questions’, Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 2 (2011).
Oyo State Government of Nigeria, The Laws of Oyo State, Nigeria, rev. ed. vol. 1 (Ibadan: Government Press, 2000).
Philips Ostien & Albert Dekker, ‘Shariah and National Law in Nigeria’, in Shariah Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal System of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present, ed. Jan Michiel Otto (Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2010).
Powers S. David, ‘The Islamic Inheritance System: A Socio-Historical Approach’, in Islamic Family Law Series, eds. Chibli Mallat and Jane Conners (London: Trotman, 1990).
Raimi, A.I, ‘The Concept of Will (Wasiyyah) under the Shari’ah’, Ife Jurist Review: Journal of Contemporary Legal and Allied Issues, IFJR, Part 1, (2014).
Sagay Itse, Nigerian Law of Succession: Principles, Statuses and Commentaries (Lagos, Nigeria: Malthouse Press Limited, 2006).
Salisu Taiwo Moshood, ‘An Analytical Study of the Attitude of Muslims to Tawsiyyah (Will-Making) in South-Western Nigeria, 1976-2010’ (Ph.D Thesis, Department of Religions and Peace Studies, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria, 2011).
Salisu Taiwo Moshood, ‘Shari’ah: The Missing Law in the Scheme of Legal Option in South-western Nigeria’, LASU Journal of Humanities, vol. 9 (2014).
Sanni Amidu, ‘Shari’ah Conundrum in Nigeria and Zamfara Model: The Role of Nigerian Muslim Youth in the Historical Context’, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, vol. 27/1 (2007).
Sanni Ishaq Kunle, ‘Independent Sharia Court Enriching the Nigerian Legal System: Oyo State in Spectrum’, AL-MASLAHA (2008).
Sara Haghi et. al., ‘A Glance to Islamic Feminism Thought and Women’s Inheritance Issue’, Journal of Social Issues and Humanities, vol.1/6 (2013).
Shabnam Ishaque, ‘Islamic Principles on Adoption: Examining the Impact of Illegitimacy and Inheritance Related Concerns in Context of a Child’s Right to an Identity’, International Journal of Laws, Policy and the Family, vol. 22 (2008).
Siddiqui Abdul Hamid, The System of Inheritance in Islam (n.p.: n.p., 2007), www.readingislam.com and www.islamonline.net/shariah-and-humanity, accessed on 26 January 2017
S. T. James, ‘Issues and Challenges in the Grant of Probate in Nigeria’, African Journal of Law, Political Research and Administration, vol. 7/3 (2024).
Sulaiman Kamaldeen Olawale ‘The Justifications for a Male’s Double Share of Female in Islamic Law of Inheritance’, Journal of Oriental and African Studies, vol. 20 (2011).
Sultanul Alam Chowdury, ‘The Problem of Representation in the Muslim Law of Inheritance’, Islamic Studies, vol. 3/3 (1964).
Supplement of Oyo State of Nigeria Gazettes No 3, Vol. 41 of 5th May, (2016).
Supplement of Oyo State of Nigeria Gazettes, No 12, Vol. 37 of 6th September, (2012).
Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (Lagos State Chapter), Selected Judgements of the Lagos Independent Shariah Panel, vol. 1 (Lagos: Lagos State Chapter of SCSN, 2005).
Tijani Muhammad Naniya, ‘The Impact of the British Conquest on the Interpretation and Application of the Shari’a’, in Paideuma: Mitteilungen Zur Kulturkunde, ed. Franz Steiner Verlag & Stuttgart (Germany: Frobenius-Institute, 1994):1-11, www.jstor.org/stable/40341682, accessed on 4 April 2018.
Tijani Abdul-Lateef Aremu, Musa-Jeje Ibrahim Aladire & Alimi Lawal Sikiru, ‘An Assessment of Independent Sharī’a Panel (ISP) and Its Roles in Resolving Marital Conflicts in Osun State of Nigeria’, Al-Ahkam, vol. 32/2 (2022).
Titus Adekunle, ‘Succession and Inheritance Law in Nigeria: Resolving the Discriminatory Proprietary Rights of Widows and Children’, Property Law Review, vol. 1 (n.d).
Tobi Niki, Sources of Nigerian Law (Lagos, Nigeria: MIJ Publishers, 2006).
Toriola A. Oyewo, A Handbook on African Laws of Marriages, Inheritance and Succession, 1st ed. (Nigeria: Jator Publishing Company, 1999).
United Nations, Child Adoption: Trends and Policies (New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009).
Yadudu Auwalu Hamisu, ‘Shariah in a Multi-Religious Society: The Case of Nigeria’, in Understanding Shariah in Nigeria, ed. A. M Yakubu et al (Ibadan, Nigeria: Spectrum Books Limited, 2001).
Yusuf AbdulRasheed & Sheriff Ekong, Succession under Islamic Law (Lagos, Nigeria: Malthouse Press Limited, 2011).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Jurnal Syariah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
COPYRIGHT: All rights reserved. Not allowed to be reproduced any part of articles and contents of this journal in any form or by any way, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission in writing from the Chief Editor, Jurnal Syariah.
