Learn the laws of inheritance and teach them to the people; for they are
one half of useful knowledge. t-1ohannned (Fyzee 1955: 329) When the
prophet created this aphorism he had in mind the rules of in- heritance
law revealed to him by Allah. We could apply it to social an- thropology
as well sincethe inheritance of property and the succession to positions
of socio-political authority are among the most important elements of
social organization. They are the vehicles of continuity which maintain
property and authority through time. In many societies, and particularly
in those generally studied by anthropologists, inherit- ance and
succession are closely interconnected with kinship and descent and
provide the economic and political substance for the existence and
continuity of kinship- or descent-based social groups. They are, as it
were, the flesh on the bare bones of kinship relations. The importance
of inheritance has, of course, not escaped the notice of social and
legal anthropologists, and in recent years several studies have ably
demonstrated the point (Radcliffe-Brown 1952, Goodenough 1951, Leach
1961 b, Goody 1962, Lloyd 1962, Gray and Gulliver (eds. ) 1964, Derrett
(ed. ) 1965, Gluckman 1972, Moore 1969, Burling 1974). Yet in general,
property and inheritance have rather been treated as an appendix to
economic and kinship studies.