A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY OF ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN ISLAMIC INHERITANCE IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

This study presents a bibliometric analysis of scholarly publications on Islamic inheritance (Faraid) in Malaysia, focusing on key issues and research challenges within the field. Islamic inheritance represents a critical aspect of Islamic law, yet in the Malaysian context, it faces complexities arising from legal pluralism, cultural influences, and administrative inconsistencies. Despite its importance, there is limited systematic evaluation of the academic trends and patterns associated with this topic. To address this gap, this study applies a bibliometric approach to explore research developments, co-authorship patterns, keyword occurrences, and country-level contributions related to Islamic inheritance. A structured search was carried out using Scopus as the main data source, focusing on three primary keywords: Islamic, inheritance, and succession. The search targeted peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between 2020 and 2025. The dataset was refined and cleaned using OpenRefine, while analysis and visualization were performed using Scopus Analyzer and VOSviewer. A total of 78 documents met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed to identify publication trends, highly cited articles,

influential authors, commonly used keywords, and active co-authorship networks. The results reveal that Indonesia and Malaysia are the most active contributors to the topic, with "inheritance," "Islamic law," and "Islamic inheritance" being the most frequently occurring keywords. However, co-authorship collaboration remains limited across countries. The findings also highlight that while interest in Islamic inheritance is growing, the research is still fragmented and concentrated within specific regions. This study contributes to the understanding of academic developments in Islamic inheritance research and provides direction for future studies by identifying research gaps, promoting cross-country collaboration, and encouraging a more integrated and multidisciplinary approach to addressing the challenges surrounding Faraid in Malaysia.