(ir)rational numbers

kenan's post '1,2,3...40 and tada!' on performativity somehow reminded me of two curious verses in koran, which amaze and amuse me to no end but since it wasn't much related to the topic i didn't want to post them as comment back then. since this is a 'holy' day, i wanted to share them with you, those two verses of pure holiness without much comment:

11- allah enjoins you concerning your children: the male shall have the equal of the portion of two females; then if they are more than two females, they shall have two-thirds of what the deceased has left, and if there is one, she shall have the half; and as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child, but if he has no child and (only) his two parents inherit him, then his mother shall have the third; but if he has brothers, then his mother shall have the sixth after (the payment of) a bequest he may have bequeathed or a debt; your parents and your children, you know not which of them is the nearer to you in usefulness; this is an ordinance from allah: surely allah is knowing, wise.
12 - and you shall have half of what your wives leave if they have no child, but if they have a child, then you shall have a fourth of what they leave after (payment of) any bequest they may have bequeathed or a debt; and they shall have the fourth of what you leave if you have no child, but if you have a child then they shall have the eighth of what you leave after (payment of) a bequest you may have bequeathed or a debt; and if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring, and he (or she) has a brother or a sister, then each of them two shall have the sixth, but if they are more than that, they shall be sharers in the third after (payment of) any bequest that may have been bequeathed or a debt that does not harm (others); this is an ordinance from allah: and allah is knowing, forbearing.

and for further examples of this sort of intricate calculations/directions see leviticus in the hebrew bible, especially the section where it prohibits eating the fat on the kidney of a certain animal.

merry christmas.