Inheritance land of minors
| Fatwa #1082 | Category: Inheritance | Country: Zambia | Date: 4th March 2024 |
| Fatwa #1082 | Date: 4th March 2024 |
| Category: Inheritance | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
Respected Muftiyan e Kiraam
I have a question regarding inheritance and need guidance from you.
My father passed away 29 years ago when myself and my siblings were very young and left behind some money. Due to fear of it being wasted, one of my uncles had an opportunity of purchasing a land in partnership with his brother. Therefore, he suggested to my two other uncles and they together decided to purchase it for us, the family of the deceased. Almost 29 years have passed and one of our uncles is claiming a share in that land.
After enquiring from one of the other two uncles, the story is as follows;
The three uncles went to our fathers house and collected the exact amount of money which was 12,500 dollars and then he is the one who gave it to his brother who in turn purchased that land in partnership with us. The land still exists and we the family want to enquire if this land solely belongs to us.
The uncle who claims to have a share first claimed that he paid half of the required amount and then when pressed him on the matter he said no and that he paid my fathers substantial amount of debt. My father left behind excess money to which if his claim was true, that money could have been used to pay the debts. My father also left behind two trucks, two cars and stock in about four of his shops.
The proof to our claim is one of the uncles who has clearly told us that that land belongs to us and the money used to purchase it also belonged to my father.
Kindly advise on this matter.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
First and foremost, you should try and ascertain if there exists any written document which will serve as proof of ownership. This will legally substantiate the ownership. If you do possess documents of such a nature, kindly forward them to us.
Secondly, the uncle who made a claim of ownership is required to furnish proof to substantiate his claim. A mere claim once disputed requires proof to be acceptable.
You state that one uncle confirms the ownership in favour of the children. You may seek his help in finding out if there are other witnesses who may affirm the same.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia