Fatwa

Inheritance Agreement of heirs

Question

١لسلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته
Hope and pray you are well.
I have a question regarding inheritance.
My beloved father passed way last July (2024).
He had verbally told myself and my sisters that rental from a house that he had left should be used to pay for the upkeep of himself, if my mother passed way first and for my mother if he passed way first. Once both parents have passed on we should distribute the inheritance as per sharia ruling. All the parties i.e, myself and my 2 sisters are in agreement with this regard. We are not able to find a will that states this.
Are we correct in following this instruction or do we have to distribute the inheritance according to sharia? Our position is I am the only son and I have 2 sisters and our mother.
Please advise.
جزاك الله خيرًا

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

May Almighty Allah grant your late father the highest stages in Jannah. Aameen.

In principle, an individual cannot give solely the income of an asset to someone after his demise. He can either give away the asset fully, thereby removing it from his own estate OR he will retain ownership of the asset keeping it as part of his estate.

Your late fathers desire to use the income of the asset for the upkeep of your mother is not an Islamic bequest, rather it is a request to his heirs.

Accordingly, the estate of the deceased must be divided amongst the heirs as per their shares. This means the spouse as well as the children will become percentage owners in the property. Thereafter, should the siblings mutually consent to use the income to maintain their mother, or give her the income monthly for the duration of her lifetime, then this is permissible.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Bilal Pandor

Concurred by
Mufti Nabeel Valli

Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia

www.daruliftaazambia.com