Inheritance
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi
wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers has
asked these questions:
What are the rights of a son with respect to inheritence? Can a father assign a will to any one child ? Are our shaira laws recognised by the court of law ?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement.
The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements
received from our brother for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Inheritance
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever
Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can
guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
Your comment: What are
the rights of a son with respect to inheritence?
This depends on who else among the family of the deceased is alive. I’ll try to give a couple of examples:
Example
a:
Deceased had 1 son, a wife, a mother, and a father. The shares
would
be as follows:
The
father gets 1/6th.
The
mother gets 1/6th.
The
wife gets 1/8th.
All the
rest goes to the son.
Example
b: Deceased had 1 son, a wife, and no
parents. The shares will be as
follows:
The
wife gets 1/8th
The son
gets all the balance 7/8th.
Example
c: Deceased had 1 son, no wife and no
parents. The shares will be as
follows:
The son
gets all the wealth.
Example
d: Deceased had 1 son, 1 daughter, no wife
and no parents. The shares
will be
as follows:
The
Daughter gets 1/3rd.
The Son
gets 2/3rd.
Thus it
depends on the combination of the living heirs of the deceased to determine exactly
how much inheritance goes to each heir.
Your
comment: Can a father assign a
will to any one child ?
A
father cannot assign a will to any one child under any circumstances. The Islamic inheritance law is extremely
clear in the Holy Quran, and anyone who
tries to play or change the inheritance of the heir will be involved in
a grave sin and will be accountable to Allah on the Day of Judgment.
After
clearly stating the inheritance law in Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verses 11-12, Allah
says regarding the rewards and punishments of the ones who do and do not follow
the laws prescribed by Allah in the Quran.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verses 13-14: These are the limits
prescribed by Allah: whoever obeys
Allah and His Messenger, Allah will admit him into the Gardens underneath which
canals flow, wherein he will live for ever. This is the great success. And
whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses the limits prescribed
by Allah, Allah will cast him into the Fire, wherein he shall abide forever,
and shall have a disgraceful chastisement.
In
Islam, a person cannot disown a child or any heir to keep him away from his
inheritance under any circumstances.
The
maximum amount a person can will is 1/3rd of his wealth. This maximum
1/3rd can be willed to anybody who is not a heir of the person.
Your
comment: Are Our shaira laws
recognised by the court of law ?
This would depend on the country you are residing in. Some countries allow the personal law of Islam to be implemented, while most other countries have their own set of personal laws. It is incumbent upon a believer to always put Islam and Islamic laws over and above any other man-made laws of this world. In countries where the Islamic sharia law is not recognized, one must make a will exactly in line with the Islamic sharia law of inheritance, so that his wealth is distributed according to the law of Allah.
May
Allah guide you and us all to the Siraat al-Mustaqeem
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your
brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister