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/sisters has asked this question:

as salam u allaykum

for example my mother is ill & her daughter,son didnt take care when she was on bed but one of her son wife has taken care .so before death the properyt which was on mothers name was their she gave to hers sons wife .as she told her son &daughter when i was on bed nobody has taken care of my she was the one has taken care thats why i have given my property to her.now son are fighting for property.

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Answer:

Will of deceased mother

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verses 11-14:

11 Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters two or more their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one her share is a half. For parents a sixth share of the inheritance to each if the deceased left children; if no children and the parents are the (only) heirs the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise.

12 In what your wives leave your share is a half if they leave no child; but if they leave a child ye get a fourth; after payment of legacies and debts. In what ye leave their share is a fourth if ye leave no child; but if ye leave a child they get an eighth; after payment of legacies and debts. If the man or woman whose inheritance is in question has left neither ascendants nor descendants but has left a brother or a sister each one of the two gets a sixth; but if more than two they share in a third; after payment of legacies and debts; so that no loss is caused (to anyone). Thus is it ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing Most Forbearing.

13 Those are limits set by Allah: those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens with rivers flowing beneath to abide therein (for ever) and that will be the Supreme achievement.

14 But those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a Fire to abide therein: and they shall have a humiliating punishment.

Allah Subhanah has Himself designated and appointed the legal heirs of each individual, and The All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord has Himself prescribed the right and exact share of inheritance for each amongst the designated legal heirs.

The percentage or share of the distribution of one’s inheritance in Islam is not based on the service, or the obedience, or the dealings of one towards the deceased….but Allah Subhanah, in His Absolute Knowledge and Wisdom has designated the legal heirs of each individual according to their blood-relations, and it is He Who has prescribed the exact share of each legal heir. Misappropriation or the distribution of the deceased’s inheritance according to any method other than the one Commanded by Allah Subhanah would be considered one amongst the gravest sins in Islam.

Your Question: for example my mother is ill & her daughter,son didnt take care when she was on bed but one of her son wife has taken care .so before death the properyt which was on mothers name was their she gave to hers sons wife

If the son and the daughter did not serve or take care of their ailing mother, they will be held severely accountable for not fulfilling their obligatory duty unto their aged mother in the Presence of the Lord Most High on that Inevitable and Tumultuous Day of Judgment.

But if that son and that daughter were born from the womb of their mother, and all of them are believers….then absolutely regardless of their attitude or character or behavior towards their mother, they will be considered amongst the legal heirs of their mother’s property in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah….and they will be entitled to receive their prescribed right and share of the property their mother leaves behind.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 37.4

Malik related from Ibn Shihab from Amir ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas that his father said, "The Messenger of Allah (saws) came to me to treat me for a pain which became hard to bear in the year of the farewell Hajj. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, you can see how far the pain has reached me (ie. my death is imminent). I have property and only my daughter inherits from me. Shall I give (will or bequest) two thirds of my property as sadaqa?' The Messenger of Allah (saws) 'No.' I asked: 'Half?' He (saws) said, 'No.' Then the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, 'A third, and a third is a lot! Leaving your heirs rich is better than leaving them poor to beg from people.’

The absolute maximum Shariah Law permits a believer to ‘will’ or ‘bequest’ to anyone of their choice (other than their legal heirs) is one-third of their estate.

The son’s wife who served her ailing mother-in-law is not considered a legal heir, thus it would be unlawful for her ailing mother-in-law to ‘will’ or ‘bequest’ her full estate to her. The absolute maximum the ailing mother-in-law could have given to her daughter-in-law in her ‘will’ would be no more than a third of her estate. Even if the ailing or dying mother made a ‘will’ granting more than one-third of her estate to anyone, that unlawful ‘will’ of the deceased will hold absolutely no weight in a Court of Shariah Law.

Your Question: …..now son are fighting for property.

The son and the daughter, regardless of their behavior with their ailing mother, are and will remain the legal heirs of their mother in the Sight of Shariah Law, and they are well within their rights in Islam to initiate a case in a court of Shariah Law and demand their lawful share of their mother’s inheritance.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan