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 Alai Kum Brother Burhan,

May ALLAH (SWT) guide you, me and the whole of mankind to the best of ways taught by ALLAH and ALLAH'S Apostle (PBUH).........Ameen.

JazakALLAHu qairian Kaseera for all those previous replies

I have a question regarding the property left behind by ones parents (Virasaat).... The questions  are as follows

1. There is no doubt about the distribution of property set by ALLAH (SWT) (Virasaat), but if one before his death give more/all to one of his son/daughter and the others does not get the same/no share, is it allowed? If not then what should be done.

2. Is is allowed for us to spend whole of our property in ALLAH's way before we die and left no property for inheritance (vaaris)?

And It would be nice if you could put some more light on this very inportant topic which most of our muslims brothers are not aware of in detail and please consider different scenario and possible solutions, of course in the light of Gloriuos Quran and Shahi Hadith.

(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 readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Inheritance distribution

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.

Your Question: There is no doubt about the distribution of property set by ALLAH (SWT) (Virasaat), but if one before his death give more/all to one of his son/daughter and the others does not get the same/no share, is it allowed? If not then what should be done.

When one is alive, one is well within their rights to gift any amount of their wealth or property to whomever they will and please....but to gift more to one amongst one’s children and less to another is absolutely discouraged in Islam, and termed as injustice by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.818 Narrated by An Numan bin Bashir

My mother asked my father to present me a gift from his property; and he gave it to me after some hesitation. My mother said that she would not be satisfied unless the Prophet (saws) was made a witness to it. I being a young boy, my father held me by the hand and took me to the Prophet (saws). He said to the Prophet, "His mother, bint Rawaha, requested me to give this boy a gift." The Prophet (saws) asked "Do you have other sons besides him?" He said, "Yes." The Prophet (saws) said, "Do not make me a witness for injustice."

Your Question: Is is allowed for us to spend whole of our property in ALLAH's way before we die and left no property for inheritance (vaaris)?

As long as one is alive and healthy, one is well within their rights to gift any amount of their wealth to whomsoever they will and please.

But if one is nearing death, or one’s death is imminent, then it would not be considered righteousness or piety in the Sight of Allah to spend all of one’s property with the intention to deprive their legal heirs of their lawful share of inheritance. The absolute maximum which the Prophet of Allah (saws) allowed for one whose death is imminent to spend in charity, or to bequeath in a will to charity or to any other person, is a third of one’s property.

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 (saws), you can see how far the pain has reached me. I have property and only my daughter inherits from me. Shall I give two thirds of my property as ‘sadaqa’?' The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, 'No.' I said, '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.’

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