Dear Sir, My father who was the head of our family, before his death, had in his name a piece of land. He constructed a house. My elder brother who reside in USA contributed to maximum with funds for construction of the house. At that time I was also active working member of the family and assisted fully my father with money (though not as much compared to my elder brother)and labour to construct the house. The land and the house was for all purpose in my fathers name. A couple of days after the death of my father my elder brother and my elder sister called a meeting of all broghers and sisters and my mother and told that my father had wished that the house should belong to my elder brother. But since the property was in the name of my late father they asked us to sign papers so that the property is transfered in the name of my elder brother . AS we had respect for our elder brother we all signed without any hesitation. Thus the land and the house was transfered in the name of my elder brother. I was 30 years old then , married and had two children. Despite of my wife's caution not to sign i signed the papers. This episode happened in 1984. There was no other property left by my father for inheritance other than this. Now I feel that I and remaining brother and sisters were emotionally cheated. Please offer your fatwa on this issue. Regards. Mushtaque Ahmed

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

With regard to the money that you had given to your father to help him in building the house, as well as the money that your elder brother had given, then if this was as a gift and a way of helping your father, then neither of you have the right to ask for this money. However, if you had spent this money with the intention of asking him to reimburse you for it, then it is a debt on him and you both have the right to ask for it if you can prove this or that the rest of the heirs confirm this to you.

However, since you had renounced your share in the house in favour of your brother of your own free will and the dead did not leave anything else, and the rest of the heirs did the same thing, then you have no right to ask your brother for your share that you had renounced.

If a person deliberately renounces his right out of his own free will while being in sound mind, he has no right to withdraw his renunciation for the Fiqh rule that reads: “Once a right is renounced it can not be taken back.” Moreover, in the meaning of the above, Durar Al-Hukaam (by Muhammad Mullah Khusru from the Hanafi school of Jurisprudence) reads: “If a person renounces any right that he is permitted to renounce, then this right is renounced from him and after it was renounced, he cannot take it back.”

However, your elder brother is obliged to be kind to you in the same manner that you were kind to him and he should recompense you for your kindness.

Allaah Knows best.