Her parents sponsored the construction of her house on her husband’s land
Fatwa No: 188715

Question

As-salamu-alaikum Mufti,Iam married without any issue,Alhamdulilah having husband,both parents,3 siblings all married with issues,2 brothers and 1 sister.Recently my parents gifted me and has sponsered construction cost on a portion of the site(land) which is on my husband's name,my question is what should i do so as my heirs can get what gift/money my parents gave me & which belongs to me now, to be distributed impartially according to sharia,in case of my death.

Answer

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam,  is His slave and Messenger.

According to the preponderant opinion of the jurists , parents are obliged to be just between their children in gifting them, so they should not favor some of them over others without a valid reason. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 119032.

If we presume that there is a reason for you being favored over your siblings, like your need for accommodation while your husband is incapable of offering it, then this need can be fulfilled by renting an accommodation, and there is no need to pay for the construction costs. We have already issued Fataawa 94685 and 96941 clarifying this issue.

Therefore, this gift is considered invalid unless all your siblings agree to it or that the father gives each one of them the same like it.

If the donor is unjust in gifting his children and he does not take back the gift [from the person whom he had favored over others], then the person who is favored should do so (i.e. give back the gift), otherwise he would be sinful according to the opinion that it is an obligation to give back the gift that was received unjustly.

To conclude, the construction costs which you mentioned are not considered as your property except with the conditions that we have mentioned to you, i.e. that your siblings should consent to it or that they should be gifted the same as it.

If this is not achieved, then you should give back what your father had given to you as construction costs, or that you make your siblings co-owners of your share of the estate, in which case, all of you will own it. Hence, your heirs will only get your share of it.

Allaah Knows best.

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