SalaamQuestion is related to inheritance. My father passed away last year and my mother is refusing to give my brother and I our share of inheritance. She has a property abroad which is currently trying to sell as well as a property here in the UK. My father also had a shop abroad which my mother has sold.She says she does not have to give us our share of the property abroad after it is been sold because it's in her name. Is this true? So I would to clarify whether it's obligatory for her to give our share of inheritance or not. Jzk

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

First of all, we ask Allah to grant mercy and forgiveness to your father, and to accept him among the righteous people.

The property of your father that is registered in the name of your mother is of two cases:

The first case: If your father registered his property in the name of his wife, but he did not gift it to her; in this case, it is not considered a gift, but it must be divided among all the heirs like the remaining of the inheritance. Your mother is not permitted to prevent her children from their share in the estate as it is forbidden to take the money of a Muslim without his own proper consent.

The Prophet said: “Everything belonging to a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim; his honor, his blood, and his property.” [Muslim]

The second case: If your father had gifted his wife his money abroad, and registered it in her name and she possessed them before his death, and there was a legitimate evidence for that, then she is the only owner of that money and she has the right to dispose of it as she wishes. However, if she did not possess it or that there is no Islamic evidence to prove that the gift is confirmed, then the gift is not confirmed, and in this case, all that money will be for all the heirs.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said in Fataawa Noorun ‘ala ad-Darb, in an answer to a question about a gift to the wife:

“But if he hastened that to her, which is that he gave her his money when he was in good health, in sound mind, and in sound behavior, then if he liked to give her some of his money, then this is acceptable, even if he did not give anything to his children.” [End of quote]

However, the mother should be treated gently and wisely, and you should try to solve this issue through understanding while taking into account obedience to the mother and not neglect her right, and to avoid any act or saying what may harm her.

If you do not find a way of understanding with her, then there is nothing wrong with you to resort to the court to take your right from her, and this is not considered as mistreating her or severing ties with her.

If a child [whether the son or the daughter] takes his/her parent [father or mother] to court in order to get his right, then this is not severing ties with him/her.

Al-Bukhari reported that Abu Yazeed Ma’n Ibn Yazeed As-Sulami said: “My father Yazeed set aside some Dinars (gold coins) for charity and gave them to a man in the mosque (so that he would give them to the poor) but I went to that man and took them and brought them to my father.” Then my father said: “I swear by Allah! I did not intend to give them to you.” Therefore, I took the case to the Prophet . Then, the Prophet said: “O Yazeed! You have been rewarded for what you intended; and O Ma’n! You are entitled to what you have taken.”” [Al-Bukhari]

Ibn Hajar said: “This is evidence that it is permissible for a father and his son to resort to arbitration, and that this, by itself, is not considered as cutting ties with kinship.”

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 124046.

Allah knows best.