Their mother wants to distribute their dead father’s property equally between sons and daughters
Fatwa No: 96941

Question

Dear Brother of Islam Assalamu alikum warahmatullah, I would like to ask a question about the property distribution. We have four son's and three sisters and the value of the property is approximately 350,000. How do they have to distribute this property. Actually this property is from Father's side, now my father is died, when my father alive he nemed this property to my mother's name. Now she distributed as equeal share for all. i.e. 50.000. per each person. so my question is, this is acceptable or not, if not please advise me.

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.

 

If your father had registered the property in the name of your mother as a gift, and he did so while he was in good health, and she possessed it after he gifted it to her, then what she did is accepted and correct as she owns this wealth. However, if by registering the property in her name he meant something else, then it is an inheritance and it should be divided among the heirs.

 

If we presume that this property is owned by the mother, then the parents should gift their children equally, as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam , said: “You should be just between your children when gifting them, because if I were to favour anyone, I would have favour the women (the female over the male).” [Sa'eed Ibn Mansoor and Al-Bayhaqi]

 

If we presume that this money is from the inheritance, then if there are no heirs except the mother and the brothers and sisters whom you mentioned in the question, then the mother is entitled to one-eighth, and the remainder of inheritance should be divided between the children - the male twice the share of the female. According to this presumption, this money should be re-divided in a correct manner unless all the heirs are pleased with the way the division took place [which you mentioned in your question] and provided they are all adults and have sound reasoning.

Allaah Knows best.

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