Inheritance of Land for One Wife, Two Daughters and One Son
4-12-2025 | IslamWeb
Question:
My father (Sunni Muslim) died in 2006 leaving 3645 sq.ft land (1215 2430). In 1999 he gifted me 1215 sq.ft, I took possession and built a house where he, my mother, my divorced sister, and I lived. At death, 2430 sq.ft remained in his name (deed 54×45 ft, actual 54×43 ft = 2322 sq.ft). Heirs: wife, 1 son, 2 daughters. Please advise: (1) divide as per deed or actual? (2) Shares as per Shariah? (3) Is the gift excluded?
Answer:
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.
We first alert the questioner that matters of inheritance are very serious. Therefore, one should not rely solely on a fatwa given based on a question presented to its author; rather, the matter should be referred to the competent authorities responsible for such cases, or at least discussed directly with knowledgeable scholars.
This is because there may be an heir who is not known except after investigation, and there may be wills, debts, or other rights that the heirs are unaware of and it is known that these take precedence over the heirs’ rights to the estate.
Regarding your question, what we can clarify for you is the following:
First: What counts in dividing the inherited land among the heirs is the actual area of the land in reality, not what is written in documents if the documents contradict the actual situation. Hence, if the real area of the land is 2,322 square feet and no more, then this is what is divided among the heirs.
Second: The land that your father gifted to you, which you took possession of during his lifetime and on which you built, does not enter into the inheritance. It became your property by virtue of the gift, as long as you possessed it and your father gifted it to you while not suffering from a life-threatening illness.
Third: If your father was not fair in that gift, by giving it to you and not to your two sisters, then he erred in doing so. The view adopted for issuing Fatwā is that justice is obligatory between children, male and female, based on the Prophet’s words (): “Fear Allah, and be just between your children.” [Agreed upon].
However, if he died before correcting that unfairness, then the gift remains valid for you, and you are not required to return it to the estate according to the correct opinion.
Fourth: If at the time of your father’s death his only heirs were his wife, his son, and his two daughters, and he left no other heirs (such as a father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother), then his wife receives one-eighth of the estate as a prescribed share as there are direct descendants. Allah the Almighty says (what means): {…but if you leave a child, they [wife] get one-eighth, after settling the bequests or debts…} [Quran 4:12].
The remainder after the wife’s one-eighth goes to his son and his two daughters. The male receives the share of two females, as Allah the Almighty says (what means): {Allah instructs you concerning [the inheritance of] your children: the share of a male is equal to that of two females…} [Quran 4:11].
The estate, inherited land, and anything else if found, is divided into thirty-two shares. The wife receives one-eighth (four shares), the son receives fourteen shares, and each daughter receives seven shares. This is the scenario of their inheritance problem.
The table of the Islamic obligation
Original formula 8 × 4 = 32
The wife 1 4
The son 14
The daughter 7
The daughter. 7
Allah knows best.