Is It Permissible for a Man To Give His Home to His Only Son and Ignore His Daughters?
Answer: Assalamu alaykum,
Gifts to children
Thank you for your question. A parent is obliged to give gifts equally to his children, male and female, while he is alive, while after a parent’s death, the inheritance is distributed according to the Qur’an. Someone should sit down with him and try to reason with him to give equally among the children, whether by selling the home and splitting the profits or giving the daughters the equivalent in money but not doing anything that will cause discord. Please see the details here:
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/hanafi-fiqh/estate-division-and-the-sunna-of-equal-treatment-of-children-in-gift-giving/
Communicate
A father should be careful not to love his son more than his daughters, or if he does, then not to show it. A show of excess love can sow discord and disharmony between siblings, contrary to the aims of the shari`ah. I suggest that you find someone to speak to him respectfully and explain the matter to him. The daughters should also not be afraid to speak up because they will resent them if they don’t. As a rule, never get angry, gain knowledge about the subject and bring it up politely, leaving the results in Allah’s hands. See this link for the answer to a similar question:
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/answers/hanafi-fiqh/transferring-property-to-children-in-ones-lifetime/
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
