Does Islamic Law Require that My Property be Divided in Particular Way in the Event that I Die?

Answered by Sidi Faraz A. Khan

Question: Assalamulikum

My question is regarding inheritance. I am married and at present don’t have any children. I have some savings-form of money and gold. I would like to know who would inherit my wealth in the event of my death-is there a fixed percent that my husband, father and brothers are entitled to?

Or does Shariah law allow me to allocate to whoever I wish. How will this change if I was to have children?

JazakAllah for your time.

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray this finds you in the best of health and faith.

Basic Principles

You are not allowed to allocate your wealth to whomever you wish as estate division; rather, the Sacred Law prescribes inheritance laws that are obligatory.

For a precise division of your estate, you would have to consult a scholar and provide details of which of your family members are alive. For example, you did not mention your mother. If she were alive, it would affect the estate division as the mother is entitled to either one-third or one-sixth, depending on the number of siblings or children of the deceased.

Based on what you mention in your question though, your husband would get one-half of the estate, and your father would get the other half. Your brothers would receive nothing due to the presence of your father.

If You Had Children…

In ALL of the cases listed below, your husband would get one-fourth, and your father one-sixth. Now…

–If you had only one daughter and no sons, she would get one-half of the estate, and that which remains would go to the father [in addition to his one-sixth mentioned above].

–If you had two or more daughters and no sons, those daughters would equally share two-thirds of the estate.

–If you had one son and no daughters, the son would receive the remaining amount.

–If you had two or more sons and no daughters, those sons would equally share the remaining amount.

–If you had one or more sons along with one or more daughters, then the remaining amount is shared among those children, each son receiving double of each daughter, as is explicitly stated by Allah Most High in the Qur’an, “And for the male is a portion equal to that of two females” (4:11).

[Maydani, Lubab; Razi, Tuhfat al-Muluk]

And Allah alone gives success.

wassalam

Faraz

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani