Can My Father Sell the Plot under These Circumstances?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

My uncles and aunts on my father’s side sold my grandfather’s land (inheritance) and did not share the money with my father. There is currently a plot in my father’s name (according to Russian laws), also from my grandfather. Could my father sell it and keep all the money for himself and us as revenge on his brothers and sisters?

Answer

This is a very sad situation, and it’s clear that your father has been wronged if they kept his share of his inheritance. The best advice I can give is the statement of the blessed Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), “[There can be] no harm, and no reciprocating with [further] harm.” (Ibn Maja)

Therefore, your father can calculate the exact amount he should have received from the inheritance, and then keep that amount from the proceeds of the land he wants to sell. If there is any excess he should not keep it, as it would reciprocating with further harm. It should be returned to his siblings, and they can deal with it.

If there is no excess left, then that is fine. If he has the amount he is entitled to, then Allah has given him a way out. If not, then he can choose to pardon them for the sake of Allah – and be honoured by Allah – or he can wait to have the matter settled on the Day of Judgement. Don’t let him take any steps that would lead him to being a wrongdoer.

May Allah bring a just and amicable end to the situation.
[Shaykh]Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital, and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family