A man helped his brother with a sum of money, but when his brother married, the wife became defiant, so he wrote a bequest before his death stating that the money he had helped with was a debt owed to his brother, intending to harm her.

The questioner : He said: I had a brother who came to visit me because I was working in a city other than the one where we and our family reside. I gave him a sum of money as assistance, and I did not intend it to be a loan, nor would I demand it back on any day. He knew that. He took the money and returned to our town where he and our family live. He used this sum to help with his marriage, and his wife lived with him for a period of time. Later, the wife became defiant after a dispute arose between them. After that, my brother wrote a bequest, and among its contents was that sum as a debt owed to me. He had witnesses testify to it. He lived for a period of time after that, then Allah took his soul. When I returned to my town after my brother’s death, I was informed of the bequest. His wife demanded that I present my share of the estate, and I demanded the bequest my brother made in my favor, which was the sum I had previously given him as a favor. Indeed, she handed over her share of the bequest from the debt my brother bequeathed to me, and I collected it from her. She then divided her share of the estate. Is this action permissible for me, even though I fear that my brother’s motive for writing this bequest was to harm his defiant wife?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Since you gave the previous money as assistance and support to your brother, and he accepted it on that basis, then you have no claim against him in his liability. Accordingly, the bequest of it is void, because you have no right against him. And what you mentioned regarding the fear of harming this woman who became defiant against him and caused him hardship is a valid concern. What I see is that you should return what you took from the woman to her, to clear your liability and to clear what is feared regarding your brother’s bequest against him. This is more preferable and more cautious. And it appears that your situation, praise be to Allah, is comfortable, and that you are not in need of this. Even if you were in need of this, I see that you should return to the woman what you took from her. Yes.

The questioner : The next question is from the listener Ibrahim Muhammad Yunis Mali from Iraq, Nineveh.