Is it permissible to allocate a specific share of the estate to one's wife, and likewise to allocate a share to some children over others on the grounds that he is dutiful to his father and serves him, unlike his other siblings?
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The questioner : He said, "I asked one of the scholars about the permissibility of allocating a specific share of my estate to my wife. He told me that if I want to do so with the intention of rewarding her for her service and her good companionship, there is no blame on me. However, if I want to do so with the intention of harming the other heirs, then it is not permissible. In my estimation, despite my limited knowledge, a woman's share is known according to what the Shari'ah has established. In my view, saying this contradicts what has come in the Book and the Sunnah. What is your opinion in this matter? And if this scholar's statement is correct, can we apply analogical reasoning to conclude that I can allocate a share of my estate to one of my children over his siblings on the claim that he stood by me in good situations, unlike his siblings, and served me more than they did?"
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 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. Before answering the question, I would like to warn against a person speaking without knowledge about what Allah the Exalted has legislated, because the one who speaks... [what is said] is not from the Shari'ah; rather, he is conveying the message of Allah and His Messenger. So he must be cautious and seek the truth to the best of his ability before he speaks. Being bold in issuing fatwas is not an easy matter, for a person will be questioned, and perhaps a person may be lenient in one of his fatwas, thereby causing much harm to people. And Allah the Exalted said in His clear Book:[Al-A'raf 7:33] And He, Glorious is His mention, said: [Al-Isra 17:36].
And Allah the Exalted has made ease in the matter by allowing the one who is asked for a ruling and has no knowledge to say, "I do not know," regarding what he does not know. For that is a purer state for his conscience, more honorable for him, and higher in the sight of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For whoever says regarding what he does not know, "I do not know," has been humble, and whoever is humble to Allah, He raises him. And by this, people trust his knowledge and his issuing of rulings, because if they know that he says "I do not know" regarding what he does not know, they trust him and know that he does not rush into issuing a ruling except with knowledge.
And what was issued as a ruling in this matter, that it is permissible to bequeath to your wife something from your wealth in consideration of her good treatment of you, is a ruling that contradicts what the Book and the Sunnah indicate. For Allah the Exalted has made obligatory for the wife from your wealth after your death a limited amount:[An-Nisa 4:12] And Allah the Exalted said in the verses of inheritance: [An-Nisa 4:13-14] So the limit that Allah has set for the wife after the death of her husband from his wealth is either one-fourth or one-eighth, with no increase beyond that. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 2870Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani).
And on this basis, if you want to be kind to your wife with something in consideration of her good treatment of you, you can be kind to her while you are healthy by giving her what you reward her with from your wealth. But after your death, the matter is limited and determined by the Shari'ah, and a person is not allowed to exceed it.
As for what you mentioned, that it is possible to apply analogical reasoning to bequeathing to one of your children something because he was more dutiful to you than his brothers, this is, as you have known from the invalidity of the original case. And if the original case is invalid, the branch is invalid; that is, if the thing to which analogy is made is invalid, the thing to which analogy is applied is invalid.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Moreover, the children have another specific characteristic, which is that if this dutiful child has siblings, it is not permissible for you to give him something extra, even if it is extra compared to his siblings, even if that is during your lifetime. For when Bashir ibn Sa'd came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to witness his gift to his son Nu'man ibn Bashir, he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): He said, "No." He said: Sahih al-Bukhari 2587 And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not ask in detail whether he had given to Nu'man because of his dutifulness to him more than to the others or not. So it is known that it is not permissible for a father to give to one of his children over the others, even if he is more dutiful than them. And the reward of this dutiful person is with Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The conclusion is that it is not permissible for a person to bequeath to his wife more than her inheritance in consideration of her fulfilling her duty toward him, and it is not permissible for anyone to give to one of his children something over his siblings in consideration of his being more dutiful than them. Rather, it is obligatory for him to be just among his children. And justice is to give every person what he needs, and it does not mean to make them equal. If he gives this one ten, he does not have to give the other ten, for example. No, perhaps this person has a need that amounts to a thousand, and the second has a need that amounts to a hundred. If he gives each of them his need, he has been just between them, even if this one's need amounts to a thousand and the second's amounts to a hundred.
And the important thing is that fulfilling the duty regarding the children is justice, even if the duty of one of them requires more than the other.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : This is during life. But after death, all of this falls under the generality of.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes. This is a message from the questioner, Hussein Mahmoud, a Jordanian who is studying medicine in Karachi, Pakistan.
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 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. Before answering the question, I would like to warn against a person speaking without knowledge about what Allah the Exalted has legislated, because the one who speaks... [what is said] is not from the Shari'ah; rather, he is conveying the message of Allah and His Messenger. So he must be cautious and seek the truth to the best of his ability before he speaks. Being bold in issuing fatwas is not an easy matter, for a person will be questioned, and perhaps a person may be lenient in one of his fatwas, thereby causing much harm to people. And Allah the Exalted said in His clear Book:
Say, "My Lord has only forbidden immoralities - what is apparent of them and what is concealed - and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know."
قل إنما حرم ربي الفواحش ما ظهر منها وما بطن والإثم والبغي بغير الحق وأن تشركوا بالله ما لم ينزل به سلطاناً وأن تقولوا على الله ما لا تعلمونAnd do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
ولا تقف ما ليس لك به علم إن السمع والبصر والفؤاد كل أولئك كان عنه مسئولاًAnd Allah the Exalted has made ease in the matter by allowing the one who is asked for a ruling and has no knowledge to say, "I do not know," regarding what he does not know. For that is a purer state for his conscience, more honorable for him, and higher in the sight of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For whoever says regarding what he does not know, "I do not know," has been humble, and whoever is humble to Allah, He raises him. And by this, people trust his knowledge and his issuing of rulings, because if they know that he says "I do not know" regarding what he does not know, they trust him and know that he does not rush into issuing a ruling except with knowledge.
And what was issued as a ruling in this matter, that it is permissible to bequeath to your wife something from your wealth in consideration of her good treatment of you, is a ruling that contradicts what the Book and the Sunnah indicate. For Allah the Exalted has made obligatory for the wife from your wealth after your death a limited amount:
And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave
ولهن الربع مما تركتم إن لم يكن لكم ولد فإن كان لكم ولد فلهن الثمن مما تركتم(13) These are the limits [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. (14) And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits - He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.
تلك حدود الله ومن يطع الله ورسوله يدخله جنات تجري من تحتها الأنهار خالدين فيها وذلك الفوز العظيم * ومن يعص الله ورسوله ويتعد حدوده يدخله ناراً خالداً فيها وله عذاب مهينAllah has appointed for everyone who has a right what is due to him, and no bequest must be made to an heir.
إن الله أعطى كل ذي حق حقه، فلا وصية لوارثAnd on this basis, if you want to be kind to your wife with something in consideration of her good treatment of you, you can be kind to her while you are healthy by giving her what you reward her with from your wealth. But after your death, the matter is limited and determined by the Shari'ah, and a person is not allowed to exceed it.
As for what you mentioned, that it is possible to apply analogical reasoning to bequeathing to one of your children something because he was more dutiful to you than his brothers, this is, as you have known from the invalidity of the original case. And if the original case is invalid, the branch is invalid; that is, if the thing to which analogy is made is invalid, the thing to which analogy is applied is invalid.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Moreover, the children have another specific characteristic, which is that if this dutiful child has siblings, it is not permissible for you to give him something extra, even if it is extra compared to his siblings, even if that is during your lifetime. For when Bashir ibn Sa'd came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to witness his gift to his son Nu'man ibn Bashir, he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him):
Do you give all your children a gift like that?
أكلَّ ولدك نحلتهم مثل ذلكBe afraid of Allah, and be just to your children.
اتقوا الله واعدلوا بين أولادكمAnd the important thing is that fulfilling the duty regarding the children is justice, even if the duty of one of them requires more than the other.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : This is during life. But after death, all of this falls under the generality of
There is no bequest for an heir
لا وصية لوارثThe Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes. This is a message from the questioner, Hussein Mahmoud, a Jordanian who is studying medicine in Karachi, Pakistan.