A man and his family’s participation in a trade
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Fatwa number ( 17663 )
Q: By the might of Allah, I have resolved to establish a commercial, agricultural, and industrial company. The partners in it are: myself, my first wife, from whom I have an adult male son of eighteen years, and three daughters, all of whom are minors; and my second wife, from whom I have a young male son who is currently four years old and one daughter younger than him. I inform you that my wife is under my protection, praise be to Allah. The company’s capital is one million Saudi riyals, divided into ten thousand shares, the value of each share being one hundred Saudi riyals, according to the following:
The father: he has 5000 shares, valued at 500,000 riyals. The first wife: 1000 shares, valued at 100,000 riyals. The second wife: 1000 shares, valued at 100,000 riyals. And the sons and daughters, all of them, each has five hundred shares, the value of each share being fifty thousand Saudi riyals. That is, they are all equal in shares, with no difference between the male and the female, for the following reasons: First: The funds that each son and daughter contributed are from their own money, meaning: everything that was gifted to them since their birth by their grandfather, grandmother, uncles, and maternal uncles, which I have collected for each of them over the years of their lives; therefore, these are their rights that belong to them, and I am merely a trustee over them by virtue of compulsory guardianship. Second: I did not follow the rule of estate distribution and inheritance (to the male the share of two females); because this money is not an estate, nor inheritance, but rather rights that belong to each son and daughter; no one shares in them with them, not their mothers nor I, their father. Third: What will be distributed to them as an estate and inheritance in the event of my death is only
my share in the company, which will be distributed to them and their mothers along with any estate I may have, according to their legal shares. Fourth: In my understanding—and I may be wrong—even if the value of the sons’ and daughters’ shares were a gift and donation from me to them, is it not supposed that I should equalize between them in the giving? I mean: between the sons and daughters during their lifetime, as long as they are all my sons and daughters, or is it that even in giving and donation, the rule (to the male the share of two females) must be applied? And so, is it obligatory for me to make the share of the male sons in the company double the share of the daughters, or is there no harm in their being equal in shares? I ask you to kindly issue a fatwa to me on the Shari’ah perspective in this matter; in order to preserve giving every right-holder his right. May Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with, and grant you abundant good and reward; for in clarifying the Shari’ah perspective in this matter lies the resolution of my case and many similar cases.
A: If the reality is as mentioned in the question and in the attached company regulations—then it is a valid transaction, and it is not obligatory to make the share of the males in the company double the share of the females; because what they paid into the company from their
own money, as stated in the question. However, if the money is from you, then it is obligatory for you to give the male the share of two females, like in inheritance, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars; because this division is what Allah the Exalted has approved for them in inheritance, and a gift is like that. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: By the might of Allah, I have resolved to establish a commercial, agricultural, and industrial company. The partners in it are: myself, my first wife, from whom I have an adult male son of eighteen years, and three daughters, all of whom are minors; and my second wife, from whom I have a young male son who is currently four years old and one daughter younger than him. I inform you that my wife is under my protection, praise be to Allah. The company’s capital is one million Saudi riyals, divided into ten thousand shares, the value of each share being one hundred Saudi riyals, according to the following:
The father: he has 5000 shares, valued at 500,000 riyals. The first wife: 1000 shares, valued at 100,000 riyals. The second wife: 1000 shares, valued at 100,000 riyals. And the sons and daughters, all of them, each has five hundred shares, the value of each share being fifty thousand Saudi riyals. That is, they are all equal in shares, with no difference between the male and the female, for the following reasons: First: The funds that each son and daughter contributed are from their own money, meaning: everything that was gifted to them since their birth by their grandfather, grandmother, uncles, and maternal uncles, which I have collected for each of them over the years of their lives; therefore, these are their rights that belong to them, and I am merely a trustee over them by virtue of compulsory guardianship. Second: I did not follow the rule of estate distribution and inheritance (to the male the share of two females); because this money is not an estate, nor inheritance, but rather rights that belong to each son and daughter; no one shares in them with them, not their mothers nor I, their father. Third: What will be distributed to them as an estate and inheritance in the event of my death is only
my share in the company, which will be distributed to them and their mothers along with any estate I may have, according to their legal shares. Fourth: In my understanding—and I may be wrong—even if the value of the sons’ and daughters’ shares were a gift and donation from me to them, is it not supposed that I should equalize between them in the giving? I mean: between the sons and daughters during their lifetime, as long as they are all my sons and daughters, or is it that even in giving and donation, the rule (to the male the share of two females) must be applied? And so, is it obligatory for me to make the share of the male sons in the company double the share of the daughters, or is there no harm in their being equal in shares? I ask you to kindly issue a fatwa to me on the Shari’ah perspective in this matter; in order to preserve giving every right-holder his right. May Allah guide you to what He loves and is pleased with, and grant you abundant good and reward; for in clarifying the Shari’ah perspective in this matter lies the resolution of my case and many similar cases.
A: If the reality is as mentioned in the question and in the attached company regulations—then it is a valid transaction, and it is not obligatory to make the share of the males in the company double the share of the females; because what they paid into the company from their
own money, as stated in the question. However, if the money is from you, then it is obligatory for you to give the male the share of two females, like in inheritance, according to the most correct opinion of the scholars; because this division is what Allah the Exalted has approved for them in inheritance, and a gift is like that. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.