Inheritance and Trust
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[The Woman's Right to Inheritance]
Question: In our country, there is a custom when a man passes away and leaves behind daughters and sons who have an inheritance from him,The custom: which is to ask the daughters to relinquish their inheritance, and they usually relinquish it out of politeness and modesty. What is the ruling on this custom? It happened to me and my two brothers; our two sisters relinquished their share of the inheritance, and we, the males, took it. Is there any sin on us for that?
Answer: The ruling is that this action is not permissible. Pressuring the daughters until they leave their inheritance to their brothers is not permissible, especially since you mentioned that they leave it out of modesty and politeness. This makes it close to coercion, so such an action is not permissible. Rather, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has given the daughters their right,As He, the Exalted, said: [Surat al-Nisa: 11], so Allah, Exalted and Majestic is He, has made a share of the inheritance for the daughters, and He has made a share of the inheritance for the sons. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 2870Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani), and a daughter may be in greater need of the inheritance than a son, because of her weakness and inability to earn, unlike the son, who is able to earn, travel, and seek sustenance.
In any case: This action is not permissible. It is not right to take advantage of women, overpower them, and take their share, even if it is in the form of a gift from them, because they do not give it willingly, but rather they give it, as you mentioned, out of modesty and politeness.
[Inheritance and Trust]
Question: My brother passed away and left a sum of money with me, amounting to eighty thousand riyals, as a trust in my possession. He had a son and a daughter. One of his children came to me and asked for that amount, but I denied it, claiming that he had gifted it to me and that my brother knew of this.Then the daughter came and said: My father left it as a trust with you. After a while, I feared that Allah would take revenge on me because of the trust I had carried, so I distributed the aforementioned amount equally between them, giving the son the same as I gave the daughter, forty thousand riyals to each.So I asked one of the scholars, and he said: You have sinned in this distribution, and it is forbidden for you. Is what this scholar said correct or not? And what must I do now?
Answer: First: Your delay in the rights of the heirs is something that is not permissible for you. Rather, it is obligatory to perform the trust for its owners.
Second: Your distribution of the money equally between the male and the female,And they are not equal in the ruling of Allah, as He, the Exalted, said: [Surat al-Nisa: 11], so if the children are males and females, the male has the share of two females, and it is not permissible to equal the male with the female. What you must do now is to rectify this matter. If possible, you are required to take back the excess from the daughter and give it to her brother. You are required to do this, or if her brother permits her to keep her right, then there is no harm in that either.
As for if he does not permit her to keep her right, and you are unable to take back the excess from the daughter, then you must pay the son what completes his share. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Question: Should she have assumed there were three of them and given the son the right of two from this eighty thousand, with the rest for the daughter?
Answer: Yes, if there are no other heirs besides them. The important thing is that the male has the share of two females, whether in this eighty thousand if there are no others, or in their share of it.
Question: Even if their father left this amount as a trust with her to deliver it to them after his death?
Answer: Yes, it is considered inheritance after their father's death.
Question: In our country, there is a custom when a man passes away and leaves behind daughters and sons who have an inheritance from him,The custom: which is to ask the daughters to relinquish their inheritance, and they usually relinquish it out of politeness and modesty. What is the ruling on this custom? It happened to me and my two brothers; our two sisters relinquished their share of the inheritance, and we, the males, took it. Is there any sin on us for that?
Answer: The ruling is that this action is not permissible. Pressuring the daughters until they leave their inheritance to their brothers is not permissible, especially since you mentioned that they leave it out of modesty and politeness. This makes it close to coercion, so such an action is not permissible. Rather, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has given the daughters their right,As He, the Exalted, said:
Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ فَإِنْ كُنَّ نِسَاءً فَوْقَ اثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ وَاحِدَةً فَلَهَا النِّصْفُAllah has appointed for everyone who has a right what is due to him
إن الله قد أعطى كل ذي حق حقهIn any case: This action is not permissible. It is not right to take advantage of women, overpower them, and take their share, even if it is in the form of a gift from them, because they do not give it willingly, but rather they give it, as you mentioned, out of modesty and politeness.
[Inheritance and Trust]
Question: My brother passed away and left a sum of money with me, amounting to eighty thousand riyals, as a trust in my possession. He had a son and a daughter. One of his children came to me and asked for that amount, but I denied it, claiming that he had gifted it to me and that my brother knew of this.Then the daughter came and said: My father left it as a trust with you. After a while, I feared that Allah would take revenge on me because of the trust I had carried, so I distributed the aforementioned amount equally between them, giving the son the same as I gave the daughter, forty thousand riyals to each.So I asked one of the scholars, and he said: You have sinned in this distribution, and it is forbidden for you. Is what this scholar said correct or not? And what must I do now?
Answer: First: Your delay in the rights of the heirs is something that is not permissible for you. Rather, it is obligatory to perform the trust for its owners.
Second: Your distribution of the money equally between the male and the female,And they are not equal in the ruling of Allah, as He, the Exalted, said:
Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females
يُوصِيكُمُ اللَّهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِAs for if he does not permit her to keep her right, and you are unable to take back the excess from the daughter, then you must pay the son what completes his share. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Question: Should she have assumed there were three of them and given the son the right of two from this eighty thousand, with the rest for the daughter?
Answer: Yes, if there are no other heirs besides them. The important thing is that the male has the share of two females, whether in this eighty thousand if there are no others, or in their share of it.
Question: Even if their father left this amount as a trust with her to deliver it to them after his death?
Answer: Yes, it is considered inheritance after their father's death.