Inheritance and Profit-Sharing Partnership
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question: My father passed away, leaving behind a daughter who was three years old and a son who was four years old. Their mother has since remarried, and I have taken on the responsibility of raising them. I received my share of the inheritance after my father’s death. Now that the son and daughter have grown up and gotten married, they are demanding a share of what I have earned since my father’s death. Please note that I was the only one who participated in his earnings during his lifetime. Do they have the right to claim a share of what I earned after my father’s death, or does it belong to me alone? Please advise us. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: As for what was earned before your father’s death, your younger siblings have a share in it, because it is part of their deceased father’s estate. It was obligatory for you to account for it, tally it, and preserve it for them until they grew up, spending from it on their maintenance. If anything remains after you have spent on them, you must pay it to them when they reach maturity.
As for what you earned after your father’s death, if the capital was the capital that was with you and your father before his death, then they also have a share in its profit, because it is considered like a profit-sharing partnership (mudarabah). If the capital was from the shared funds between you and your father, they have a share in it as well. However, if it was from your personal funds and you dealt with your personal funds after your father’s death, then they have no connection to it, because it is considered your earnings and your property.
In any case, the case involves two parties, and if you return to the
Shari'ah court, it will, if Allah wills, examine the circumstances of the case and clarify the right of every person who has a right. And Allah knows best.
Answer: As for what was earned before your father’s death, your younger siblings have a share in it, because it is part of their deceased father’s estate. It was obligatory for you to account for it, tally it, and preserve it for them until they grew up, spending from it on their maintenance. If anything remains after you have spent on them, you must pay it to them when they reach maturity.
As for what you earned after your father’s death, if the capital was the capital that was with you and your father before his death, then they also have a share in its profit, because it is considered like a profit-sharing partnership (mudarabah). If the capital was from the shared funds between you and your father, they have a share in it as well. However, if it was from your personal funds and you dealt with your personal funds after your father’s death, then they have no connection to it, because it is considered your earnings and your property.
In any case, the case involves two parties, and if you return to the
Shari'ah court, it will, if Allah wills, examine the circumstances of the case and clarify the right of every person who has a right. And Allah knows best.