I am a woman whose husband has passed away, and I have assets consisting of several plots of land with a high financial value
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The questioner : The questioner says: I am a woman whose husband has passed away, and I have assets consisting of several plots of land with a high financial value. This woman wishes to distribute these lands among her sons during her lifetime. Among these sons is a son who is fully disabled, having passed the age of thirty.
The Shaykh: May Allah grant him health.
The questioner : He has been mentally retarded since birth, does not speak, and does not comprehend any of the affairs of this world, in the medical sense of a complete disability. My question, O honorableThe Shaykh : What should I do regarding this division as it concerns the mentally retarded son? And what is obligatory upon the guardian of this son, who is one of his brothers?
The Shaykh : What I advise her is not to divide her wealth among her sons, because she does not know what the future holds; she may perhaps need this money. If she has distributed it, she cannot get it back, because a mother is not like a father. If a father gives something to his son, he has the right to take it back. But if a mother gives something to her son and he takes possession of it, she has no right to take it back. So I do not advise her to divide her wealth among her sons. She should keep it, and give to whichever of her sons needs it. If she gives to a son for his need, she is not obligated to give to the others, because meeting a need is required. So if any of them needs it for marriage or for something he truly needs, she may give to him without his brothers. This disabled person, in his state of disability, is not in need of anything, because he eats and drinks with his family and is not in need of a car to ride in or the like. She should give him from the maintenance what he needs, and save the rest for herself. If Allah decrees her death, they will inherit it according to the share prescribed by Allah. Yes.
The Shaykh: May Allah grant him health.
The questioner : He has been mentally retarded since birth, does not speak, and does not comprehend any of the affairs of this world, in the medical sense of a complete disability. My question, O honorableThe Shaykh : What should I do regarding this division as it concerns the mentally retarded son? And what is obligatory upon the guardian of this son, who is one of his brothers?
The Shaykh : What I advise her is not to divide her wealth among her sons, because she does not know what the future holds; she may perhaps need this money. If she has distributed it, she cannot get it back, because a mother is not like a father. If a father gives something to his son, he has the right to take it back. But if a mother gives something to her son and he takes possession of it, she has no right to take it back. So I do not advise her to divide her wealth among her sons. She should keep it, and give to whichever of her sons needs it. If she gives to a son for his need, she is not obligated to give to the others, because meeting a need is required. So if any of them needs it for marriage or for something he truly needs, she may give to him without his brothers. This disabled person, in his state of disability, is not in need of anything, because he eats and drinks with his family and is not in need of a car to ride in or the like. She should give him from the maintenance what he needs, and save the rest for herself. If Allah decrees her death, they will inherit it according to the share prescribed by Allah. Yes.