A man died and left two sons. He bequeathed his house to one of them, justifying this by saying that this son had helped him build it, while the other did not participate. Is this action valid?

The questioner : If you please, regarding a man who died and had two sons. After he made a bequest that the house be given to his son on the grounds that this son was the one who built the house for him, meaning he spent from his own pocket, while the other son, of course, did not help with a single qirsh. What is your opinion on this?

The Shaykh : This justification is baseless and not acceptable, unless there is a document from the state proving that the house is actually in the son's name. Even if it were in the son's name, there would be no trick by the father to register the house in the son's name on the grounds that this son spent money and the other did not. The answer, therefore, is that the house belongs to both sons, even if one spent money and the other did not, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: And in another well-known hadith he said: So what a son spends as assistance to his father is for his father. When his father dies, what he leaves behind becomes the right of all the heirs collectively.

The questioner : A question, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.

The questioner : If you please, O Shaykh.