A man whose grandfather was afflicted with cancer and sent to London for treatment, and during his journey the grandfather’s wealth went to one of his relatives who was willing to accept a third of his money for the man’s maternal uncle, and when he returned to

The questioner : My grandfather was afflicted with cancer, and after the disease had progressed, he traveled with my maternal uncle to London for treatment. During his journey, my grandfather said to one of our relatives: “I bequeath a third of my wealth to my maternal uncle.” When he returned to Kuwait, he did not mention anything about this bequest until he passed away fifteen days later. The case was referred to the court for review, where my mother, my grandmother, and my maternal aunts agreed to give the third to my maternal uncle in the presence of the judge. However, my maternal uncle said: “The house, which is the residence of my grandfather and my grandfather’s sons, is included in the third.” My question is: Is this bequest valid? What must the heirs do? And is the house in which we, the heirs, reside considered part of the bequest? We ask for guidance.

The Shaykh : The guidance in this answer is that since the matter has been brought to the court, let the court complete all aspects related to this case. If the heirs wish not to bring the matter to the court again and desire to reconcile among themselves, there is no blame on them for reconciling on whatever they agree upon, provided they are adults of sound mind.
If they do not reconcile, then your maternal grandfather’s bequest to your maternal uncle is an invalid bequest, except for what the heirs approve of, because he, meaning your maternal uncle, is one of the heirs. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So we say: The house in which the heirs or some of them reside is under the authority of the heirs if there is no reconciliation. If they approve the bequest to their partner in inheritance, and they are adults of sound mind, then this bequest is executed regarding this house, and the beneficiary is given his third. If they do not approve it, the matter is up to them.
In summary, I say: The court, as it began the case, should complete it. If that does not happen, then reconciliation is according to what they agree upon, provided they are adults of sound mind. If they do not agree on anything, then a bequest to an heir is not valid except with the approval of the other heirs. If the heirs do not approve the house being included in the bequest, there is no blame on them, and the house becomes shared among them as an inheritance partnership.