A man passed away leaving a house, and his wife said it was an endowment, but there are no documents to prove it. The house has fallen into disrepair and is currently unused, and some of his daughters are in need. What should be done?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Your Eminence, my father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away and left us a house in which we lived for a period of time. My mother recalls that before his death, my father dedicated one-third of what was behind it as a sacrifice and for the Isha prayer, but there are no documents proving that it was an endowment. This house has fallen into disrepair and is now of no use. We currently have a sum of money that we inherited from our father, but this amount is not enough to build this house. Furthermore, some of my sisters are in urgent need of money; their circumstances are difficult, and they are pressing me to distribute this money. What should be done, may Allah preserve you, regarding this house and this money? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : As for the money, the money you found after your father’s death is an estate, and it is obligatory that it be distributed to those who are entitled to it. As for the house, it has not been established as an endowment by a valid legal proof, because a woman’s testimony does not establish an endowment. However, if it is most likely in your opinion that your mother was certain of this matter, then it is obligatory for you to keep away from this house and consider it an endowment as your mother stated. If it is currently unused, you should obtain permission from the court to sell it, and its price should be used for building mosques, because building mosques is better than a sacrifice or Isha prayer that comes to a person year after year. Unless he said that it was an endowment for my children, in which case it is sold and a house is bought with the proceeds to be an endowment as specified by the father.
The questioner : And the well, Your Eminence?
The Shaykh : The well belongs to its owners. It remains in this house even if you sell it. The buyer must be informed that there is a well in it.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Your Eminence, my father (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away and left us a house in which we lived for a period of time. My mother recalls that before his death, my father dedicated one-third of what was behind it as a sacrifice and for the Isha prayer, but there are no documents proving that it was an endowment. This house has fallen into disrepair and is now of no use. We currently have a sum of money that we inherited from our father, but this amount is not enough to build this house. Furthermore, some of my sisters are in urgent need of money; their circumstances are difficult, and they are pressing me to distribute this money. What should be done, may Allah preserve you, regarding this house and this money? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : As for the money, the money you found after your father’s death is an estate, and it is obligatory that it be distributed to those who are entitled to it. As for the house, it has not been established as an endowment by a valid legal proof, because a woman’s testimony does not establish an endowment. However, if it is most likely in your opinion that your mother was certain of this matter, then it is obligatory for you to keep away from this house and consider it an endowment as your mother stated. If it is currently unused, you should obtain permission from the court to sell it, and its price should be used for building mosques, because building mosques is better than a sacrifice or Isha prayer that comes to a person year after year. Unless he said that it was an endowment for my children, in which case it is sold and a house is bought with the proceeds to be an endowment as specified by the father.
The questioner : And the well, Your Eminence?
The Shaykh : The well belongs to its owners. It remains in this house even if you sell it. The buyer must be informed that there is a well in it.