A person died leaving behind wealth, and it became widely known that it was an endowment. Is it to be distributed among the heirs?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, my father passed away, and I was entrusted with a sum of 130,000 riyals for his aunt, which is the value of a house that was sold three years ago. What should I do with this amount, given that it has not been established that this house was an endowment, as is the common understanding among everyone?
The Shaykh : If it is not established that it is an endowment, meaning a public benefit, then it is inheritance.
The questioner : Should I divide it among the heirs?
The Shaykh : It is to be distributed according to the woman’s inheritance share, is she not a woman?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is to be distributed among them, unless it is established that it is a public benefit.
The questioner : It is the common understanding among people that it is a public benefit.
The Shaykh : Is it well-known among everyone?
The questioner : It is known by custom among the elderly and the young that it is a public benefit, but there is no one to testify to it.
The Shaykh : Nothing contradicts it; rather, it is widely reported among them that it is an endowment.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, then we say to the heirs: Since it is widely reported, the scrupulousness in your case is not to take it. Let it be used for the construction of a mosque, and the matter is concluded.
The Shaykh : If it is not established that it is an endowment, meaning a public benefit, then it is inheritance.
The questioner : Should I divide it among the heirs?
The Shaykh : It is to be distributed according to the woman’s inheritance share, is she not a woman?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is to be distributed among them, unless it is established that it is a public benefit.
The questioner : It is the common understanding among people that it is a public benefit.
The Shaykh : Is it well-known among everyone?
The questioner : It is known by custom among the elderly and the young that it is a public benefit, but there is no one to testify to it.
The Shaykh : Nothing contradicts it; rather, it is widely reported among them that it is an endowment.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, then we say to the heirs: Since it is widely reported, the scrupulousness in your case is not to take it. Let it be used for the construction of a mosque, and the matter is concluded.