A man made an agreement with his wife that if he dies, she will inherit half of what he leaves behind, and if she dies before him, he will inherit half of what she leaves behind. What is the ruling on this?
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The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : With this low voice, I am not in a position to answer the question.
The questioner: All right.
The Shaykh : Raise your voice, yes!
The questioner : Ready, the man's voice is clear like this?
The Shaykh : The man, yes, I heard!
The questioner : A man married a woman, and she bore him children, and then she passed away. When they grew up, he married another woman, and he made an agreement with her—she bore him one or two children, I don't know, the point is, that is not the question—when he married her, he made an agreement with her that if he dies before her, he leaves, meaning she takes some of the inheritance for her, and likewise, if she dies, she leaves him half of her inheritance!
The Shaykh : What does "some of the inheritance" mean? What does the word "some" mean?
The questioner : Half as well.
The Shaykh : Does she take all of her inheritance that Allah has prescribed for her, or not?
The questioner : She takes it, and she takes half of what he has of his property?
The Shaykh : This is not permissible.
The questioner : Yes, this is not... allow me to finish the same question?
The Shaykh : There is no need to finish the question; what is built upon a defective foundation is defective!
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is built upon a defective foundation is defective, and as they say: "The content of a letter is known from its address."
The questioner : We want our hearts to be at ease.
The Shaykh : Yes, I have answered you; it is not permissible for an heir to take more than what Allah has inherited to him by virtue of a bequest or an agreement between him and the deceased!
The questioner : Hmm.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible.
The questioner : It is not permissible?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The heirs must not give her this thing that she and their father agreed upon?!
The Shaykh : It is not merely "not permissible"; it is not permissible for an heir to take an increase, even by a bequest from the deceased.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if the heirs wish to relinquish their rights, that is a different matter.
The questioner : Ah, this is what I wanted to clarify?!
The Shaykh : No, that is not what you wanted; you started your speech by saying that the couple agreed that: if the husband dies, the wife takes her prescribed inheritance and adds to it!
The questioner : And the husband likewise.
The Shaykh : And the husband likewise, it is not important; neither the husband nor the wife takes more than what is lawful for them by the Shari'ah.
The questioner : But this is the context, as the questioner assured me that I could speak to you about it.
The Shaykh : It does not concern me, my brother; I do not know you, so you cannot say, "By Allah, the questioner asked me if it was you or the questioner directly." This is the ruling of Allah!
The questioner : Correct, correct, may Allah reward you with good!
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : With this low voice, I am not in a position to answer the question.
The questioner: All right.
The Shaykh : Raise your voice, yes!
The questioner : Ready, the man's voice is clear like this?
The Shaykh : The man, yes, I heard!
The questioner : A man married a woman, and she bore him children, and then she passed away. When they grew up, he married another woman, and he made an agreement with her—she bore him one or two children, I don't know, the point is, that is not the question—when he married her, he made an agreement with her that if he dies before her, he leaves, meaning she takes some of the inheritance for her, and likewise, if she dies, she leaves him half of her inheritance!
The Shaykh : What does "some of the inheritance" mean? What does the word "some" mean?
The questioner : Half as well.
The Shaykh : Does she take all of her inheritance that Allah has prescribed for her, or not?
The questioner : She takes it, and she takes half of what he has of his property?
The Shaykh : This is not permissible.
The questioner : Yes, this is not... allow me to finish the same question?
The Shaykh : There is no need to finish the question; what is built upon a defective foundation is defective!
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is built upon a defective foundation is defective, and as they say: "The content of a letter is known from its address."
The questioner : We want our hearts to be at ease.
The Shaykh : Yes, I have answered you; it is not permissible for an heir to take more than what Allah has inherited to him by virtue of a bequest or an agreement between him and the deceased!
The questioner : Hmm.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible.
The questioner : It is not permissible?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The heirs must not give her this thing that she and their father agreed upon?!
The Shaykh : It is not merely "not permissible"; it is not permissible for an heir to take an increase, even by a bequest from the deceased.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if the heirs wish to relinquish their rights, that is a different matter.
The questioner : Ah, this is what I wanted to clarify?!
The Shaykh : No, that is not what you wanted; you started your speech by saying that the couple agreed that: if the husband dies, the wife takes her prescribed inheritance and adds to it!
The questioner : And the husband likewise.
The Shaykh : And the husband likewise, it is not important; neither the husband nor the wife takes more than what is lawful for them by the Shari'ah.
The questioner : But this is the context, as the questioner assured me that I could speak to you about it.
The Shaykh : It does not concern me, my brother; I do not know you, so you cannot say, "By Allah, the questioner asked me if it was you or the questioner directly." This is the ruling of Allah!
The questioner : Correct, correct, may Allah reward you with good!
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.