Fatwa #1887413 August 2010South Africa
can you please clarify this issue on inheritance;a mother passes away, leaving behind a husband and 3 daughters.
Question
can you please clarify this issue on inheritance;
a mother passes away, leaving behind a husband and 3 daughters. she has no parents but has 3 sisters and 2 brothers. she only owns half of a home that is bonded as both she and her husband jointly owns the house. there is still a balance on the house due to the bank but her husband has not worked in over 10 years and she has been paying the bond from her salary and has provided the needs of the household. the only other monies available would be a complusory pension that she had to belong to as part of her employment contract. therefore, the company shall pay out the lump sum benefits to her children and husband. she has indicated in the pension document that her children and husband should be given 25% each.
Answer
In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātuh
The entire Estate of the deceased (including the portion of the house, and the pension money) must be summed up, and divided into 252 equal shares and distributed amongst the heirs as follows;
The husband will receive 63 shares
Each daughter will receive 56 shares
Each brother will receive 6 shares
Each sister will receive 3 shares
As for the house, whether the deceased will own half of the house or pro rata her payment to the Bank, it will depend on the agreement between the deceased and her husband.
And Allāh Ta῾āla Knows Best
Wassalāmu ῾alaykum
Ml. Abduz Zaman,
Student Dārul Iftā
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Dārul Iftā