السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
It’s Wednesday 27th September / 11 Rabī ul-Awwal 1445H
To Whom Does Your House Belong?
I have touched upon the issue of inheritance in a previous post. One of our biggest problems today is that we do not give this issue the attention it requires.
The day the eyes shut, of either husband or wife, there is just no clarity whatsoever of who owned what. How can the inheritors then distribute the assets left behind by the deceased?
If the husband has passed away, did he own the house he was living in with his wife and children? Was it a 50/50 share? It did the wife own it? My message today is to request that you please clarify these issues during your lifetime and make sure as many family members as possible know about it.
Have your will prepared. There is no such principle of Mas’ala in Islām that the day the husband passes away, the house they shared now belongs to the wife. No. Ownership of the house must be determined.
Nine times out of ten, it will be a shared ownership. This means that upon the passing away of the husband, his share (whether 50%, more, or less) is now part of his inheritance and has to be distributed accordingly.
Another point to bear in mind is that having names on title deeds, etc. does not confirm ownership from an Islāmic (Shar’ī) point of view. There must be very clear instructions and understanding from each individual.
Do not wait for the day when one partner or the other passes away to consult a Dārul Ifta or Mufti Ṣāḥib. Do it now whilst both of you are alive, healthy and in the right state of mind. Not just the house, but all assets.
May The Almighty grant us the correct understanding of inheritance issues, Āmeen.
جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا
Request for Du’ās
وَالسَّلَامُ Hanif Dudhwala