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Fatwa CenterDistribution of property in life or death
Question
I bought a house in 1998 in Karachi in my wife's name. I have one son and three daughters. As per Islamic and Qur'anic laws, I would like to know how the cost of the house is to be distributed: (1) while my wife and I are alive, and (2) after death of either myself or my wife, or both.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Before the death of a person his belongings are not inherited. He may give his property as gifts to anyone he wants. However, it is not allowed to prefer some children over some others in allotting donations. It is reported in Saheehain from Numan Ibn Basheer that the wife of Bashir said (to her husband): 'Give to my son your slave as a gift, and make for me Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) a witness. He came to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said: "The daughter of so and so (his wife Amrah bint Rawahah) asked me to give my slave as a gift to her son, and call for her Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as a witness. Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: "Does he have (Nu'man) brothers?" He (Bashir) said: 'Yes'. He (the Prophet) said: "Have you given to all others (his brothers) as you have given to him?" He said: 'No'. He said: "Then it is not fair; and verily I can bear witness only to what is just".
Some scholars understood that the Hadith proves prohibition of favoring some children as for as the matter of gifts is concerned, while some others are of the opinion that the Hadith denotes dislike of the action.
Therefore, you may distribute your belongings in your lifetime as you wish provided you do not favour some children over others.
You mentioned that you have purchased a house in the name of your wife. If you mean that you had purchased the house with her money or you had purchased it with your own money and then you gifted it to her, in both cases she is the owner of that house, and she is free to do with that property, as she likes during her lifetime.
On the other hand, if you had purchased the house with your own money and only registered it on your wife’s name, then the house is yours and registering it on your wife’s name does not make it hers.
As for how the property should be distributed after the death of the parents, if there are no other inheritors of the deceased person such as the father and the mother, then all the property is distributed among children and the share of a female is half the share of a male inheritor.
If a husband dies first his wife will take one eighth of the inheritance, and if a wife dies first her husband will take one fourth of the inheritance and the remaining is distributed among the children as mentioned above.
Allah knows best.
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