An inheritance not distributed a long time ago
14-4-2008 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalamu Alikum(WRB) Dear Sir, It will be greatful if you advise me on this matter to come up with a solution to share our small property decended from our deceased parents. a) We have some ancesteral property-a piece of house land with mud house and a cultivation land. * The land with the mud house is from our grandparents * The crop land was purchased by our father with his own earning and is registered under my mother's name. * My parents are deceased already * We are Four brothers and an eldest sister are total five members. The main thing to consider is 'my mother was married with my uncle first and have a girl and a boy (two children) then my uncle had passed away leaving my young mother and children alone. Then my mother was married to my father who is my uncle's younger brother because of her young age. Then we are three brothers born and we are all the five children grown with my mother lived in the same house. Now we are five children only remain, all are married, and there is no any conflict or dispute between us but living in different places leaving the home to my younger brother. As we are ageing, we plan to share this property. Please advise how to share this property through shariya rules. Shukranlakum...Zizakkallah khair Wassalam
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Being determined to divide the inheritance is the right thing to do and a correct step because delaying the division of inheritance may lead to dissension and disputes among the heirs especially if the division is delayed for a very long period of time. However, the information with which you provided us is not enough for us to clarify how the inheritance should be divided. For instance, you did not mention whether it was your father or your mother who died first.
Therefore, we advise you to take the matter to an Islamic court or present it orally (in person) to a scholar so that the number of heirs could be determined and who died first and who died last is clarified. The second alternative is to provide us with complete information about the issue, and whether your grandfather and grandmother (the father and mother of your father) were alive when he died; the same thing applies to your mother. The matter of inheritance is very complex an issue and no mistake should be made when dividing it.