His wife wants to make a will of her property to her children
10-4-2007 | IslamWeb
Question:
My wife has self aquired property and wishes to will most of her property during life time as per her choice and also believes in equal share to male and female child. She would like to know if it is Islamically a sin if she does so? Moreover it is not any ancestral property. Is there any difference in sharing of a father's property and a mother's property?
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.
If your wife wants to make a will of her property to her heirs after her death, then this is not acceptable as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam , said: "Allaah has given each one his right and there is no will for an heir." [An-Nasaa'i] It is not permissible for anyone to make a will of his wealth to his heirs after his death. However, she is permitted to gift them in her life whatever she wishes as discussed in Fatwa 81796.
In addition to this, the father is required to be just when gifting his sons and daughters [i.e., gift them equally], similarly, the mother is required to be just when gifting her children - males and females - as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ''Fear Allaah and be just between your children." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Furthermore, there is no difference between the inheritance of the mother and that of the father in dividing it among their children. The inheritance of the father and that of the mother should both be divided according to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, unless one of the heirs renounces his right or share of the inheritance, and provided he is pubescent and has sound reasoning.