Ruling on a father giving wealth to his children and heirs whilst he is still alive

Question: 192033

We have a house that is comprised of two levels, an upper level and a lower level. Each level has its own door. My father and I live on the upper level, and the lower level is rented out, and my father receives the rent for it. Now my sister who lives in my grandmother’s house is demanding her share of that apartment. She says that our father is depriving her of her rights by not giving her a share of the rent.

My question is: is it permissible to share out the apartment now, when my father is still alive, in order to give each person who is entitled his rightful share of the inheritance? Please note that my mother (may Allah have mercy on her) died two years ago.

If the answer is no, then is my father obliged to give my sister her share of the money to placate her, or is he not obliged to do anything?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly:

If
the apartment referred to in the question belonged to your mother, then the
apartment must be shared out among her heirs according to the Islamic
guidelines on division of inheritance, and each person who is entitled
should be given his rightful share. In this case, your sister’s request for
her share of the house – and not just of the rent – is a legitimate
request.

But if the apartment belongs to your father, then she has no right to demand
any share of the rent of the apartment, because it is in the possession of
your father, and he may dispose of the rent just as he may dispose of any
other wealth he has, and she has no rights over her father except
maintenance, if she is not married, in which case he should spend on her as
he spends on his other children, each according to his or her need. If your
father wants to give her a gift of money or property, then he must treat her
and all her brothers and sisters fairly. As for the fact that you live in
his house, that does not give her any right to the rent of the lower
apartment, and it does not give her any right to your father’s wealth in
general, except obligatory spending on her maintenance, as referred to
above.

Secondly:

During a person’s lifetime his wealth cannot be described as an inheritance,
and those who will be given a share of it cannot be called heirs, because
the first condition of inheritance is the death of the testator. There are
two issues that are worth pointing out here:

1.If your father
wants to give his children – only – something whilst he is still alive, that
is described as a gift or present, and it is permissible for the father to
do that, but that is on condition that he treat all his children fairly,
both male and female.

2.If your father
wants to divide his property among all his heirs, it is permissible for him
to do that on condition that he does not deprive some of them and he does
not detract from their rights. However we do not encourage anyone to do
that, because of what it may cause of some of the children being tempted by
that wealth into falling short in honouring their father. Moreover, he
himself may need that wealth after it is no longer his. He may have more
children, other than those to whom he gave that wealth, in which case those
new children would be deprived of having a share of their father’s wealth
with their siblings.

It
should be noted that if handover of a gift to children is deferred until
after one dies, then it becomes a bequest, and it is proven in the hadith
that “There is no bequest to an heir.” Such a gift should be put back with
the estate and shared out according to the laws prescribed in Islam.

For more information, please see the answer to question no.
71297

And Allah knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

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