Inheritance and family rights: the series map
This series map gathers four posts from The El Fatwa Library on inheritance shares, gifts, bequests, and a still-undivided estate.
Why this matters in my religion
An inheritance touches grief, money, and family loyalty all at once. Shares, customs, gifts made in life, and a will can all pull against each other.
This library does not divide your estate for you. It names the terms involved and links you to the fuller, sourced answer for each. Read the one that matches your stage in the process.
The idea, simply
Four posts, covering shares, gifts, bequests, and an estate still undivided.
- Daughters and land: does custom change inheritance shares? It turns on *faraid*, the fixed inheritance shares, against local custom.
- Gift, bequest and inheritance: what is the difference? It separates *hibah*, a gift, from *wasiyyah*, a bequest, and *mirath*, inheritance itself, since each behaves differently at death.
- We inherited a house among many siblings. How is it divided? It turns on *tarikah*, the estate, and how shared ownership actually splits.
- Our father died and the estate is undivided: where to start? It turns on the same tarikah, and what to gather before dividing it.
One idea runs under all four: an estate is counted and named before it is divided.
From life
A father's land is divided among his children after he dies. His daughters are offered a smaller share, and relatives call it local custom. Their question is Daughters and land: does custom change inheritance shares?
A mother signs a paper naming one son before she passes away. Her other children are not sure if that paper was a gift, a bequest, or nothing at all. Their question is Gift, bequest and inheritance: what is the difference?
Months after their father's funeral, the siblings still share one bank account. No one has listed what he owned or who his actual heirs are. Their question is Our father died and the estate is undivided: where to start?
What does this require of me?
- List everything the person owned and everything they owed at death.
- Confirm who counts as an heir before anyone divides anything.
- Bring any signed paper: a gift, a will, or a waiver.
- Separate what custom expects from what the shares actually require.
- A mufti needs the full family list, not just your side of it.
- Ask specifically about your country's inheritance law alongside the religious shares.
When do I need to ask a scholar?
Ask when a signed paper's timing or intent is genuinely unclear. Ask when custom and the fixed shares point in different directions. Ask when the family list of heirs itself is disputed. Ask when a sibling refuses to cooperate with dividing the estate.
This library does not calculate anyone's share. Bring the full estate to a mufti through Ask.