What is the legal (Sharia) stance and the proper handling of the inheritance pertaining to the villa after the father's death, specifically concerning: 1. His married daughter who resides with her husband in an apartment built with his own money inside the villa? 2. His divorced daughter who resides with her mother in the villa? Knowing that the father's will stipulated that the family should not disintegrate and that the villa should remain their home, and that the remaining children reside in the villa without paying rent, should the villa be appraised and the daughter be given her share of the inheritance, or should she be given an annual rent, or how should her situation be handled?
The villa in question is an inheritance to be divided among all heirs according to Islamic law. If the owner of the villa gifted the air rights (hawāʾahā) of an apartment to the one who built it, then the apartment belongs to the builder and is not part of the inheritance. However, if he permitted him to build without an explicit gift of the air rights, then the structure is a loan (ʿāriyah) that terminates upon death, unless the period between the construction and the death of the villa's owner was short. In that case, according to some scholars, the loan continues for the period customary by common practice. Upon the termination of the loan period, the heirs pay the builder the value of the apartment, either as dismantled or standing, according to two opinions, and the apartment then belongs to all the heirs. In case of dispute, the matter must be settled by the Sharia court.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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