Is it permissible for a man who owns nothing but an apartment and a car to sell his apartment to his wife, in order to deprive his nephews of their inheritance and to alleviate the anticipated harm to his wife? Is there a sin upon him for doing so? Or is there another solution?

A distinction must be made between an absolute gift (hiba), which is an immediate transfer of ownership, and a gift that is in the nature of a bequest (wasiyya), which is a transfer of ownership contingent on the death of the donor. The ruling on a gift made during a death-bed illness (marad al-mawt) is the same as the ruling on a bequest.

If the enquirer intends to make the transfer of ownership to his wife contingent on his death before hers, then this is a bequest to an heir, which is impermissible.

However, if he intends to transfer ownership of some of his wealth to his wife immediately and definitively while he is in good health, there is no objection to that, even if his intention is to disinherit other heirs. If the wife dies before the husband, the gift becomes part of her inheritance for her heirs.

As for fictitiously selling the apartment to the wife without a price, or with an undervaluation of the price, it falls under the ruling of a gift.