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Does the second wife have the right to claim inheritance, knowing that she received money, properties, and gifts from the deceased husband during his lifetime?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a father gifts something to his second wife during his lifetime, the validity and enforceability of this gift depend on two conditions: that it was not given during a death-sickness (marad al-mawt), and that the wife took full possession of it during his lifetime. If the gift was made during a death-sickness, it takes the ruling of a bequest (waṣiyyah) and is not enforceable for an heir. If he gifted it to her, but the wife did not take possession of it until the father died, then the gift is not carried out, and the wealth is divided as part of the inheritance among the heirs.

However, if the father gave her this money as her share of the inheritance before his death, this is not permissible Islamically because inheritance only occurs after the death of the inheritor. In this case, this money must be added to the inheritance and distributed among the heirs.

Similarly, the family home acquired by the mother is included in the inheritance and distributed among the heirs.

Given the complexity and intricacy of inheritance matters, one should not rely solely on a fatwa. Instead, the matter should be referred to Sharia courts or specialized Islamic centers to ensure the correct distribution of the inheritance and to settle any debts or bequests that take precedence over the rights of the heirs.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy