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Will the son who registered the property in his name after the father's death inherit with the rest of his siblings from what remains of the estate, and is the registration of the house after the father's death considered a will, a gift, or a donation, and what is the difference in each case?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A father's bequest to one of his children for a portion of the inheritance after his death is invalid and cannot be enforced except with the consent of the heirs, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "There is no bequest for an heir."

Similarly, a father registering a house in the name of one of his children does not make the house the property of that child unless he takes possession of it during his father's lifetime and disposes of it as an owner. In that case, according to many jurists, he owns it, and the son inherits along with his siblings.

Others say that the gift (hibah) is invalid if the father does not treat his children equally. This is the more preponderant opinion, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) sayings: "Fear Allah and be just among your children," and "Indeed, I do not bear witness to injustice."

Therefore, the son must return the house to the inheritance so that it can be divided among the heirs according to Islamic law.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy