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Is my sister entitled to inherit the house in which my father housed me, or should I waive my share in a piece of land belonging to my father?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a father houses his daughter in his home without explicitly stating that he has transferred ownership to her, then she is not entitled to own the house to the exclusion of the other heirs, and her sister will inherit with her in it. However, if he explicitly states that he has transferred ownership to her, then mere housing does not constitute ownership unless lawful possession was established before his death. It is not permissible for a father to dedicate a gift to one child over the others; rather, he must be fair among them, based on the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) saying: "Fear Allah and be just among your children." If a father favors one of his children with a gift without a legitimate Islamic justification, he sins, and he must repent and either return the surplus he gave to some or give the others what completes their share. If the father dies before rectifying the gift, then it becomes effective upon his death, according to the more preponderant opinion.

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

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