Should the 'Umra be given to the heirs?

An 'umra' (life tenancy) is when a man says: "I grant you this house for your lifetime," or "It is yours for my lifetime," or "as long as you live," or "for the duration of your life." It requires offer, acceptance, and possession, like other gifts. Scholars have differed on whether the 'umra' reverts to the grantor upon the death of the grantee. Some have held that it constitutes ownership of both the usufruct and the underlying property, thus passing to the grantee's heirs after his death. This is the view of Jabir ibn Abdullah, Ibn Umar, Al-Shafi'i, and the jurists of opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y).

Conversely, Malik and Al-Layth said that it is merely ownership of the usufruct, and therefore it reverts to the grantor upon the death of the grantee. If it is stated: "for him and his descendants," then they have the right to reside in it, and it then reverts to the grantor upon their extinction.

The correct view is that it constitutes ownership of both the underlying property and the usufruct, based on the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Indeed, whoever grants a life tenancy ('umra'), it belongs to the one to whom it was granted, alive and dead, and to his descendants." Narrated by Muslim. Accordingly, an 'umra' is inherited by the heirs of the grantee.