What is the ruling regarding the father's inheritance that he described as "unlawful 'Zaqqum' for you" before his death?

The father's statement to his children that everything he left them is forbidden to them can be interpreted in two ways:

1. That all his wealth was acquired through unlawful means. 2. That he does not mean that, but rather that he himself is forbidding it to them.

If it is the first case, then unlawful wealth does not become permissible for his heirs upon his death. Rather, they must return it to its rightful owner if known, or to his heirs. If the owner is not known, then it should be given in charity with the intention that the reward goes to its true owner, or spent on matters beneficial to Muslims with the same intention. If the heirs do not know the truth of what the father said, there is a difference of opinion on the matter: some say they should give a third of the wealth in charity, while others say all of it.

However, if the father did not mean that the the wealth was originally unlawful, but rather he himself was forbidding it to his children to prevent them from benefiting from it, then this prohibition has no legal weight, and the wealth is to be divided among the legal heirs.