Will the deceased be punished if he left money to his heirs, while he owed a debt that he had not settled from his own money, especially if his wife and children refused to settle their share of this debt?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Deposits and trusts held by the deceased are not inherited. The heirs must use these to pay off the deceased's debts before distributing the inheritance, because debts take precedence over the rights of heirs. The debt must be paid immediately, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The soul of a believer is suspended by his debt until it is paid off." If the deceased made his brothers witnesses to a trust, then they must pay it off and not allow the wife or other heirs to access the money until all debts have been settled.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/124737
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 124737
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy