Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-rashid, proprietor of Maktabatul Imam Shafi'i Riyadh is my friend. During my stay in the companionship of Hadhrat Shaikh Abdul Fattah Abu Guddah r.a., I passed a few days in his house. I also had a relationship with his father. A few months later, Abdullah Al-rashid died in a road accident. I participated in his bathing and burial. Masha Allah, Abdullah's house was quite big. The house of his eldest son Muhammad Arrshid was next to his house. I stayed in the library of that house for a few days.

About four and a half months after his father's death one day I met him. He said, l would go to meet my mother.

I said, her house is next to your door!

He said, now she does not live here. She went to her own place as soon as period of al-iddah was completed.

I said, why?

He replied that it was my father's house. After his death, now it belongs to his heirs. So how can she stay here before the distribution of inheritance? Is not it a sin?

What I mean by telling this story is how lively their feelings are and how careful they are about other's rights and transactions. However, in our Indian subcontinent people are very indifferent regarding inheritance distribution. Distribution of inheritance is very important in Shariah; delaying in it is a sin- maybe they have no idea about it!!

One can learn a lot from this story. In fact, there are very few people among us who think about it properly. We do not think- how great this sin is and how many sins are caused by this sin i.e. sin of delay in the distribution of the inheritance.

The law of Shariah is that after the death of someone, the rights of all the heirs are attached to his inheritance. That is why it is important to find time and opportunity to distribute the inheritance among the heirs according to Shariah after the burial of the deceased.

However, three things are important to be noted before distribution of inheritance-

First, whether the deceased is a man or a woman, it is good if someone willingly pays for his burial. Otherwise, funeral expenses will be paid moderately from the property left by the deceased.

Second, if the deceased owes to someone, his debt will be repaid from his assets before distribution of his inheritance. The wife's dowry (mahr) is also included in the loan. If the dowry or part of the dowry remains unpaid, that too has to be repaid from the property left behind.

It must be remembered that if the husband makes the wife forgive the dowry by force or if she forgives it due to customs of the society, it will not be forgiven. In this case, mahr will be included in the loan. Similarly, after the death of the husband, if his heirs make the wife forgive the dowry by force, that will not be forgiven either.

There is no problem if the wife spontaneously gives up the entire mahr or part of it with pleasure without facing any pressure. However, it should be remembered that if she gives up the right of Mahr under pressure, it will not be accepted.

Pressure can be of many types. For example, intimidation or putting to shame or withholding any of rights- all these acts are one kind of pressures.

A very important debt among the debts of the deceased is that if his sisters were not given their due shares from his father's inheritance, or if his aunts (father's sisters) were not given their due shares from his grandfather's inheritance, then the share of the deceased's sisters or aunts, movable or immovable, has been contributed to the deceased's share. It is a debt of the dead person. Therefore, before the inheritance is distributed among the heirs, it is obligatory to repay this debt.

In a word, if there are assets left by the deceased, his debt should not be unpaid. The inheritance will be distributed among the heirs only when all his debts are paid and the issues mentioned above are also resolved.

Third, if the deceased makes a valid bequest it will be met from one-third of his inheritance. Bequeathing more than one-third will not be fulfilled.

One-third of Mirath means one-third of the wealth that will remain after fulfilling the rights mentioned in number one and two.

Which bequeath is permissible and which is not permissible it is mentioned in the book of Fiqh-Fatwa. If someone needs it, he should ask the scholars.

After fulfilling these three rights, whatever is left from the inheritance, whether it is more or less, it is obligatory to distribute it among the heirs.

Anything left behind by the deceased is included in the inheritance

Inheritance includes not only money and land; rather, it includes whatever the dead person leaves behind. Nothing can be separated from inheritance. For example-

1. Personal belongings

The deceased's clothes, shoes, utensils, watches, bicycle, motorcycle, car, furniture, bookshelf and other useful items are also included in inheritance.

Surprisingly people do not consider these items used by the deceased as parts of inheritance. They take them without the consent of the other partners. Remember, this kind of acts is absolutely impermissible. Our teacher Hadhrat Shaikhul Islam Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani Damat Barakatuhum said in one of his speeches, 'After the death of my father, my Shaikh Hadhrat Doctor Abdul Hai Arifi Sahib came to express his condolences. The burial of my father was still not over. Hadhrat's health was not very good at that time. He was quite weak. Abbajan had some energizing halwa that he used to eat. We presented it in front of him and said, Hadhrat eat it, the weakness will go away. Hadhrat Doctor Abdul Hai Arefi Sahib said, brother, it is not permissible for me to eat from this halwa now. Now the heirs own it. It is not lawful for me to eat it until I have obtained the permission of all the heirs. We said, every one of the heirs is adult and all are present here. Everyone happily agreed. So you can eat, no problem. Finally he ate.' (Islahi Khutubat, vol. 11, pp. 271-272)

2. Household Furniture

All household furniture belonging to the deceased will be included in the inheritance.

3. Things that came into the possession of the deceased before death through gift or donation are included in his inheritance.

4. Earning tools

All the earning tools of the deceased, which were owned by him, are included in inheritance. 

5. Wife's mahr

If the deceased is female, her mahr is a part of her inheritance.

6. Lands and houses

It is known to all that all the lands of the deceased (be it agricultural or residential, cultivated or uncultivated) and all the houses, plots and flats are included in the inheritance. It also includes the land that he purchased in his own name and the one that he purchased in the name of another for any reason. Writing someone else's name on the document for some reason does not make him the owner of the thing.

If the deceased had bequeathed or gifted any land or house to anyone during his lifetime, but he did not hand it over to him before death, then it will also be included in his mirath. Hiba does not make someone the owner of the thing until it is handed over.

7. Money deposited

Money deposited in the bank and capital invested in the company or business are parts of the inheritance.

8. Things lent by the deceased

Whatever the deceased lent to people is counted in inheritance. When it is repaid, it will be distributed among the heirs according to their shares.

9. Goods lent or rented

If the deceased rented or lent any of his property to someone, it would be considered as inheritance.

10. Copyright

The right to write and publish a book, as well as the right to invent or discover something and other such rights which are considered assets in the eyes of Shari'ah will also be included in the inheritance.

11.  Inheritance that the deceased got from relatives

The relatives whom the deceased inherited during his lifetime, but did not get his share from their inheritance, it is still his right. Whenever it is recovered, it becomes part of the deceased's inheritance and distributed among his heirs.

12. Funds received from government or companies

Money paid to employees after retirement or death is also included in inheritance.

However, money specifically paid to a relative of an employee is the personal property of that relative; it will not be part of the inheritance. For example, pension issued to the deceased's wife, children's education allowance, house or medical facilities etc.

In a word, everything left by the deceased will be included in the inheritance.

Note:

It is important to note that if the deceased has any deposit (al-amanah) with him, or if he has borrowed something from someone, or if he has taken someone's property unjustly, then these will not be included in inheritance. They will never be distributed as inheritance. Even if they are distributed, the heirs will not own them.

It is an irrevocable law of Islamic Shari'ah that one cannot get the ownership of an illegally acquired property by change of hands.

Similarly, if there is anything haram in the money, land and house left by the deceased, that will not be included in the inheritance. If the identity of its owner is known, it should be returned to him. If the identity of the owner is not known, it should be given to people who are eligible to receive charity without the intention of reward. When such haram things are distributed, everyone should return his portion to the owner (if the owner is known) or he should give it to poor  without the intention of reward.

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