Distribution Of Estate

QUESTION:

A lady passed away and is survived by her husband, 2 adult sons and 1 adult daughter. Two rings, one pair of earrings and one sole earring make up her jewellery. She also left behind personal clothing and items, and appliances. Her daughter expressed an interest in buying the earrings. How do we go about settling the estate?

ANSWER:

According to the Islamic law of succession, the estate will be dissolved in the following manner:

a) The burial expenses will be paid by the husband.
b) Any debts incurred by the deceased which still remain outstanding, will be settled.
c) Any bequests made by the deceased will be settled from 1/3 of the remainder. (i.e. the remainder after off–setting the debts and paying burial expenses).
d) The remainder will be distributed amongst the legal heirs according to the Quraan and Sunnah as calculated below:

HUSBAND: 5 shares (25%)
SON 1: 6 shares (30%)
SON 2: 6 shares (30%)
DAUGHTER: 3 shares (15%)
TOTAL: 20 shares (100%)

If any of the heirs are interested in buying the jewellery, they should buy it at market value. The monies received from it can then be divided between the heirs. If the heirs only want to buy a specific piece of jewellery, then they should buy it at market value and the remaining portion should be sold to a jeweller. The proceeds received will then be distributed according to Shariah as stated in the table above.

The same method should be used for the appliances, etc., that is, if any of the heirs are interested in buying the appliances, they may buy it and the monies received must be distributed pro rata or it may be sold to anyone else.

May Allah Ta’ala grant the Marhoomah Jannatul Firdaus, Aameen!

ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!

ANSWERED BY:

Mufti Abdul Kader Fazlani

Date: 13 Muharram 1448 / 30 June 2026

CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:

Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb