Rightful Heirs
QUESTION:
A woman passed away leaving behind her husband and son, who know reside with the child’s paternal grandparents. During her lifetime, the wife owned and used some baking appliances and other items which remained in the marital home. A few months after her passing, her mother (the child’s maternal grandmother) requested that these baking items be returned to her.
The husband does not wish to return them, as he would like to keep them as a momento for his son when he grows up. It is worth noting that these items belonged to the woman.
1) Islamically, should these items be given to the wife’s mother, or should they remain in the husband’s home for the child’s benefit?
2) To whom does her Mahr (a ring) belong to now since her passing? (Both her parents are alive).
ANSWER:
The directive of Shariah is that when a person passes away, his/her inheritance should be wound up as soon as possible. Whatever he/she owned will fall under his/her estate, even the household items which belonged to her.
As such, in the queried scenario, the oven and the ring will fall under her estate and will be distributed according to the Islamic shares stipulated by Shariah.
According to the Islamic law of succession, the estate will be dissolved in the following manner:
A) Any debts incurred by the deceased, and still remain outstanding, will be settled.
B) Any bequests made by the deceased will be settled from 1/3 of the remainder. (i.e. the remainder after off–setting the debts).
C) The remainder will be distributed amongst the legal heirs according to the Quraan and Sunnah. The father will get 16.67%, the mother will get 16.67%, the husband will get 25%, the son will get 41.67%.
Hence, the oven and the ring will be distributed according to the percentages mentioned above.
A simple solution is that if the husband wishes to keep the oven to show his son when he grows up, then he should buy off and pay the shares of the other heirs and it will solely belong to him. In this way, he may keep it for his son.
The same procedure may be adopted for the ring as well, if the husband wishes to keep the ring.
تتعلق بتركة الميت حقوق اربعة مرتبة الاول يبدأ بتكفينه وتجهيزه من غير تبذير ولا تقتير ثم تقضى ديونه من جميع مابقى من ماله ثم تنفذ وصاياه من تلك ما بقى بعد الدين ثم يقسم الباقي بين ورثته بالكتاب والسنة واجماع الامة
(سراجی ص ٥)
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Mufti Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: 08 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1447 / 01 September 2025
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb