with reference to Fatwa#: 30369, i want to clear the thing you asked.
My father died on Dec 10th, 2013, we are three borhters 28, 26 and 24.My elder brother decided itslef that not to take the father’s money ourselves, instead put it into our mother’s accountso that it will be safe.
First i thought that once i will get the share from my father’s account then i will pay off my debt, but our brother all by himself, through our lawyer, begin to transfer it all to our mother’s account, and one day before the court hearing, he told us to get ready to go to court and give bayan that we have no objection on transferring all assets to our mother’saccount, which is also joint account with my brother and virtually he has all the control.
On the other side my father has deposited money in national saving centre, after his death, we withdraw this money from there. They also gave us 6 month profit besides the real amount, which is nearly 4 lac Rps which my mother said that we will distribute it to others and doesn’t spend on our selves.
Now all the money from banks and the profit money is on our mother’s and brother’s joint account, i am clearly not gettingany money and left out with one choice, that is ask her to give me some profit money so that i can pay off my debt.
what should i do? i am very worried as i dont know when life will end, and i also heard that Prophet (s.a.w.w) did not offerthe Janaza of the one who was in debted, so should i ask her to give me money so that i can pay off my debt. is it permissible?
JAZAK ALLAH
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Brother in Islam,
May Allah grant you ease and deliver you from your difficulties.
When a Muslim passes away, his estate is to be divided according to the Sharia laws of Inheritance and Succession. No heir may deprive another heir of his/her right. If your father has been survived by only three sons and one wife, the wife (your mother) will receive 1/8th of the estate and the remainder will be shared between the sons. It was incorrect to have your share of inheritance to be transferred to your mother’s and brother’s joint account against your will and happiness. The money from your share belongs to you. Therefore, you may claim the money from your mother’s account. We advise you to diplomatically approach the situation, and take assistance from your local ‘ulamā’ as well to explain this command of Sharia to her. You may use this money to pay off your debts. If the money is insufficient, or you are unable to secure your right from your father’s estate despite ardent efforts, you may use the “profit” (in reality it is interest[1]) to pay off your debts.[2]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Hisham Dawood
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.