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Inheritance Dispute: Small Paternal House and Unwilling Uncle

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Muftionline.co.za

Q: I have a question regarding Inheritance. My grandfather had 5 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in a small house consisting of only one room. My two uncles were living in grandfather’s house, one occupied the room and another made a machaan. Two uncles moved out and got their own house. My father got job in army and moved from one place to another. Finally my parents decided to settle in another city. Out of the two uncles living in grandfather’s house, one moved to another house after his children got married. Only one uncle is living in this house with his youngest son. Elder son is well off and has got many houses but my uncle insists on living in this paternal house. Now comes the question of inheritance. My father moved out due to job and then settled in another city as per demands of family and children. Also the paternal house is very small, that’s why one uncle decided to move to his son’s house. Now when my father and others demand their share in the house, the uncle living in this house is not willing to sell it or give share to his brothers/brother’s family. He says that as everyone moved out and only he is living in this house then there is no share for others. Out of the 7 children, only 3 are living including my father. Both the daughters and 2 brothers are dead. This inheritance issue is causing bad blood between brothers and brother’s children. I request you to reply as soon as possible as what should be the solution to this problem.

Bismillaah

A: The house forms part of your grandfather’s estate. Hence, if all his children were alive at the time of his death, each one of them will have a share in the house. We understand that your grandfather had 5 sons and 2 daughters. Hence his estate will be divided into 12 equal shares and distributed as follows:

Each son will receive 2 shares.

Each daughter will receive 1 share.

And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)

This answer was collected from MuftiOnline.co.za, where the questions have been answered by Mufti Zakaria Makada (Hafizahullah), who is currently a senior lecturer in the science of Hadith and Fiqh at Madrasah Ta’leemuddeen, Isipingo Beach, South Africa.

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