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Do my sisters have a right to claim a share in the house bought by my mother and given to me?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Muftisays.com
Dear Respected Ulema,
Assalamu alaikum,
I have a Fiqh question on inheritance which is causing ill feelings among my sisters and myself. Please clarify the situation based on Shariah.

I was a 12 years old boy when my mother bought a house with her money and made me a co-purchaser in the Sale Document with the condition mentioned in the document that it [the house] will be handed over to me after her death and till such time she will have living rights in the said house. Both my parents passed away recently. From my fathers property my two sisters and myself have agreed to share the wealth in the proportion of 2:1 according to the Shariah. But as regards to the house bought by my mother and which was due to me after the death of my mother, my two sisters, one younger and the other elder to me, are claiming that they too have a share in the mother’s portion of the property although my mother had documented in writing many years back that the house which she had bought would pass on to me after her death. Are my sisters justified in claiming a share in the house given to me by my mother ? Please advise how to settle the issue
Jazakallah,

Answer
Bismihi Ta’ala

If the above-mentioned is accurate, then your mothers handing the property over to you after her death is not sufficient for your ownership. Such a property must be divided amongst the legal eligible heirs. The simple reason for this is the famous Hadith of Rasoolullah Sallallahu alaihi wasallam: ” There is no Wasiyyah (bequest) for a heir”. This Hadith clearly means that a person cannot bequest anything to a heir who is already eligible. The condition of handing the home over to you after her death clearly falls under the same category, in which she is making you entitled to something of hers after her death through Wasiyyah (bequest). Had she handed it over to you in her lifetime, the case may have been different.

Being a co-purchaser at the time doesn’t make you an owner of the property during her lifetime, as you clearly stated in question that the ownership of property was going to be transferred to you only after the mothers death, and not in her lifetime.

Clauses as such would not prove effective after death. Your mothers property must be shared amongst the heirs.

And Allah knows best.

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Mufti Yaseen Shaikh

Original Source Link

This answer was collected from MuftiSays.com, based in London (UK). It is one of the fruits of Darul Uloom London. Many ‘ulama are involved in answering the Q&A on the site, including: Shaikul Hadeeth Mufti Umar Farooq Sahib, Mufti Saifur Rahman Sahib, Mufti Abdullah Patel Sahib, Maulana Qamruz Zaman Sahib, Mufti Abu Bakr Karolia Sahib.

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