My son-in-law bought a flat from his father for 8000 JDs where he paid half in cash and half in bills. Two years later, his father passed away and the heirs refused to give him his share of the inheritance. Is my son in law entitled to a share in those bills although the flat is already registered in his name? Moreover, his brothers and sisters are claiming that the flat is worth 25000 JDs and that he is required to pay the price difference. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
If the situation is as described in the above question, then the sale has been concluded: the father sold the flat to his son, the son paid half of the price in cash and half in bills and the flat was registered in the son`s name. Therefore, it isn`t permissible for the rest of the heirs to object to this sale and everything that the father left, including the bills, is part of the estate, which is the right of all the heirs.
We advise the heirs to fear Allah and adhere to the rulings of Sharia as regards the division of the inheritance since worldly life doesn`t suffice from the Hereafter. The evidence on this is that Allah the Almighty says {What means}: "And fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly." {Al-Baqarah, 281}.