If My Father Is Not Giving Inheritance to His Sisters Will I Get the Sin?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
My father is not giving the full inheritance to his sisters. If each sister’s share of land is worth 15 million, he is giving them 1/3rd of it. He has convinced his sisters that if you want good ties with me, accept this division; otherwise, take your full share, and I’ll cut ties with you.
I’ve tried to persuade my father in the light of religious arguments that what we’re doing is wrong, but he doesn’t listen to me and says that this is the norm here.
I’m under the care of my father right now and dependent on him. And he is spending on us from that money. Will I get the sin of this unfair division?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question. I am sorry to hear about your situation in this way.
In many parts of the world, Muslim women are being denied their rightful share of inheritance by male family members who follow their own whims and beliefs. This deprives them of the rights that Allah has allocated to them. Unfortunately, many of these male family members refuse to acknowledge these rights, believing that the women’s rights will be fulfilled in their marital home or elsewhere. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed so that Muslim women can obtain their rightful inheritance and be treated with fairness and respect.
No doubt, women do not have to pay dowries or support their husbands or children; Allah has given them less inheritance. This is how Allah, in His wisdom, has apportioned rights and responsibilities to all of us. He knows best what is in our interests. It does not mean they should they should be deprived based on our limited understanding.
Allah Apportioned Shares for Female Members
Allah Most High has specified all the apportions in the Quran, more than any other laws.
“But if there are (only) daughters, two or more, for them is two-thirds of one’s estate. And if there is only one, for her is half.” [Quran, 4:11]
If there is only one daughter, she only gets half, and the remaining goes to male universal heirs.
However, this is a very sensitive and challenging situation for anyone, especially wrongdoing committed by a father and for a remote third party to solve and find a solution. I can only say that you will need to find reliable local scholars whom your father would listen to. This way, he can act as a mediator and advisor; maybe your mother might listen.
Pray to Allah Most High for guidance and direction, and once again, continue to speak to your father with respect, love, and wisdom about the matter. You will not be sinful for your father spending on you.
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction, in sha’ Allah.
Related:
- Inheritance Questions Following Father’s Death
- How to Divide Inheritance After a Parent’s Death?
- How Does One Perform The Prayer Of Need (Salat al-Haja)?
- How Do We Deal With the Death of a Loved One?
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersGuidance?
I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
