Can My Mother Give Her Property To Whoever She Likes In Her Lifetime?

Question:

Assalamu ‘Alaykum.

My mother is the sole owner of a property/estate. Father is not alive.
She has three sons and two daughters.

Can she gift her property to whoever likes it while she is alive?

Can she make a will while she is alive to gift to whoever she likes?
If there is a property left after death, how is it inherited?

Answer:

Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

Your mother can give her property to whoever she wants in her lifetime – but she will be sinful if she is not fair. When she dies, you will all automatically get the share the Qur’an has allocated to you. Its value is divided into either part: the sons get two each, and the daughters one each.

Any will contrary to this is of no consequence unless the heirs all agree to distribute it a particular way. This is a serious matter. Please refer to this answer which explains it in more detail.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History, he moved to Damascus in 2007, where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital. He was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.