What Are My Rights Regarding My Siblings as a Single Woman Taking Care of The Parents?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
What are my rights and responsibilities as a daughter and single woman caring for my elderly father, and what are my siblings’ obligations toward him?
How can I ensure my future security, especially with inheritance concerns and no will in place?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Parents
What you are doing is no less than excellence toward your parents. Allah (Most High) has told us in the Quran,
“And We have commanded people to (honour) their parents. Their mothers bore them through hardship upon hardship, and their weaning takes two years. So be grateful to Me and your parents. To Me is the final return. [Quran, 31:14]
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“If anyone possesses three characteristics, God will give him an easy death and bring him into His paradise: gentleness towards the weak, affection towards parents, and kindness to slaves.” [Tirmidhi]
Your care of him will not be lost on your Lord. In every family, some give more to the parents and some give less, thank Allah Most High that you were chosen to give this care, may it be a means of Paradise for you.
Siblings
Note that both sons and daughters are obligated to contribute to their father’s care, either physically, or financially, even if some are poor and some wealthy.
Please see full details here about the obligation of caring for parents: Fiqh of Financially Supporting one’s Parents and Relatives
Knowledge
Please learn inheritance law yourself, and teach your siblings. It can prevent quite a bit of heartache.
It says in the Reliance of the Traveller:
(O: Estate division refers to the share allotted to each heir by Sacred Law. The scriptural basis for estate division, prior to the consensus of scholars, consists of the Koranic verses on inheritance (Koran 4:11-12, 4:176) and hadiths such as the one related by Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Give the obligatory shares of the estate to those who deserve them, and the rest belongs to the closest male to the deceased.”
Encouragement to master the knowledge of estate division comes from such hadiths as the one from Ibn Mas‘ud (Allah be well pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Learn estate division and teach it to people, for I am someone who will be taken from you, and this knowledge will be taken from you and calamities win ensue, until two men will one day disagree about the obligatory apportionment and will not find anyone to judge between them.”)
Future Security
Your future can only be secure if you and your siblings follow the inheritance rules of Islamic law. Each heir will be answerable to Allah (Most High) on the Day of Judgment regarding its fair distribution. Try to have a knowledgeable and God-fearing person carry out the distribution of assets to eliminate disputes.
If your father doesn’t leave a bequest (of one-third), then all of the distribution of his wealth is decided already by law. You are entitled to half of what a son receives, and no one can exclude you from your rightful share. If he decides to leave a bequest (one-third) to someone of his choosing, then only two-thirds of his wealth will go to his heirs.
Wasiyya (Bequest)
If your father wishes to gift you something beyond inheritance (e.g., for caregiving), he must do so while alive. Otherwise, he can leave you something in his bequest, which can be up to one-third of his estate, however it can only be bequeathed to you if all other heirs agree. Encourage him to distribute what he can now to his children to ensure disputes are avoided. Communicate openly with your family about them helping out now; the burden should not be placed on you alone.
Please see more details here:
- Female inheritance rights
- Should Inheritance be Half the Share of Sons for Daughters Even if They Are the Only Ones Who Live and Serve Their Parents?
- Complying With Fiqh Rules Regarding Inheritance
- How Can My Late Father’s Inheritance Be Distributed?
- How Much Can a Person Bequeath of Their Property?
- The Final Sermon: Inheritance and Lineage
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied ‘aqida, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
