Question

This is a matter of extreme urgency of our family because of obvious reasons that matters are worsening in my family. I know that your time is very valuable because of the amount of questions you receive but I deeply request you to answer my following question at the earliest :

Certain members of my family are pressuring my dad to distribute all his wealth to the family before he passes away.

Isn’t gift (Hiba) something that should be just a portion of one’s entire wealth ? And if a person is distributing his entire wealth before his death on the intention to avoid the rules of Islamic Inheritance to be enforced upon, by using the rules of Hiba as a propaganda. Is it permissible in Islam for a father to do so if one of the children is not in favor of such a distribution and not given the father the permission to do so.
Please kindly guide what has to be done in this scenario according to the teachings of Islam and Sunnah.

Answer

When a person owns wealth, they are entitled to transact with it as they please provided they are acting within the boundaries of shariʿah. The transaction is down to the consent of the one gifting and the giftee. They do not need the consent of any other person.

If during one’s life they wish to gift all their wealth away then that is their own personal choice and permissible for them to do provided it is not done in the illness of death. The illness of death is the final illness a person goes through before they pass away. During this time a person may only transact in one third of their assets.

If your father wishes to distribute his wealth equally amongst all his children in his lifetime and prior to the illness of death then this will be permissible. In fact when distributing wealth during one’s lifetime it is desirable to distribute equally amongst one’s children. The inheritors do not have a right to object to the distribution as they are only entitled to wealth after a relative has passed away.

If certain members of the family are putting pressure on your father to act in a certain way for their own benefit then they maybe sinful for doing so. However, your father still has the right to decide how he wants to transact in his own wealth.

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel