Question

1)Mum owns 50% of the house she lives in . The other 50% was inherited by us children when dad died. The question we have is – Are we allowed to waive the share we inherited from dad and basically ‘gift’ it to mum?

2) If mum decides to gift her house/ assets to one or some of the children during her lifetime is this possible? In other words sign over the deeds etc

Answer

For a gifting to be valid and complete from the perspective of the shari’ah, and the ownership of the gifted item to thus transfer from the gift-giver to the recipient, the gift-giver must have possession of what he is gifting, either directly or through an agent, and the recipient of the gift or their agent must also take possession of the gift. In the case of property that is inherited, it is only possible for any inheritor to gift their share to someone else if the property has been distributed and the inheritor intending to gift their share has first taken possession of their share. Thus, in order for you and your siblings to gift your shares of the house to your mother you would have to determine what your exact shares in the house are, that is, which heir gets which rooms and areas of the house as per their share, and each of you would have to take possession of your respective shares, yourselves or through agents. If this is difficult to do, an easier option would be that your mother “purchases” from each of you your share for a minimal token amount, even just a pound. Since this would be considered a “sale” rather than a “gift” from the perspective of the shari’ah, it can be done without determining the exact share of each heir, and without the need for possession.

الموسوعة الفقهية الكويتية (11/ 8) إذا كانت التركة عقارا أو عرضا، فأخرج الورثة أحدهم منها بمال أعطوه إياه، جاز التخارج سواء أكان ما أعطوه أقل من حصته أم أكثر؛ لأنه أمكن تصحيحه بيعا، والبيع يصح بالقليل والكثير من الثمن. ولا يصح جعله إبراء؛ لأن الإبراء من الأعيان غير المضمونة لا يصح. ولا يشترط معرفة مقدار حصته من التركة؛ إذ الجهالة هنا لا تفسد البيع؛ لأنها لا تفضي إلى النزاع؛ لأن المبيع هنا لا يحتاج إلى تسليم.

As for your second question, it is permissible for your mother to gift any of her assets to any of her children she wants while she is healthy, but it would be advisable for her to do so equitably unless there is a reason to prefer one child over another. If the asset gifted is property, then it must be vacant at the time that it is gifted, and the recipient or their agent must physically take possession of the house; it is not enough from the perspective of the shari’ah to do the transfer on paper alone. If your mother herself is living in the house and will continue to live there even after having gifted it, a convenient alternative to vacating the house would be for her to enter into a verbal sale agreement with the recipient, whereby she “sells” the house to them for a nominal amount. In that case there would be no need for her to vacate the house.

الفتاوى الهندية (4391)

(الْبَابُ السَّادِسُ فِي الْهِبَةِ لِلصَّغِيرِ) . وَلَوْ وَهَبَ رَجُلٌ شَيْئًا لِأَوْلَادِهِ فِي الصِّحَّةِ وَأَرَادَ تَفْضِيلَ الْبَعْضِ عَلَى الْبَعْضِ فِي ذَلِكَ لَا رِوَايَةَ لِهَذَا فِي الْأَصْلِ عَنْ أَصْحَابِنَا، وَرُوِيَ عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى – أَنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ إذَا كَانَ التَّفْضِيلُ لِزِيَادَةِ فَضْلٍ لَهُ فِي الدِّينِ، وَإِنْ كَانَا سَوَاءً يُكْرَهُ وَرَوَى الْمُعَلَّى عَنْ أَبِي يُوسُفَ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى – أَنَّهُ لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ إذَا لَمْ يَقْصِدْ بِهِ الْإِضْرَارَ، وَإِنْ قَصَدَ بِهِ الْإِضْرَارَ سَوَّى بَيْنَهُمْ يُعْطِي الِابْنَةَ مِثْلَ مَا يُعْطِي لِلِابْنِ وَعَلَيْهِ الْفَتْوَى هَكَذَا فِي فَتَاوَى قَاضِي خَانْ وَهُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ، كَذَا فِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ.

المحيط البرهاني في الفقه النعماني (6/ 241)

نوع منه: رجل وهب لرجل داراً فيها متاع الواهب ودفعها إلى الموهوب له فالهبة باطلة

بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع (6/ 125)

وَلَوْ أَخْرَجَ الْمَتَاعَ مِنْ الدَّارِ ثُمَّ سَلَّمَ فَارِغًا جَازَ وَيَنْظُرُ إلَى حَالِ الْقَبْضِ لَا إلَى حَالِ الْعَقْدِ لِأَنَّ الْمَانِعَ مِنْ النَّفَاذِ قَدْ زَالَ فَيَنْفُذُ

Answered by:
Apa Myra Hamid

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