Ruling on giving up one’s right of inheritence?
Answered by our Shaykh, the ‘Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu ‘Abdirrahmān Yahya bin ‘Ali Al-Hajūri – may Allāh preserve him – on the 27th, Dhūl-Hijjah, 1441H
Question:
My father passed away approximately six years ago, me and my mother and my brothers and my sister and paternal grandmother were inheritors.
My grandmother used to live in Yemen during that time, as for us we were outside Yemen so my paternal aunt who used to live with my grandmother suggested to give her a portion of wealth to step down from her portion of the inheritance, so she gave her the amount, and she said that she stepped down from everything except her portion of land that is in valley so and so.
So what is the legislated ruling in this affair?
Answer:
This is an unknown purchase, your purchase of your grandmother’s portion from her son.
And her portion from her son is a sixth
ُ (وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا السُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُ وَلَد)ٌ
“And as for his parents, each of them shall have the sixth of what he has left if he has a child,” [An-Nisā, 11]
So if you divided the wealth with a legislated division, then whatever was to be the portion of your grandmother and she wished to sell it, you could buy it.
This is so that you do not oppress her or take a share from the rest of the inheritors, due to the statement:
لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا
“Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion.” [An-Nisā, 7]
And all of them have an obligatory portion there is no need for you to buy from them or stepping down from there portion in return for a sum, when he attains his portion and he wishes to sell it you, buy it, either you or someone else.
This is so that you do not oppress and are not oppressed, and there could be in this some attempt to gain over the inheritors by giving them some sums of money to step down from their portion of the inheritance, and this would be considered oppression and stripping them of their due right.
Whether or not the woman is stripped or not, verily her legislated portion is satisfactory and Allāh has clarified it and it is not in need of any reconciliation in its regard.
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi
Click on the link to listen to the Audio: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/7633