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Fatwa CenterHis sisters ask for their share in father's house which he reconstructed
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 1 - Additional information : 1 sons , 6 daughter my father has died and has left one house for us in which i am staying , i have reconstructed the house by spending 2 lakh rupees, now my 6 sisters are asking for the share of the property , tell me what will be their share and before giving them their share can i take out the amount i spent for the reconstruction of the house ( if i sell the house for 10 lakh rupees)
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, it should be mentioned that you should not have reconstructed the house which your father had left except with the consent of all other heirs; because this house is among the inheritance left by the deceased, and so, it belongs to all heirs.
Now, if what you meant by reconstruction is that you demolished the old house and built in its place a new house – and this is what appears from the question – then this has two probabilities:
1- If the demolition of the house was with the consent of all the heirs, and then they made you own the land on which the new house was built. In this case, the new house is yours and the remaining heirs are not entitled to anything in it if they are adult and of sound mind. However, if the heirs did not make you own the land, then the house is the property of all the heirs and they should pay you the value of the building erected and not demolished, i.e. they should pay you the cost of the construction fully.
2- If the demolition of the house was without the consent of all the heirs, then this is forbidden as this is transgressing the rights of others. In this case, the ruling of a transgressor applies to you and therefore you are obliged to guarantee the value of the old house (i.e. the demolished building), and you are not entitled to anything in the house except the value of the material after demolition. Nonetheless, it should be noted that it is only through an Islamic court that these rulings can be applied after it looks into the details of the issue.
As regards the division of the inheritance, if the heirs are only one son and 6 daughters, then the inheritance should be divided into 8 shares, the son gets 2 shares and each girl gets one share.
Finally, it should be noted that the matter of inheritance is very complex an issue, so a mere Fatwa which is an answer issued according to the question is not enough. Rather, the matter should be taken to an Islamic court to look into the case, or it should be presented orally (in person) to the scholars in case there are no Islamic courts. It might be that there is an heir who would not be known except after investigation, and there might also be a will, debts, or other dues that are not known to the heirs. It is known that these rights come in priority over the right of the heirs. Therefore, the inheritance should not be divided without resorting to an Islamic court, if any, in order to fulfill the interests of the dead and the live people.
Allaah Knows best.
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