Their father has died, and they live in the West where the courts operating under man-made laws give the mother half of the marital home; what is the ruling?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

Your mother’s share of your father’s
estate, including the house and whatever else he left behind, according to
sharee‘ah, is one eighth only, because Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“their (your wives) share is a fourth if
you leave no child; but if you leave a child, they get an eighth of that
which you leave after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or
debts”

[an-Nisa’ 4:12].

This is a matter on which there is
scholarly consensus, and it is something well known among the ummah.

It is not permissible for the Muslim, male
or female, to demand another share, other than the share allocated by Allah,
may He be glorified and exalted, seeking to increase his share or to
decrease the share of someone else. Allah has given a warning of a painful
punishment for the one who transgresses His limits with regard to shares of
inheritance or other shar‘i rulings. Allah, may He be exalted, says after
mentioning the shares of inheritance (interpretation of the meaning):

“These are the limits (set by) Allah (or
ordainments as regards laws of inheritance), and whosoever obeys Allah and
His Messenger (Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) will be
admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein,
and that will be the great success.

And whosoever disobeys Allah and His
Messenger (Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and
transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein;
and he shall have a disgraceful torment”

[an-Nisa’ 4:13-14]

What you must do is explain that shar‘i
principle to your mother, and tell her that it is haraam to transgress the
limits set by Allah, and that this is an important principle of faith: the
individual should be content with the ruling of Allah and what He allocates
to His slaves, and not refer for judgement concerning any matter, small or
great, to any man-made laws, traditions and customs. This is one of the
important requirements of faith, that one should submit completely to the
rulings of Allah and of His Messenger, whether or not that is in accordance
with one’s whims and desires.

Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“But no, by your Lord, they can have no
Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no
resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission”

[an-Nisa’ 4:65]

“They (hypocrites) say: “We have believed
in Allah and in the Messenger (Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him), and we obey,” then a party of them turn away thereafter, such are not
believers.

And when they are called to Allah (i.e.
His Words, the Quran) and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), to judge between them, lo! a party of them refuse (to come) and
turn away.

But if the right is with them, they come
to him willingly with submission.

Is there a disease in their hearts? Or do
they doubt or fear lest Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) should wrong them in judgement. Nay, it is they
themselves who are the Zalimoon (polytheists, hypocrites and wrong-doers,
etc).

The only saying of the faithful believers,
when they are called to Allah (His Words, the Quran) and His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), to judge between them, is that
they say: “We hear and we obey.” And such are the prosperous ones (who will
live forever in Paradise).

And whosoever obeys Allah and His
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), fears Allah, and keeps
his duty (to Him), such are the successful ones”

[an-Noor 24:47-52].

Secondly:

It is not permissible for you to resort to
the courts that are based on man-made, kaafir laws; rather what you must do
is go to the nearest trustworthy Islamic centre that is run by people of
knowledge who follow the Sunnah. Perhaps that will help you to convince your
mother and explain to her what is right, and that it is haraam to resort to
man-made laws or to refer for judgement to their courts.

If it so happens that any of the
procedures of transferring ownership, or buying or selling, require
confirmation of the court for any of that, then what you must understand is
that referring to these courts is a superficial matter only, and whatever
verdict these courts issue, it is not permissible for you to approve of it,
accept it or adhere to it, unless it is in accordance with the laws of
Allah.

Thirdly:

If any of the heirs wants to obtain his
share, then he has the right to do so. In that case the house must be
divided according to the shares allocated in sharee‘ah, then each of you
should take his share. If anyone wants to give up his share or any part of
it to his mother, then he has the right to do that, but it is not obligatory
for the others to do so.

Rather what you must do with regard to
your mother is provide her with accommodation that is appropriate for
someone of her standing. If what she owns of wealth, from her share of the
inheritance or if she has other wealth, is sufficient to buy suitable
accommodation for her, then she has the right to buy it with her own wealth,
and her sons do not have to buy that with their wealth, unless they
willingly choose to do so.

If her wealth is not sufficient for that,
then what you must do is provide her with suitable accommodation, but that
does not have to be by buying; rather you may either help her to buy or help
her to rent that accommodation, if her wealth is not enough to do that.

However the matter is as you say: she is
your mother and the matter should not be settled between you by means of
fighting through the courts. Rather what you must do is strive to please her
and make things easy for her in whatever ways you can, in a way that is not
detrimental to your own rights and wealth. Be kind with her and be gentle
with her when explaining what is correct, and provide her with what she
needs.

Fourthly:

What the Muslim should do is strive to be
honest in his dealings. He should understand that in such countries he
should try to present a good image of Islam, as people will regard him as
being a representative of his religion. So it is not appropriate for him to
give them an image of Islam and its people that is an image of cheating,
deceit and breaking promises, even if your honesty results in some kind of
financial penalty or loss, or paying some kind of taxes, especially if the
benefit of those taxes comes to all the people, which includes you, and is
spent on public services, unemployment assistance, maintenance of facilities
from which you benefit, and so on.

See also the answer to questions no.
5218
and
52810

And Allah knows best.