Fatwa No : 82667
The ruling regarding transferring a construction/property in the wife’s name and its ownership status.

The ruling regarding transferring a construction/property in the wife’s name and its ownership status.

What do the respected Muftis say regarding the following issue that I have a maternal cousin whose husband passed away approximately four years ago. Among his surviving heirs are his widow, three sons, and nine daughters. The deceased owned two plots registered solely in his name, while an adjacent third plot belonged to his wife and was registered under her name. The deceased himself constructed a building comprising offices and shops over all three plots. After the completion of the building on these three plots, the deceased, prior to his passing, gifted the building constructed on his two plots to his wife as well. Consequently, the entire building, constructed over all three plots, is now in the possession of the deceased’s widow. Kindly explain, in the light of Shariah, the proper method of distributing this building among the heirs. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated. Was-salaam.

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

If the aforementioned construction was lawfully transferred by the deceased to his wife along with full proprietary possession(ownership), then it exclusively belongs to her. In such a case, it is absolutely incorrect for others to claim any share in it, or to demand its division by considering it as part of the inheritance, and such claims must be avoided.
However, if he did not transfer this building to his wife with proprietary possession(ownership), and merely recorded her name in the documents, then in that case the widow does not become the sole owner of the deceased’s property. Rather, in this situation, the aforementioned building, along with all other wealth and property left by the deceased (the husband of the questioner’s cousin), will be distributed according to the principles of Islamic inheritance.

مأخَذُ الفَتوی

ففی الدر المختار: و) شرائط صحتها (في الموهوب أن يكون مقبوضا غير مشاع مميزا غير مشغول) كما سيتضح. (5/ 688)۔