Fatwa No : 83672
Distribution of Inheritance and Ruling on Rent from a Sold Inherited House

Distribution of Inheritance and Ruling on Rent from a Sold Inherited House

What do the esteemed Muftis say regarding the following matter: Our father passed away in the year 2020, while our mother had already passed away before him. Our late father's estate includes two houses — one in the village and one here in Karachi. We are five brothers and one sister. About five months ago, the house in the village was sold for one crore rupees (10 million PKR). Half of the payment was received at the time of sale, while the remaining half is to be paid after the property documents and related papers are handed over to the buyer. Now, we have two questions:
(1): For the five months between the time of agreement and final transfer of documents, does the rent of the house belong to us (the heirs), or does the buyer have the right to it?
(2): According to Islamic law, how should our late father's estate be distributed among the heirs?

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

In the mentioned case, once the questioner and his siblings mutually agreed to sell the inherited house for one crore rupees, the sale contract was completed. As a result, the ownership of the house transferred from the sellers (the heirs) to the buyer. Accordingly, any rent generated from that house belongs to the buyer, and it is not permissible in Shari‘ah for the siblings to use the rent of the past five months.
Furthermore, regarding the distribution of the deceased father's estate, it should be carried out according to the principles of Islamic inheritance. That is, whatever movable and immovable assets — including the two mentioned houses, gold, silver, jewelry, cash, and all types of household belongings — the deceased owned at the time of his death, the following steps must be taken:First, the average expenses of the deceased’s funeral and burial should be paid from the estate. Next, if the deceased had any debts, they must be paid. Then, if the deceased made any valid will (wasiyyah), it should be executed up to one-third (1/3) of the remaining estate. After fulfilling the above obligations, the remaining estate should be divided into 11 shares, wherein each son receives 2 shares and the daughter receives 1 share.

مأخَذُ الفَتوی

کما فی الھدایہ: قال البیع ینعقد بالایجاب و القبول (الی قولہ) واذا حصل الایجاب و القبول لزم البیع ولا خیار لواحد منھما الخ(کتاب۔البیوع۔ج3 ص19 )۔
و فی الموسوعۃ الفقھیۃ:يملك المشتري المبيع، ويملك البائع الثمن، ويكون ملك المشتري للمبيع بمجرد عقد البيع الصحيح، ولا يتوقف على التقابض،وإن كان للتقابض أثره في الضمان.أما في عقد البيع الفاسد عند الحنفية فلا يملك المشتري المبيع إلابالقبض الخ،ان یثبت للمشتری ملک ما یحصل فی المبیع من زیادۃ متولدۃ منہ ولو لم یقبض المبیع ولا يمنع من انتقال ملكية المبيع إلى المشتري كون الثمن مؤجلا. الخ( 9 /36 )۔