excerpt from Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani’s book “Ahkām wa Masā’il – In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah”:
A man, due to disobedience of his son, disinherits him from his movable and immovable property and distributes his estate among his other children, declaring disassociation from the disobedient son. Is such an act permissible in Islam?
The wealth of a person that is distributed after his death is known as inheritance (mirāth/ṭarkah), and what a person distributes during his lifetime is referred to as gift (hibah).
In Islamic law, disinheritance due to disobedience is not permissible.
There are only two valid reasons in the Sharīʿah for exclusion from inheritance:
If the deceased and the heir belong to different religions, inheritance is invalid.
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
❝Two people of different religions cannot inherit from each other.❞
Musnad Aḥmad 2/178, Ḥadīth 6664
Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Bāb: Can a Muslim inherit from a disbeliever?, Ḥadīth 2911
Imām al-Albānī رحمه الله graded this narration as authentic in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 6/120–121.
Sayyidunā Usāmah رضي الله عنه reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
❝A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does a disbeliever inherit from a Muslim.❞
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Ḥadīth 6764
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Ḥadīth 1614
If an heir kills the deceased, he is disqualified from inheriting.
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما narrated:
❝The killer shall not inherit from anything.❞
Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Diyāt, Bāb: Blood Money for Limbs, Ḥadīth 4564
al-Nasāʾī 8/42
Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr graded this narration as strong, and Imām al-Albānī رحمه الله declared it authentic in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Ḥadīth 1681.
There is no authentic evidence that allows disinheritance of a child due to disobedience. Indeed, it is obligatory for children to serve their parents, and they should be advised and guided appropriately if they fall into disobedience. However, denying inheritance as a punishment is not sanctioned.
If a person chooses to distribute wealth among children during his lifetime, it is obligatory to maintain equality and justice among all children, sons and daughters alike. This is affirmed by the ḥadīth of Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنهما, who reported:
“My father gave me a slave as a gift and then went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to make him a witness. The Prophet ﷺ asked:
❝Have you given the same to all your children?❞
He replied, ❝No.❞
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Then take it back.❞”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Hibah, Ḥadīth 2586
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 1623
In another narration from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1623/13):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Fear Allah and be just among your children.❞
So his father took the gift back.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (2578), the word “gift (ʿaṭiyyah)” is mentioned instead of “charity”.
Musnad Aḥmad (4/468) reports:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Do not make me a witness to injustice. Indeed, your children have a right upon you that you deal justly with them.❞
Musnad Aḥmad (4/275, 278), Abū Dāwūd (3544) and al-Nasāʾī (3717) mention:
The Prophet ﷺ said three times:
❝Be just with your sons.❞
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1644/19), it is narrated from Jābir رضي الله عنه:
Bashīr’s wife asked her husband to gift a slave to her son and requested that the Prophet ﷺ be made a witness. When Bashīr presented this before the Prophet ﷺ, he ﷺ asked:
❝Does this son have siblings?❞
He said, ❝Yes.❞
He ﷺ asked: ❝Have you given the same to all of them?❞
He replied, ❝No.❞
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝This is not correct, and I testify only to what is just.❞
From the above narrations, it is clear and conclusive that:
✔ A father must act justly and equitably in distributing gifts among his children during his lifetime.
✖ It is oppression (ẓulm) to give some children and deprive others.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ refused to bear witness to such unjust behavior.
Hence, such matters must be approached with full adherence to Sharīʿah, and one must also remember the importance of raising children upon the correct path from the beginning, so that they grow into obedient and righteous individuals, sparing their parents distress in later years.
❖ Question:
A man, due to disobedience of his son, disinherits him from his movable and immovable property and distributes his estate among his other children, declaring disassociation from the disobedient son. Is such an act permissible in Islam?
❖ Answer:
The wealth of a person that is distributed after his death is known as inheritance (mirāth/ṭarkah), and what a person distributes during his lifetime is referred to as gift (hibah).
In Islamic law, disinheritance due to disobedience is not permissible.
There are only two valid reasons in the Sharīʿah for exclusion from inheritance:
① Difference of Religion:
If the deceased and the heir belong to different religions, inheritance is invalid.
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
❝Two people of different religions cannot inherit from each other.❞
Musnad Aḥmad 2/178, Ḥadīth 6664 Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Bāb: Can a Muslim inherit from a disbeliever?, Ḥadīth 2911Imām al-Albānī رحمه الله graded this narration as authentic in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 6/120–121.
Sayyidunā Usāmah رضي الله عنه reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
❝A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does a disbeliever inherit from a Muslim.❞
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Ḥadīth 6764 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Farāʾiḍ, Ḥadīth 1614② Intentional Murder:
If an heir kills the deceased, he is disqualified from inheriting.
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما narrated:
❝The killer shall not inherit from anything.❞
Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Diyāt, Bāb: Blood Money for Limbs, Ḥadīth 4564 al-Nasāʾī 8/42Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr graded this narration as strong, and Imām al-Albānī رحمه الله declared it authentic in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Ḥadīth 1681.
✦ No Evidence Permitting Disinheritance Due to Disobedience:
There is no authentic evidence that allows disinheritance of a child due to disobedience. Indeed, it is obligatory for children to serve their parents, and they should be advised and guided appropriately if they fall into disobedience. However, denying inheritance as a punishment is not sanctioned.
✦ Fairness in Distribution of Gifts During One’s Lifetime:
If a person chooses to distribute wealth among children during his lifetime, it is obligatory to maintain equality and justice among all children, sons and daughters alike. This is affirmed by the ḥadīth of Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنهما, who reported:
“My father gave me a slave as a gift and then went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to make him a witness. The Prophet ﷺ asked:
❝Have you given the same to all your children?❞
He replied, ❝No.❞
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Then take it back.❞”
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Hibah, Ḥadīth 2586 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth 1623In another narration from Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1623/13):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Fear Allah and be just among your children.❞
So his father took the gift back.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (2578), the word “gift (ʿaṭiyyah)” is mentioned instead of “charity”.
Musnad Aḥmad (4/468) reports:The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Do not make me a witness to injustice. Indeed, your children have a right upon you that you deal justly with them.❞
Musnad Aḥmad (4/275, 278), Abū Dāwūd (3544) and al-Nasāʾī (3717) mention:The Prophet ﷺ said three times:
❝Be just with your sons.❞
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1644/19), it is narrated from Jābir رضي الله عنه:Bashīr’s wife asked her husband to gift a slave to her son and requested that the Prophet ﷺ be made a witness. When Bashīr presented this before the Prophet ﷺ, he ﷺ asked:
❝Does this son have siblings?❞
He said, ❝Yes.❞
He ﷺ asked: ❝Have you given the same to all of them?❞
He replied, ❝No.❞
The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝This is not correct, and I testify only to what is just.❞
❖ Conclusion:
From the above narrations, it is clear and conclusive that:
✔ A father must act justly and equitably in distributing gifts among his children during his lifetime.
✖ It is oppression (ẓulm) to give some children and deprive others.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ refused to bear witness to such unjust behavior.
Hence, such matters must be approached with full adherence to Sharīʿah, and one must also remember the importance of raising children upon the correct path from the beginning, so that they grow into obedient and righteous individuals, sparing their parents distress in later years.
