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The Rights Related to the Estate
Author : Dr. Mufti Sa`eid Farhan
Date Added : 09-10-2024

 

Praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds and may His Peace and Blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family, companions, and those who follow him.

When the son of Adam dies, all the wealth he possessed at the time of his death becomes part of his estate, whether it is movable wealth like money and furniture or immovable like land and property. This also includes the outcome of efforts he made during his life, which yielded results after his death, such as setting up a fishing net in which a catch is found, blood money (Diya), compensation for injury (Arsh), or a deposit he left with one of his children. [Kindly refer to Mughni Al-Muhtaj, vol.4, pp.7].

There are four rights related to this estate, ordered as follows:

First Right: Preparing the Deceased

This refers to washing, shrouding, and burying the deceased in a manner appropriate for their status. Since preparing the deceased is one of their needs, it should be done as if fulfilling their worldly needs-without extravagance or stinginess, in line with their financial situation.

No other right precedes the right of preparing the deceased except for debts tied directly to the estate, such as a mortgage or Zakat (Alms) that was due before death. The "right tied to the estate" means a debt that is connected to a specific item, such as mortgaged land or goods purchased by a bankrupt buyer.

Imam Al-Nawawi said: "If there is a right attached to the estate, such as Zakat, a loan, mortgaged property, or goods purchased by a bankrupt buyer, it takes precedence over the expenses of preparing the deceased. And Allah the Almighty knows best." [Minhaj Al-Talibin, pp.180].

The reason preparation takes precedence over settling debts is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would order that the deceased be shrouded and buried immediately, as seen in the case of the man who died while in a state of ihram after being trampled by his camel. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Bathe him with water mixed with the leaves of the lote tree and shroud him in his two (pieces of) cloth (Ihram), and do not cover his head for Allah will raise him on the Day of Resurrection Pronouncing Talbiya." [Agreed upon]. He did not inquire whether the deceased had debts, even though he (peace be upon him) would ask about debts when a funeral was brought before him. If the deceased had debts, he would say: "Pray over your companion" (Al-Bukhari. Kindly refer to "Mughni Al-Muhtaj," vol.4/pp.7). Since someone who is bankrupt is allowed to keep something to cover himself, this is even more the case for the deceased. Imam Al-Ramli said: "Because he needs it, just like the bankrupt, and even more so since his means of earning a living has ceased." [Nihayat Al-Muhtaj vol.6/pp.5].

The family of the deceased should be cautious not to spend from the estate on funeral and mourning ceremonies, as this is impermissible. The deceased's wealth becomes the right of the heirs after fulfilling other obligations. It cannot be used without their permission, and if there are minor heirs, it is forbidden to spend their share. Their permission is invalid since they are not legally competent to give it.

Let those who indulge in extravagance in funeral ceremonies from the deceased's wealth fear Allah, for such ceremonies are not part of preparing the deceased. Preparation, as mentioned earlier, is limited to washing, shrouding, and burying. Most of these ceremonies involve extravagance and, at times, showing off.

However, if one of the adult heirs voluntarily donates from their personal wealth within reasonable limits, there is no harm in that.

Second Right: Paying Debts

After the deceased is prepared, their debts are to be paid. These debts are of two types: debts owed to people and debts owed to Allah.

Debts owed to Allah include obligations such as vows, expiations, or obligatory Hajj, while debts owed to people are the well-known financial obligations, such as loans or debts from transactions. The deferred portion of the wife's dowry is also considered a debt that must be paid, a point often overlooked.

If the estate is sufficient to pay off all debts, they should be settled accordingly. If the estate is insufficient, and there are multiple debts, the prevailing opinion in the Shafi'i school is that debts owed to Allah, such as Zakat, expiations, and Hajj, take precedence over debts owed to people. Al-Khatib Al-Shirbini said: "Debts owed to Allah, such as zakat, expiations, and Hajj, take precedence over debts owed to people according to the more correct opinion" [Mughni Al-Muhtaj, vol.4/pp.7]. The Shafi'i scholars base this on the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH): "The debt due to Allah is the one which most deserves to be paid." [Agreed upon].

Third Right: Fulfilling Bequests

If the deceased made a bequest, it must be fulfilled, but only within one-third of the remaining wealth. It is not permissible to exceed this one-third unless the adult heirs give their consent, as their consent would be a donation of a right they own. These rights are fixed and it isn`t permissible they encroach upon each other. The Prophet (PBUH) told Saa’d Ibn Abi Waqqas when he wanted to make a bequest, "One-third, and one-third is a lot." [Agreed upon]. However, there are conditions and restrictions regarding bequests that cannot be elaborated here.

Fourth Right: Distribution of Inheritance

After the previous three rights are fulfilled, the remaining wealth is distributed among the heirs according to their shares prescribed in the noble Quran. However, it is important to note four points here:

1. The heirs' right to the estate is not fully established until the prior rights are fulfilled. If one of the heirs takes anything from the estate, even a small item like a cane the deceased used, they do so wrongfully, as it may belong to a creditor or a person entitled to a bequest.

2. Everything left by the deceased is part of the estate, whether it is of great or little value. No heir may take anything without the knowledge and consent of the other heirs, even after debts have been paid. If there are minor heirs, taking anything is strictly forbidden. Those who do so should beware of Allah's punishment for taking the wealth of an orphan, even if the orphan is their sibling. Allah, The Most Exalted Says (What means): "Indeed, those who consume the wealth of orphans unjustly are only consuming fire into their bellies. And they will be burned in a Blaze" [An-Nisa/10].

3. Some items that are thought to be inheritance may actually belong to the wife, such as furniture she brought as part of her dowry or gifts from her family. These are not part of the inheritance but belong to her, although she allowed her husband and children to use them.

4. Deposits left by the deceased with one of their children are not for that child to keep but are part of the inheritance, as explained earlier, and belong to all the heirs.

We ask Allah the Almighty to grant us a good end, forgive us, and cover our faults in this life and the Hereafter. He is The Guardian of that and Fully Capable of it. Our final call is praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a latecomer who joins the imam during the standing position of the first rakʿah but was unable to complete the recitation of al-Fātiḥah?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a latecomer (masbuq) joins the prayer while the imam is standing, he should begin reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah immediately, without pausing to recite the opening supplication (duʿāʾ al-istiftāḥ) or the seeking of refuge (taʿawwudh). If the imam bows before he completes al-Fātiḥah, he follows the imam into the bow and leaves whatever remains of al-Fātiḥah — the imam bears it on his behalf.
It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 47): "If a latecomer finds the imam standing and is confident that he has enough time to recite the taʿawwudh and al-Fātiḥah in full, he may do so. If he is uncertain, he should neither recite the opening supplication nor the taʿawwudh, but rather begin directly with al-Fātiḥah. If the imam bows before he completes it, he follows him into the bow — provided he had not already begun the opening supplication or the taʿawwudh. If he had begun either of them, he continues reciting al-Fātiḥah for as long as he spent on them." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the Duha (forenoon) prayer before its time has begun, because I go to school early in the morning?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The Duha (forenoon) prayer is not valid if performed before its time has begun. Its time starts when the sun has risen to a noticeable height, that is, approximately fifteen minutes after sunrise, and it ends when the sun reaches its zenith (zawāl), shortly before the Dhuhr (noon) prayer. It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (Vol.1/p.455): “Its time is from the rising of the sun [to a spear’s height] until the zenith.”
Accordingly, the Duha prayer is not valid if offered before the sun has risen, and its time remains open until just before Dhuhr. It may be performed at any time at school, during the break between classes or during recess. And Allah Almighty knows best.

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