WHAT THE SONS SHOULD DO WHEN THEIR FATHER DIES

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “The love of the world is the root of every evil.” This attitude erupts into open warfare and lifelong animosity among brothers after the demise of their father when they have to divide the assets. There are too many such cases of brothers becoming implacable enemies and resorting to the kuffaar courts for solutions to their malice and animosity. Yet, the procedure of the Shariah for resolution of all issues is simple and straight forward. The only requisites are some fear for Allah Ta‟ala and setting aside greed.
Generally during the lifetime of the father, his sons work with him in the business. They derive their sustenance jointly from the business. They eat and

drink, journey and marry from the business. According to the Shariah such a business is the property of the father. He is the sole owner regardless of the effort of the sons.
After the father is buried, the first concern of the sons should be to ascertain the financial status of the estate. If necessary they should close the business for a couple of days for the purpose of accurate stock-taking. Once the state of the estate has been ascertained, the shares of the heirs should be calculated and be paid out or a mutually acceptable arrangement should be made.
The system of continuing for years to trade with the assets of the estate, i.e. the assets of all the heirs, without having made arrangements with the heirs, is haraam. The complications become compounded with each passing day and with the children and wives of the heirs becoming involved. The assistance of the Ulama should be enlisted when the variety of assets has to be divided.
It is haraam for the sons who control the business to unilaterally continue trading without making proper arrangements with the heirs.

Awake 1442