Question Summary:
Can I force my heirs to give away their shares from my estate as Sadaqah?

Question Detail:

A female sister, the youngest daughter of a family wants to draw her will and has brothers and 1 sister (widow), no parents. According to Qur’aan, section 3: the brothers will receive 2/3 of the shares, sister receives 1/3 of the shares. ACKNOWLEDGED!!
After section 1 and 2 respectively;
For section 3;
Heirs;
Question; brothers don’t bother of younger sister, never offer no funds to sister, unemployed after 35 years of being independent, running her own business but shutdown 2 years ago, she took care of late mother, now no oral support, no financial support, no communication, have silly disputes for no reason, no contact no phone calls, have isolated her, blaming her always yet their fault, never took no responsibility even towards their late mother, the youngest daughter took care of her late mother, they just not interested how sister is managing to live, very heart-breaking but true.
Their focus is only on their children and grandchildren, all having excuses, saying no time…when questioned, only want to get together 2 days in a year, the 2 eids, they don’t care of the widow sister as well, yet all are financially stable. Except for only 1 brother who cares for the widowed sister, who is the eldest sister.
Can a letter be written to them now requesting them to sign that when they receive the funds from the will, they will give the money to charity as e-sawaab for the parents, sisters who passed away, deceased. Is this permissible or not?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sister in Islam;
Wills and estates are amongst those aspects of Shariah where a person’s obedience to Allah is challenged and tested. A person works hard to build his/her empire sacrificing his/her day and night. One would want to dispense the wealth as he/she wants to but Shariah commands that it be dispensed as Shariah dictates. It is a clash between an individual’s desire and the order of Shariah. The attitude of an obedient slave of Allah will be that whatever is in his possession belongs to Allah.
We understand the concern and grief of the sister over the distribution of her wealth. One’s wealth is very dear to him. However, a person’s control and jurisdiction over his wealth is limited to his lifetime. One cannot dictate over his wealth after death. His heirs enjoy a Shari’ah given right of having full ownership of his share of the inheritance. They become rightful owners of the wealth. However, Shariah has given a leeway for one to bequeath one third of his wealth be given out on his discretion after death.[1]
Further, one may give away his wealth during his lifetime so that at the time of death one may not be in possession of much wealth. [2] However, this is risky as one may presently give away the wealth but then need it later in life. Furthermore, one cannot do this with the intention of depriving a potential heir from inheritance.
We have observed that you have not stated whether the sister has any children and a spouse or not. It is imperative to take note of this as well in apportioning the shares. This is why it is important to consult the ‘Ulamā regarding such matters rather than referring directly to the Qur’ān.
It is not practical to draw up a will and state what share each heir will receive. A will should be drawn in such a manner that states that it shall be executed according to the Shariah laws of Inheritance and Succession. It should also be noted that the deceased also gets reward if the heirs inherit from ones wealth. The purpose of Isāl-e-Thawāb is achieved in this case as well. In fact, in the enquired case, the reward will be more as one is simply submitting to the order of Allāh against ones wishes and pain.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Nabeel Valli
Student Darul Iftaa
Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net