Six reasons you are being

unfair to your children

By Ahmed Shaikh, Attorney at Law

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

My legal and consulting practice is in the area of estate planning for both Muslims and non-
Muslims. However, a large portion of my practice involves the Islamic rules of inheritance
for Muslims. I am frequently asked, and am in a particularly good position to answer, the
question as to what the differences between the Islamic rules of inheritance and the system
as it exists in the United States.

While I could simply answer that the Islamic rules of inheritance is a faridah, or an
obligation for Muslims, there is another reason: it's fairer.

As part of the regular discussion that I have within the Muslim community on the subject, I
present to you six reasons why you are probably being unfair to your children right now!

Keep in mind nothing in this letter should be construed as tax or legal advice for your
individual situation. If you need this sort of advice, you should call the number at the end.

Reason 1. The American system is generally rigged so that the surviving

spouse gets every penny after the death of the first spouse.
You may ask "what's the problem here? I love my spouse; she takes care of my children,
why can't I give her everything?" The problem is, if you are a Muslim, the system of
inheritance is based on rights specified in the Quran. It's not based on your feelings.

The Quran gives specific shares to specific people after you die. The Quran states
specifically that “[This is] an injunction from God: and God is all-knowing, forbearing.”
Quran, 4:12

You may think you know who is best entitled to your money, because, after all, it is YOUR
MONEY. It really is not. The premise behind the Islamic rules of inheritance is that you
actually do not own any money. Allah has dominion over your property.

“His is the dominion over the heavens and the earth; He grants life and deals death; and He
has the power to will anything.” Quran 57:2

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Obviously, you do have property in your control. That property is entrusted to you by Allah.
The only reason you have it at all is because of Allah.

Misuse of your property is a violation of that trust.

If you fail to pay zakat on your property, you are violating a trust. If you spend your money
to gamble, if you spend it on alcohol, you are violating that trust.

If you die and you simply give everything to your wife or to your husband because you love
your husband and that's how you feel and you don't care about anything else because it's
"your money" then you are violating that trust.

Most of the time, you are giving everything to your husband or to your wife without really
even thinking about it. If you have a house, you probably own it as "joint owners with right
of survivorship." This means whoever dies last it gets everything.

Most couples have joint bank accounts; they make each other beneficiaries in their
retirement plans such as a 401(k) or an IRA.

In large part this is done because that's the expectation, however, this practice is unfair to
children and parents.

Planning based on the Islamic Rules of Inheritance offers a better way that respects the
rights of people other than your spouse.

Reason 2. There is a mystifying certainty that the surviving spouse will

take care of the children.
Most people certainly do not expect to die anytime soon, indeed, deaths before the average
life expectancy is considered "unexpected." Even so, unexpected deaths happen all the
time.

Since the children frequently belong to both the husband and the wife, it's reasonable to
assume that the other one would take care of the children in the event one of them dies. So
why not just give everything to the surviving spouse?

One obvious answer is that the surviving spouse may also die. But when it comes to
inheritance, that's easy right? Everything goes to the same children. Not so fast.

Things do not stand still just because you die. Life goes on. Your surviving spouse may live
on for many years after you die. There may be new marriages, even multiple marriages,
new children, lawsuits, bankruptcies, or a wide range of other things, some good, some bad
and some indifferent. None of them involve you, because you have died.

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In my own practice, I've come across many people who have had their spouses die. Most of
them end up getting remarried. On occasion, I would find a widower who gets married
multiple times!

In some of my earlier materials over the years I have shown the chart below on how
Muslims unintentionally “disinherit” their own children. This could happen when a
widower gets remarried, giving all the property to his new wife and then dies. The children
of the original couple would end up getting absolutely nothing!

This simple little chart has been directly relevant to a number of people who were
absolutely powerless to do anything about it.

Generally, I have found the powerless person to be a husband in a second marriage after
the first wife has died. An older man with children from a prior marriage marries a younger
woman, possibly from overseas.

He realizes them that he is older, and will likely not outlive his younger wife. He also
realizes that his children are unlikely to get a nickel. He knows this is unfair and he would
like to do something about it.

But he can't.

The new wife just won't let them do anything. He simply cannot address this issue at all for
the sake of domestic harmony with his new wife. He knows his children will be excluded,
but feels helpless to do anything about it.

If you are in a first marriage, you are still alive and healthy, you need to make sure and
address the rights of your children. While you're at it, you need to address the rights of

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your parents. In Islam, parents have the right to inheritance just as children do. The spouse
also has the right to inheritance but does not have the right to everything.

The truth is, you have absolutely no idea what the future will hold for you or your spouse.
You do not know when you will die, if your spouse will get remarried and if remarried, who
would have the power position in the relationship. You may think you know, but
experience has shown you are probably wrong.

Unless you have your property organized, unless you have the rights of the people who are
entitled to inheritance under the Islamic rules of inheritance specified in writing, you do
not know that you are doing right by them. In fact, by doing nothing, you are arranging for a
future injustice against your own children.

Reason 3. You may be unwittingly laying the foundations for future strife
and conflict within your own family.
I recently had a case involving a family where all the children loved each other. The parents
thought they had good children; they all had good educations, were happily married with
their own families and got along with each other well. Then, the last parent died.

A wide range of rivalries and jealousies came to the forefront. The sister decided to sue the
brother for various shenanigans in administering property. Brothers and sisters in this
family will likely never get along with each other again, where they actually got along quite
well only months before. This is common in the United States. In fact, hundreds of
courtrooms all across the country host almost nothing but cases like this.

When I described the Islamic rules of inheritance to non-Muslims, particularly non-Muslim

attorneys who handle these types of cases, it is obvious to many of them that it solves a lot
of problems.

The Islamic rules of inheritance has a near magical effect of wiping out a wide range of
animosities, jealousies, sibling rivalries, real or perceived favoritism and all sorts of other
maladies affecting not just the American family, but families all over the world.

It's a solution that is based on fairness that goes beyond what a father and mother thinks is
fair.

Let's be honest. In the Muslim community in the United States, there are many
disappointments. Many children do not live up to the expectations that their parents have
for them. They may not be "good Muslims" they may have married the wrong person, they
may not visit their parents enough, they may not become doctors.

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Children frequently accuse their siblings of manipulating their parents, sons in law's and
daughters in-laws start to get in the act. It can become mess.

If you follow the Islamic rules of inheritance, much of this is wiped clean.

I do recommend a number of steps be taken in order to encourage greater family harmony

and resolve disputes that may arise. Nevertheless, the Islamic rules of inheritance itself is
far superior to simply leaving the issue of inheritance to the whims of one person.

The Islamic rules of inheritance is a system that is good for society and good for families.

If you care at all about how your children and family members will interact with each other,
you will need to honor the Islamic rules of inheritance. Ignoring the Islamic rules of
inheritance may well be an excellent path to causing discontent and conflict among the
people that you love.

Reason 4. You think the American system of inheritance is fairer because

boys and girls are treated equally in America.

Unfortunately, this sad myth has existed within the Muslim community for some time.
There is no rule in the United States that boys and girls are treated equally. In fact, much of
the time, they are not. In fact, as I described above, it's relatively common for children to
not get anything at all.

The American system in general, does not recognize any inherent "right" to inheritance the
way we do in the Islamic system. If you want to give everything to your daughter, you
certainly can. If you want to give everything to your house full of cats- you’re welcome to
do so. In fact, many people do!

The American system of inheritance relies on the idea that people can do as they please
with their property. It’s your money, your dominion.

Under the American system you can treat anyone as well or as poorly as your heart desires.
In Islam, you have to acknowledge rights provided in the Quran.

I once came across someone in the Muslim community who simply hated his children. He
had not seen them in many years, he had never met his grandchildren, and he just wanted
to give all his money to a Masjid.

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When I informed him I cannot do a plan for a Muslim who wants to exclude his children
because in Islam, it is prohibited to help someone do something that is itself prohibited, he
said “Thank God in America we do not have to follow the Islamic system!” Remember, this
is somebody who wanted to give all of his money away to a Masjid!

The biggest problem that I've come across with Muslims is not the fact that that boys and
girls get different shares; this is an issue that is easily understood and accepted, but that
many Muslims don't like the idea that their children have the right to inheritance.

The basic reason why in Islam, a daughter share is half of what a son’s a share is, (this is a
rule concerning children, not gender specifically) is that when a son gets married, the
inheritance must be used for the benefit of his family. This is an obligation. However, when
a daughter gets married, there is no obligation that the daughter spends anything on her
family.

The rule exists because of the relative disparity in obligations, it has nothing to do with
who the breadwinner is, whether or not one spouse works and another does not, whether
one is in business and the other is not, etc.

Islamic Inheritance is not a system that is about your feelings. It’s about rights and
obligations.

Reason 5. You fear that if you plan any other way, the surviving spouse
may somehow end up on the street because you have to sell your house.
This is a reasonable but unfounded fear. The Islamic system is based on the rights of the
people who are entitled to inheritance. You must honor and respect rights.

It is possible to preserve the property so that the surviving spouse has a place to live and to
respect the rights of Islamic heirs without making any of your loved ones, including your
spouse, homeless.

In order to make this happen, you will need to do some planning. Simply dividing up our
home’s ownership leaves the surviving spouse, and potentially all the people who are
entitled to inheritance, with more personal liability than they should potentially have to
handle.

If everything were simply left to the control of the surviving spouse, it may well be that you
are leaving everything to the control of the surviving spouse’s new husband or wife! This is
certainly something you do not want to do either.

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Any planning that you do in order to protect the surviving spouse needs to address the
following issues:

1. The rights of the people who are entitled to inheritance under the Islamic rules of
inheritance.

2. Protection for the surviving spouse and others in the event of lawsuits, bankruptcy
or other potential pitfalls that have nothing to do with the other heirs.

3. Some sort of protection from remarriage.

While there are a number of different ways to plan, not planning at all is simply allowing
for future injustices.

Reason 6. Procrastination.
The truth is you probably already know this is an obligation that you must take care of
right away. However, there are a number of little creatures in your head that are telling you
otherwise.

One of them is the cost involved (a minimum of $2000 for married couples with a
maximum for most families at about $6500, depending on the design you choose) for
something that materially benefits you in no way at all.

Protecting your family’s rights does not make you any richer, any better looking, it does not
play music in a shiny little box or project football games to a 102 inch screen on your wall.
It is not about you, and yet, it has everything to do with you.

You are doing it for the people that you love. You are doing it for the people the Quran says
have the right to inherit from you in Islam. For far too many people, this can wait. It could
wait until you are too old, too tired and too confused to ever do it. I've seen this happen
before. People live their entire lives wanting to do the right thing, and never do it.

If you do nothing, there is no government agency, no family member, no spouse, nobody at

all you can confidently rely on that will make sure that the rights of the persons who are
entitled to inheritance under the Islamic rules of inheritance will ever be addressed. If you
do not deal with it, nobody will.

In order to make this process as easy as possible, our clients typically do not fill out a
worksheet as we obtain necessary information over the phone. If you live far away from
Orange County, CA, we frequently do Attorney appointments over the phone during
business hours. The documents can even be signed, witnessed and notarized in the comfort
of your own home on any day of the week, including weekends.

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Doing the right thing does not need to be a hassle. It does however need to get done right
away.

In the words of some of my clients:

"For a long time I knew that I should have an estate plan for my family. I guess I
procrastinated because I felt that an average attorney does not understand the needs of the
Muslim community. Then, I was introduced to Ahmed Shaikh. I used his service; I found it
highly professional, and I recommended it to friends."

Mazen Hashem
La Crescenta, CA

"My wife and I would highly recommend Ahmed Shaikh for Islamic Inheritance Planning.
We feel assured we are compliant with our religious duties."

Riaz Surti
Cerritos, CA

"It is very important for Muslims to have their estate planned according the Shari'ah.
Ahmed Shaikh is one of the few attorneys who knows both US laws and the requirements
of the Shari'ah to prepare an Islamic Inheritance Plan.

I myself benefited from his services and found him very thorough and professional."

Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi

Chairman
The Fiqh Council of North America

P.S. If you think that you need to take care of your family and follow the Islamic rules of
inheritance, call 866-403-5294 and ask to schedule an appointment for Islamic Inheritance.

P.P.S. Once you schedule an appointment, by calling 866-403-5294, we will send you a 22
page white paper describing the entire process of Islamic inheritance so that most of your
questions would be answered. Keep in mind, nothing in this letter should be considered
legal advice or can be used to avoid tax penalties that you may owe.