He does not have any children and he wants to give his wealth to his wife and his brother’s daughter and donate the rest to charity

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

If what you mean by adoption is that this girl has become
like your daughter, in the sense that she is named after you and carries you
name, this is haraam and is not permissible. Allah declared it invalid in
the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“nor has He made your adopted sons your real sons. That is
but your saying with your mouths. But Allah says the truth, and He guides to
the (Right) Way.

Call them (adopted sons) by (the names of) their fathers,
that is more just with Allah. But if you know not their fathers (names, call
them) your brothers in faith and Mawaleekum (your freed slaves)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:4-5].

But if what you mean by adoption is that you have taken her
in and are looking after her and treating her kindly by spending on her and
raising her, this is something that is encouraged (mustahabb) and — in your
case — it comes under the heading of upholding ties of kinship, because
your brother’s daughter is one of your relatives with whom you are obliged
to uphold ties. It is well known that acts of kindness towards relatives are
superior to acts of kindness towards strangers. An-Nasaa’i (2582),
at-Tirmidhi (658) and Ibn Maajah (1844) narrated from Salmaan ibn ‘Aamir
(may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: “Charity given to the poor is charity, and that
given to a relative is two things: charity and upholding the ties of
kinship.”

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh an-Nasaa’i.

With regard to what you want to give to your brother’s
daughter and your wife, if you want to give this gift to them when you are
still alive, there is nothing wrong that that, subject to certain
conditions:

1.

That you do that when you are in good health, not when you
are sick and there is the fear that you may die, because a gift given in the
latter case comes under the same ruling as inheritance, in that it is not
valid if given to an heir (one who automatically inherits according to the
rules on inheritance), or to a stranger (non-relative) if it is more than
one third of the wealth, unless the heirs agree to that.

Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Jibreen said: It is permissible for the
husband, when he is still in good health and still alive, to give whatever
he wants to his wife in return for her patience or help, or what he owes her
of the mahr (dowry) or other wealth, so long as he does not do that in order
to harm the other heirs. He may give her whatever he wants and it is not
limited to one-quarter of his wealth.

The same applies to the wife: she may give her husband
whatever she wants of her wealth or dowry, because Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part
of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm (as Allah has
made it lawful)”

[an-Nisa’ 4:4].

But that is not permissible in the event of illness, because
then it is regarded as a bequest to an heir.

End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah, 3/29

The scholars have discussed guidelines on illness in which
there is the fear that the individual may die. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: The illness in which there is the fear that
the individual may die is that in which if the individual dies, it is not
regarded as something rare; in other words, it is nothing strange if the
individual dies from that illness. And it was said that it refers to that in
which it is thought likely that he will die. The illness in which there is
no fear that the individual will die is that in which if the individual
dies, it is something rare.

End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ ‘ala Zaad al-Mustaqni‘,
11/101

2.

That the purpose of giving this gift should not be to harm
the heirs or deprive them of their inheritance. We have previously explained
that giving gift with the intention of causing harm to the heirs is haraam
and is not permissible. Please see fatwa no.
182290

In fact, what clearly appears to be the case from your
question is that you want to deprive your brothers and sisters of their
inheritance, hence you want them to give you a guarantee that they will not
demand their rights to the inheritance after you die. This is undoubtedly
something haraam. It is also haraam for you to do anything with the
intention of harming some of the heirs or depriving them of their
inheritance.

3.

The gift that you want to give to your brother’s daughter or
to your wife should be handed over during your lifetime, so that they are
incomplete control of it and are fully able to dispose of it as any owner is
able to dispose of his property.

But if you gave this wealth to them on the condition that it
would be handed over to them and come under their control and they would be
able to dispose of it after your death, then this is a bequest, not a gift.
It is not permissible to make a bequest to one’s wife, because she is an
heir (who is automatically entitled to a share of the estate according to
sharee‘ah), and there can be no bequest to an heir, because of the report
narrated by Abu Dawood (2870), at-Tirmidhi (2120), an-Nasaa’i (4641), and
Ibn Maajah (2713) from Abu Umaamah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
say: “Allaah has given each person who has rights his rights, and there is
no bequest for an heir.”

Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.

But if it so happens that the deceased had made a bequest to
one of the heirs, and the other heirs approved of that bequest, then it may
be executed, because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: “It is not permissible to make a bequest to an heir unless the
other heirs agree.”

Narrated by ad-Daaraqutni; classed as hasan by al-Haafiz Ibn
Hajar in Buloogh al-Maraam

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
al-Mughni (6/59): If he makes a bequest to one of his heirs, and the
other heirs did not agree to it, then it is not valid, and there is no
difference of scholarly opinion on this matter. Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn ‘Abd
al-Barr said: The scholars are unanimously agreed on that, and there are
reports from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) to that effect. Abu Umaamah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “Allaah has given each
person who has rights his rights, and there is no bequest for an heir.”

Narrated by Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and at-Tirmidhi. But if
they (the other heirs) agree to it, then it is permissible according to the
majority of scholars. End quote.

With regard to the bequest to your brother’s daughter, it is
permissible as she is not one of the heirs. In this case the bequest to her
is regarded as Islamically acceptable, so as to ensure that she will get the
money after you die. But it is not permissible to bequeath to her or to
anyone else anything but one third or less, no more than that. The Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may
Allah be pleased with him) to bequeath more than one third. al-Bukhaari
(2742) and Muslim (1628) narrated that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas said: O
Messenger of Allah, can I bequeath all my wealth? He said: “No.” I said:
Then one half? He said: “No.” I said: One third? He said: “Yes, but one
third is a lot. If you leave your family well off that is better than
leaving them asking of people.”

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (16/317): It
is not permissible to bequeath more than one third, and a bequest to an heir
is not valid unless the other heirs agree, because of the words of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has given
each person who has rights his rights, and there is no bequest for an heir.”
Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah, and ad-Daaraqutni,
who added at the end of it: “unless the [other] heirs agree.” End quote.

Many of the scholars regard it as mustahabb or encouraged for
the one who makes a bequest to bequeath less than one third. It says in
al-Kaafi fi Fiqh Ibn Hanbal (2/265): Ibn ‘Abbaas said: I wish that
people would bequeath less than one third, because the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said “… but one third is a lot.”
Agreed upon. Abu Bakr bequeathed one fifth and said: I am pleased with what
Allah is pleased with for Himself. ‘Ali said: Bequeathing one fifth is
dearer to me then bequeathing one third. End quote.

However it should be pointed out that making a bequest with
the aim of harming the heirs is not permissible, as we have explained in
fatwa no. 74974.

With regard to your request from your siblings to give up
their shares of what you leave behind, we do not advise you to do that for
several reasons:

1.This instruction is indicative
of the intention to deprive them of their legitimate shar‘i rights, and it
is well known that this is a haraam purpose. We have explained above that
bequests and gifts aimed at harming the heirs or denying them their
legitimate shar‘i right to inheritance is forbidden in Islam.

2.This instruction could cause
alienation and resentment between you and your siblings. The Shaytaan could
take advantage of it to spoil the relationship between you; he could whisper
(waswaas) to your siblings and instil in their minds the idea that you hate
them and do not want them to benefit from your wealth after you are gone.

3.They may agree and give up
their share of the inheritance unwillingly, out of shyness and
embarrassment. It is well known that it is not permissible to use
embarrassment to take people’s rights away from them. It says in
al-Fataawa al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kubra (3/30):

Do you not see that there is scholarly consensus on the fact
that if something is taken from a person by means of embarrassment, when
there is no willingness on his part, the one who takes it does not gain
possession of it. The scholars explained that as involving compulsion using
the weapon of embarrassment, which is like compulsion using a real weapon.
In fact many people would accept the real sword and put up with the injuries
it causes when they would not accept the sword of embarrassment, out of fear
for their dignity and standing which to which wise people give precedence
and fear greatly for it. End quote.

With regard to the Islamic ruling on the estate, it is as
follows.

Firstly:

The costs of preparing the deceased, namely ghusl, shrouding
and burying, should come from his estate. It says in Saheeh al-Bukhaari
(2/77): Ibraaheem said: First of all comes (the cost of) the shroud, then
paying of debts, then bequests. Sufyaan said: The cost of the grave and
ghusl come under the heading of shrouding. End quote.

Secondly:

After preparation of the deceased, his debts should be paid
off from his estate, if the deceased owes any debts. Then any bequests that
he made should be given, up to a limit of one third or less, because Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“…after the payment of legacies he may have bequeathed or
debts” [an-Nisa’ 4:11].

Thirdly:

The estate is to be divided among the heirs according to the
rulings of sharee‘ah. With regard to your estate in particular, the
inheritance is to be divided among your wife and your siblings, if you die
before them. Your wife is entitled to one quarter of the estate because you
have no children to inherit from you. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“their (your wives) share is a fourth if you leave no
child; but if you leave a child, they get an eighth of that which you leave
after payment of legacies that you may have bequeathed or debts”

[an-Nisa’ 4:12].

The rest of the estate goes to your siblings, with each male
getting the share of two females; in other words, the brother gets twice as
much as the sister.

To sum up:

What we advise you to do is to make a bequest to your
brother’s daughter whom you have adopted, giving her something from your
legacy that is no more than one third, which she will receive after your
death, or you can give it to her whilst you are still alive.

Your wife is entitled to one quarter of your estate on the
basis of inheritance. If you are afraid that she will not be given her
rights after you die, then you can give that to her whilst you are still
alive.

If you want to denote some of your wealth to charity whilst
you are still alive, and you are not suffering from illness that is likely
to lead to your death, then you may donate whatever you want, but do not
neglect the rights of your heirs who will come after you or deprive them of
taking some of your wealth.

And Allah knows best.