Query on Pension Fund

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The Darul Iftaa bears no responsibility to any party who may or may not act on this answer and is being hereby exempted from loss or damage howsoever caused.

According to the Shariah Laws of Inheritance and Succession, the estate of the deceased will be distributed after burial expenses, paying off debts (if any), and having fulfilled permissible bequests (if any) from one-third of the total that remains after deducting burial expenses and debts.

There are two relevant issues in your query:

All monies and valuables that are the possession of a person at the time of his death will form part of his/her estate, including monies that are being owed to him. As such, the pension amount that was paid out will form part of the estate. You and your sister are not directly entitled to it.

In principle, it is only permissible for one to bequeath one third of his/her estate to individuals who are not his/her heirs. Since you and your sister were adopted, the bequest in your favour will be acceptable. However, the bequest of the remaining two thirds is incorrect. The remainder shall be distributed in accordance to the Islamic laws of inheritance and succession among the heirs of the deceased. Since we are unaware of which heirs the deceased left behind, we are unable to comment on the exact distribution of the remaining estate.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Nabeel Valli

Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net