His uncle refuses to give him his deceased father's property
6-10-2009 | IslamWeb
Question:
iassalammu alaikkum ,dear sir /madam
i am saeed my father died when i was 6 months old, and now i am 31 and my dad is having a property which consists of a old house and some plot. i and my mom is working abroad bbut now i lost my job and i am in india i was not able to see my property for 5 years because of my contract in my workplace now whn i am back my dads brother is not willing to gv the property to me , my mother had written her share also to me , my father had bought his brothers and sisters land too by giving them money 30 years back all the documents in my favour,
now his brother is telling take only ur fathers plot and he filed a case telling he spend money for my dads education and he wants it back , he said he look the land all this years , and the land is his , for just 5 years we were not able to look back but when ever mom come to see he used to take knife and threatened her now he himself filed a civil case what i will do my mom is not supporting me now as she hate my dads family what i will do please help
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
When a person dies, his estate becomes the right of his heirs. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much - an obligatory share.}[Quran 4:7] Allaah The Almighty explained these shares in the Quran and so did the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in the Sunnah. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah 
that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Whoever left an estate, it goes to his heirs." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Hence, there is no share for your paternal uncle in your father's estate due to the presence of the deceased's son.
As for your uncle's claim that he spent money for your father's education, he has to provide evidence that he actually spent on your father and that the money was given to him as a loan. If your uncle looked after the land all these years with your permission and the permission of the heirs, he is entitled to the wages of a person who does the same job unless there was an agreement between you and him on another amount of wages or he volunteered to take care of it. If he took care of the land without permission of the heirs, he would be considered a usurper and would not deserve any money. In any case, the land does not become his property by means of looking after it.
However, we advise you to seek help of righteous and virtuous Muslims there; perhaps they will achieve reconciliation between you. If this is not possible and there are Islamic judicial bodies specialized in investigating the issues of Muslims, you can file a suit with them. Besides, it is not permissible for the Muslim to resort to courts that are based on man-made laws unless the Islamic courts fail to find a solution.
On the other hand, a Muslim is not allowed to take what is not his right even if the judge ruled in his favor. That is because the ruling of the judge does not make an unlawful thing lawful nor does it make a lawful thing unlawful. It was narrated on the authority of Umm Salamah 
that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "You people have disputes and come and ask for my judgment. Perhaps someone amongst you can present his case in a more eloquent and convincing manner than the other. Beware! If ever I give somebody something of his brother's right based on what he said, then he should not take it as I have only given him a piece of fire." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Allaah Knows best.