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Fatwa CenterAn acknowledgement on behalf of a non-heir during one's last sickness
Question
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum; Please calculate the inheritance according to the following information -Does the deceased have male relatives who are entitled to inherit: (A son) Number 1 -Does the deceased have female relatives who are entitled to inherit : (A daughter) Number 3 (A wife) Number 1 - The will which the deceased left behind and that is related to his inheritance is : He has verbally told his wife, at his death bed to give a specific land to his daughter"s sons, as this land was bought by his daughter"s husband under his father in law name, as the daughter"s father was looking after the whole family matter and obligation of his father - in -law - Additional information : He has verbally told his wife, at his death bed to give a specific land to his daughter"s sons, as this land was bought by his daughter"s husband under his father in law name, as the daughter"s father was looking after the whole family matter and obligation of his father - in -law
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.
If the deceased did not leave other heirs entitled to inherit other than those mentioned in the question, then the wife gets one eighth of the estate as a fixed share. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt.} [Quran 4:12]
The remainder of the estate should be divided among the son and daughters by virtue of Ta‘seeb (i.e. by virtue of having a paternal relation with the deceased and not having an allotted share, so they get what is left after the allotted shares have been distributed); the male gets double the share of the female. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {Allaah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.} [Quran 4:11]
Hence, the estate should be divided into forty shares. The wife gets one eighth (five shares), the son gets fourteen shares, and each daughter gets seven shares.
As for the will, the information you have provided in the question is not clear. According to what we understand from the information in the question, the husband of the deceased's daughter had bought a plot of land with his own money and registered it in the name of the deceased (his father-in-law) because he was the one responsible for the affairs of his daughter's family. Then, the father passed away and made a bequest for the plot to be given to his daughter's sons. If this is the case, then the deceased had acknowledged that this plot of land was not his own property and this is considered a valid formal acknowledgment of debt according to the majority of the scholars.
Ibn Qudaamah 
said: "Ibn Al-Munthir said: 'All of the scholars whose knowledge we have preserved unanimously agreed that an acknowledgment of debt made by a Muslim on his death-bed in favor of a non-heir is valid and binding … . Our companions (the Hanbalis) also transmitted a report that such an acknowledgment is not accepted because it is made on the death-bed; they maintained that it is similar to that made in favor of an heir.' In our favor is that it is an acknowledgement about which there is no suspicion, so it is accepted like an acknowledgement during health. What confirms this is that during one's final sickness, one is more likely to be precautious concerning his affairs, to clear himself of liability and to pursue the truth, so it should be accepted with greater reason. And it is unlike the acknowledgement on behalf of an heir due to the suspicion associated with it (i.e. he may be inclined to one of his heirs against the others)." [Al-Mughni]
Therefore, the land should be given to its original owner (the husband of the deceased's daughter) if the daughter's husband is still alive or to his heirs if he is dead. If the land was bought with the money of the daughter's husband, it is his legal property according to the Islamic Law. We do not know why the deceased would make a bequest for the land to be given to his daughter's sons (although the daughter's husband has other heirs if he is dead). Therefore, we advise you not to settle for our Fatwa but instead to consult a reliable scholar orally so as to clear up the ambiguities in this matter.
Allaah Knows best.
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