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Fatwa CenterHelping his father in business does not entitle son to a greater share in inheritance
Question
Inheritance in the sharia: I am the eldest son of my father and started to help him in the business (factory) at the age of 14 and did hard work to make the business grow. I have 4 younger bothers and 7 younger sisters. All of them are married now. I am the only one who was involved in my father's business. My younger brothers started their own business, and now they have their own settled business. Now, after the death of my father & mother, they need their inheritance. My question is that I am the one who has been working for 35 years with my father. I have five children now, and I completely depend upon this business/factory. How will I determine the right percentage for me and my brothers & sisters from the property and business? What is my inheritance according to Islamic 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 
is His slave and Messenger.
Your share in the inheritance is no different from the legitimate share of the rest of your brothers and sisters; the male twice the share of the female.
As regards having worked with your father in his business or factory, then this is not a sound reason for taking the factory for yourself at the expense of your brothers and sisters; rather, the factory is the right of all the heirs, and they should divide it between them according to the sharee'ah. Each heir would possess from the factory according to his legitimate share in the inheritance, regardless of whether they are married or single and of whether they are poor or rich.
Your work with your father is one of the following cases:
The first case: there was an agreement between you and your father to take a fee in return for your helping him, and despite this agreement, your father did not give you that fee that you agreed upon with him. In this case, that fee is a debt owed to you that you take from the inheritance before it is divided. If the heirs dispute with you that there was no agreement between you and him in the first place, then you are required to provide evidence that such an agreement took place. If you provide evidence, then you may take your fee, and if you do not provide evidence, then you are not entitled to any fee.
The second case: there was no agreement between you and your father to take a fee for helping him, but according to the custom in your country, the son takes a fee in return for helping his father. In this case, you have the right to take a fee equal to that given in return for the same kind of work done by other workers from the inheritance before it is divided. This fee should be estimated by the people who have experience in the field of work of your father.
The third case: there was no agreement between you and your father to take a fee for helping him, and according to the custom in your country the son does not take a fee in return for helping his father; rather, the custom is that this is something pardoned or that the son only eats from the money of his father. In this case, you are not entitled to anything from the inheritance except your legitimate share in it.
Allaah knows best.
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