Answered by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt
Question:
Any good write up on annuities, pension funds and it’s shar’ī (islamic) ruling whether it forms part of the estate etc.
Answer:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Jazāk Allāh Khayr/ Thank you for contacting Mathabah Institute.
Numerous scholars have written on the topic of retirement and pension funds and their Islamic rulings. I would suggest you read the works of Muftī Taqī Usmānī and Muftī Khālid Saifullāh Raḥmānī.
As far as the ruling regarding whether the retirement funds are included in the estate or not, one should know that if the retirement funds were deposited into the accounts of the deceased while he or she was alive then it is islamicaly included in the inheritance and must be distributed to the rightful heirs. If the retirement funds are given to certain beneficiaries after the deceased’s death, then they do not form part of the deceased’s estate. They will be considered a gift from the government to the beneficiaries whom they are given to, hence no requirement of distributing to heirs. – (See: Badā’i Al-Ṣanā’I Volume 7, Page 57, Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyyah, Rad Al-Muḥtār, Vol 4, Page 502, Dār Al-Fikr, Jadīd Fiqhī Masāil Li-Al-Raḥmānī, Vol 1, Page 293, Zam Zam Publishers)
Only Allāh knows best
الْإِرْثَ إنَّمَا يَجْرِي فِي الْمَتْرُوكِ مِنْ مِلْكٍ أَوْ حَقٍّ لِلْمُوَرَّثِ عَلَى مَا قَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ مَنْ تَرَكَ مَالًا أَوْ حَقًّا فَهُوَ لِوَرَثَتِهِ – بدائع الصنائع ج٧/ ص ٥٧ دار الكتب العلمية
الْمِلْكَ مَا مِنْ شَأْنِهِ أَنْ يُتَصَرَّفَ فِيهِ بِوَصْفِ الِاخْتِصَاصِ – كتاب الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين رد المحتار – ج٤/ ص٥٠٢ دار الفكر
