Buying a house in a son’s name does not make him its owner

Question

Question: Zayd had his son Bakr conduct trade with his (Zayd’s) money and also bought a house in his name, but Zayd did not intend to make him the owner; rather, he did so on account of some consideration of his own. Later he also transferred the trade from Bakr to someone else’s name, and Bakr went on working as an employee; a formal document has been written. Now Bakr has died. Do his heirs have any right of inheritance or not?

Answer

The pillar (rukn) of a sale is offer and acceptance (ijab and qabul). If Zayd bought the house for himself and declared to Bakr, “I am buying the house for myself, and for some consideration I am buying it in your name,” then its owner is Zayd. So if after that Zayd did not make a gift (hiba)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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