Gift and bequest in favour of an heir

Question

Question: A man, during an illness, gathered all his heirs and, with the consent of all the heirs, divided his entire property with some inequality, had a will-deed written, and registered his two shares (?); but possession was not taken in fact — possession was found only verbally. Then this man recovered from that illness and lived for some three or four months, and nobody had any objection; then he died of another illness.

Answer

In the case asked about, the gift was not completed, because for a gift to be complete and binding the donee’s taking possession (qabd) is necessary, and here possession is explicitly negated. [ar]لا تجوز هبة المريض ولا صدقته إلا مقبوضة، فإذا قبضت فجازت من الثلث، وإذا مات الواهب قبل التسليم بطلت[/ar] “The gift of a sick person and his charity are not valid except when…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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