seminar-faraidh & its implications

Bismillah

Alhamdulillah. Yesterday i was given the opportunity to see the field i'm taking being practised in real life. Though the three hour session seem short, i'm really glad to be able to attend it. Alhamdulillah, my network in Singapore is about to embark.

The topics discussed has relevancy to what i studied for the previous semester for the subject Wealth Management (Pengurusan Harta). The organisation that organised the seminar itself deals with wealth management for muslims in Singapore and the region.

Let us watch the video below first:





The speaker, Mr Sadali Rasban, started off the seminar with the videos above. Because he wanted us to see the different tools that can be used to manage our assets before we die. And the optimum usage of these tools for the benefit of our family and relatives.

We muslims have been stereotyped in our minds that our assets can only be distributed through faraidh. I agree with the speaker, that even the most jahil person about Islam, knows that when a relative dies, he or she will get a part of the person's assets.

But there are more ways to manage your wealth while you are alive. Some of them are hibah, waqaf, wasiat, joint tenancy and etc. Well, one might say that the asset through wasiat will not be legitimate until the death of the asset holder. True, but wasiat is made before one's death. So there is a planning as to who or where the asset shall be given to. If no wasiat is made, then the asset will be totally considered for faraidh.

Say, the situation is a man and his wife has no children, but they have a foster child. If the asset is given through faraidh fully, the foster child has no means to get the asset. What if the child is still incapable of financing himself/herself? It seems like an act of dhalim to the child. Here, hibah and wasiat can help the child in getting the asset of the foster father.

In any situation, the wife usually has the least share of the asset left by the late husband. What if the wife has to support her children who are still young? Joint tenancy can help the wife. Usual cases that happened is when the wife is forced to sell the house that the couple once shared, because the relatives said that the house is considered as an asset too and needs to be distributed through faraidh. If the late husband is in joint tenancy with his wife for the house, the relatives then have no business to force the wife and her children to sell the house.

There were more examples given by the speaker, but i only touched two of them.

All in all, i'm very pleased with the seminar. It was truly an enlightening one, especially since every statement is backed up by the Quran, hadiths and quotes from ulama'.

Alhamdulillah. There is a path that i can go through now. My choice is right, i'm sure.

Wallahu 'alam...