UNVEILING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPOSING HIBAH AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO NAFKAH SECURITY FOR WIDOWS

Amylia Fuziana Azmi; Nor Laila Ahmad; Mohamad Zaharuddin Zakaria; Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh; Mushaddad Hasbullah

doi:10.33102/mjsl.vol12no2.947

Authors

Amylia Fuziana Azmi Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Cawangan Negeri Sembilan Kampus Seremban Persiaran Seremban Tiga/1, Seremban 3 70300 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Nor Laila Ahmad Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Cawangan Negeri Sembilan Kampus Seremban Persiaran Seremban Tiga/1, Seremban 3 70300 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4264-5742
Mohamad Zaharuddin Zakaria Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8227-0693
Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Mushaddad Hasbullah Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7271-5019

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33102/mjsl.vol12no2.947

Keywords:

Hibah, nafkah, property, right, widows

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the study and promotion of hibah (gifts) as one of the alternatives in Islamic estate planning. This paper aims to shed light on the instrument of hibah as an alternative payment for nafkah (alimony) to the wife as security for maintaining the widow’s claim to the husband’s property after the husband's death. This study adopts a doctrinal approach as it requires an examination of the legislation relating to hibah and nafkah based on several legal provisions from the various statutes in Malaysia. This approach is important to clarify the current and existing legal provisions relating to hibah and nafkah from the various statutes as a specific hibah and nafkah law has not yet been enacted in Malaysia. Finally, this study is also based on library-based research where the data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Overall, this study provides valuable information on the existing legal provisions on hibah and nafkah in Malaysia and makes some important recommendations to safeguard the rights of women in property distribution, especially widows. It takes into account that Islam encourages the practise of systematic estate planning to ensure the rights of heirs to the deceased’s assets. The findings of this study will raise awareness of the need for proper wealth planning by the hibah for women, which will ultimately benefit widows after the death of their husbands.

Downloads

References

Abdul Rahman, A. H., & Hassan, R. (2020). Islamic estate planning in Malaysia: The dilemma. Journal of Islam in Asia, 17(2), 237-268.

Abdullatib, S. (2020, June 9). “‘Hibah’ best tool to resolve Muslim inheritance issues”. Bernama. https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=1849291

Ahmad Irfan. (2020). Inheritance with different religions in Counter Legal Draft of Islamic Law Compilation: Legal epistemological analysis. Al-Bayyinah: Journal of Islamic Law, 4(1), 91-104.

Ahmad, M. Y., Mohamad, M. N., Muda, M. Z., Jamsari, E. A., Wan Hassan, W. Z., & Mohd Kashim, M. I. A. (2018). Confronting the problem of managing unclaimed inheritance property of Muslims in Malaysia. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 9(4), 1459-1466.

Al-Bukhari, M. B. I. (1422H). Sahih al-Bukhari (Vol. 9). Darul Tuq al-Najah.

Al-Khaṭib al-Syarbini. (1994). Mughni al-Muhtāj (Vol. 2). Darul Kutub al-Ilmiah.

Al-Khin, M., & Al-Bugha, M. (1996). Al-Fiqh al-Manhaji (4th ed., Vol. 4). Darul Qalam.

Azmi, A. F., Nik Saleh, N. S. S., & Zakaria, M. Z. (2022). Hibah as alternative to resolve inheritance issue among new Muslim converts (Muallaf) in Malaysia: An analysis. Islāmiyyāt, 44(1), 81-87.

Basah, S., & Tahir, P. R. (2019). Islamic estate planning: What Malaysian Muslim women must know. Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 2(5), 1-5.

Hassan, R., & Mohamad Zaizi, N. A. (2020). The concept and application of Hibah as a financial instrument from the Malaysian legal perspective: An analysis. International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Law Journal, 28(1), 227-252.

Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984.

Islamic Family Law (Laws of Brunei, Chapter 217).

Ismail, R., Yaacob, S. E., & Muda, M. Z. (2020). Keperluan deklarasi Hibah dan kekangannya dalam perancangan harta orang Islam. Journal of Contemporary Islamic Law, 5(2), 77-83.

Kamarudin, M. K., & Abdullah, A. (2016). Amalan pembahagian faraidh di Malaysia. Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE), 2(3), 11-19.

Khairulrijal, R. (2024, July 3). “JJ’s widow, mother reach out-of-court settlement over RM2.1 billion assets claim”. New Straits Times. https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2024/07/1071792/jjs-widow-mother-reach-out-court-settlement-over-rm21-billion

Mohd, A., & Ibrahim, B. H. (2010). Muslim wife’s rights to maintenance: Husband’s duty to maintain a working wife in Islamic law and the law in Malaysia. International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Law Journal, 18, 103-121.

Omar, N., & Muda, Z. (2017). Change of mazhab (school of thought): The effects on inheritance in Islamic family law. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(11), 633-642.

RMS v RK and Five Others (Civil Case 08100-017-0367-2014).

Tengku Muda, T. F. M., Mohd, A., & Md. Hashim, N. (2017). Darar or harm for failure to maintain the wife: A Quranic and juristic approach on marriage dissolution. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(8), 2222-6990.

Wan Ismail, W. A. F., A Rashid, M. R., Abdul Shukor, S., Abdul Mutalib, L., Baharuddin, A. S., Mas’ad Saleh, M. A., … Alias, M. A. A. (2020). Hibah melalui khidmat sistem pesanan ringkas (SMS) bagi pesakit COVID-19 dalam keadaan maraḍ al-mawt menurut perspektif syarak dan perundangan Islam: Hibah using short message service (SMS) for COVID-19 patients in maraḍ al-mawt condition according to syara’ and Islamic perspective. AL-MAQASID: The International Journal of Maqasid Studies and Advanced Islamic Research, 1(2), 42–54. https://doi.org/10.55265/almaqasid.v1i2.7

Yelwa, M. I. (2013). Protection of wife’s right to maintenance in Islamic law and its implementation in the Malaysian Islamic Family Law. IIUM Law Journal, 21(2), 209-231.