There is nothing wrong about disposing one’s property by giving a part of it to one or more heirs or others during one’s lifetime. But there are two conditions that must be met in this regard. Firstly, one is to be sane, in good health, and doing so out of free will. Secondly, one is not to do so in a spirit of doing injustice to the other heirs.
Dr. Ahmad Taha Rayan, a professor of comparative fiqh at Al-Azhar University, states: There are two conditions that he is required to abide by in this respect. Firstly, he is to be sane, healthy, and doing so out of free will, without any coercion practiced against him.
Secondly, he should not mean by doing so to deprive the other heirs from their shares of his property after his departing this life. He might do so if this apartment was all or most of his property. If this was the case, he would be depriving his heirs of their rights in favor of one who would not be worthy of what he/she would take.
Besides, doing something of this kind would be regarded as disobedience to Almighty Allah’s laws of inheritance. Almighty Allah has laid down the laws of inheritance Himself; He did not leave it to people to decide in this regard, so that He Almighty guarantees that every heir takes his/her right.
Furthermore, He Almighty has warned those who disobey Him in this regard that they will receive severe punishments on the Day of Judgment.
In fact, all people’s property is originally Almighty Allah’s, and He Almighty made them His viceroys regarding this property so that they may use this property in what is good for them. Hence, people are not entitled to distribute inheritance in a way that contradicts Almighty Allah’s laws in this respect.
That is why Almighty Allah says after stressing the importance of Muslims’ abiding by the laws of inheritance according to the Qur’an: (And whoso disobeyeth Allah and His Messenger and transgresseth His limits, He will make him enter Fire, where such will dwell for ever; his will be a shameful doom) (An-Nisa’ 4: 14).
Based on the above, it is permissible for you, dear questioner, to transfer the ownership of your apartment to your wife as a present from you to her if you are sane, healthy, and do not mean by this to deprive the other heirs of their shares of the property you leave after departing this life.
It was reported that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) gave his daughter `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) the crop of some of his palm trees, without giving his other children something of the like.
It was also reported that `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave his son `Asem some of his money without giving the rest of his children.
Those both great companions were rightly guided caliphs about whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Stick to my Sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs after me; hold fast to them.”