Short answer
Everything the person owned, including clothes, phone, car and jewellery, becomes part of their estate at death. After funeral costs, debts and any will, it belongs to the heirs. So belongings should not be given away, sold or kept by one relative without the heirs' agreement, and a child heir's share cannot be given away at all.
The tarikah (estate) includes every item owned at death. The heirs own it jointly by their shares. Giving items to charity or taking keepsakes needs the consent of the adult heirs, and a minor heir's share cannot be donated, even by the guardian.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
After a death, families often empty the wardrobe quickly, give clothes to the mosque, or let one person keep a watch or a car. These acts come from good intentions, but they touch other people's rights. The four schools agree on the principle.
- List what there is: clothes, jewellery, phones, books, furniture, vehicles, savings, and money owed to the person.
- Settle the first claims: funeral costs, then debts, then a valid will within one third; see paying debts.
- Divide or agree: the rest belongs to the heirs by their shares; see the inheritance calculator. Items can be valued and shared out, or sold and the money divided.
- Charity by consent: if all the adult heirs agree, clothes and items can be given away as sadaqah for the dead person, which is a good use.
- Keepsakes: if one heir wants a watch or a Quran, the others can agree, or its value can come from that heir's share.
Children's shares. If an heir is under age, their share must be kept or used for them. The Quran warns strongly about consuming the wealth of orphans, so set aside the value of a child's share before anything is given away.
Myths to drop: that the clothes must be given away within three days, that wearing them brings bad luck, or that they must be burned. None of this is from Islam. What belonged to the widow, including gifts her husband gave her in his lifetime, stays hers. What was his is part of the estate, and she can keep using it with the other heirs' agreement.
Pensions, joint accounts and life insurance need a mufti's answer for your case. See also who inherits.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:10
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَٰلَ ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ ظُلْمًا إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ نَارًۭا ۖ وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيرًۭا ﴿١٠﴾
Indeed, those who devour the property of orphans unjustly are only consuming into their bellies fire. And they will be burned in a Blaze.
A child heir's share must not be given away or used up.
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:7
لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ٱلْوَٰلِدَانِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَآءِ نَصِيبٌۭ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ ٱلْوَٰلِدَانِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ ۚ نَصِيبًۭا مَّفْرُوضًۭا ﴿٧﴾
For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much - an obligatory share.
Everything left passes to the heirs by their shares.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2398
Sahih... من ترك مالا فلورثته ومن ترك كلا فإلينا ...
"Whoever leaves wealth, it is for his heirs; whoever leaves dependants, they are our responsibility."
What a person leaves belongs to the heirs.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Sirajiyya, Opening chapter on the rights attached to the estate. The order of claims on everything the deceased left.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hiba. A guardian cannot gift a minor's property.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.