Sheikh’s wife loses £8.3 million London mansion battle over Islamic gift claim

Makiyah Al Jaber has lost a High Court battle over an £8.3 million London mansion after arguing that her billionaire husband had gifted her the property under Islamic custom. The dispute centred on whether the family home, despite being registered in Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber’s name, was actually owned by his wife and therefore protected from claims against his business debts. The ruling has left her facing the possibility of losing the residence where she has lived for more than three decades and raised their three children.Why the billionaire sheikh’s wife lost the London mansion ownership battleThe case concerned a property on Winnington Road in Hampstead Garden Suburb, north London. According to The Independent, the house is valued at £8.3 million. It sits on a street that overtook the nearby Bishop’s Avenue, widely known as Billionaires’ Row, as Britain’s most expensive residential street in 2025.Makiyah Al Jaber maintained that the mansion belonged to her in practice, even though the legal title was held solely by her husband. She said the house had been purchased specifically for her in accordance with an Islamic custom under which a husband is responsible for providing a home for his wife, with the property understood to belong to her.Her argument became particularly important after financial claims against her husband threatened the family residence.The…