Islamic Will

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful.

Surah Baqarah Ayah 180

كُتِبَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ اِذَا حَضَرَ اَحَدَكُمُ الۡمَوۡتُ اِنۡ تَرَكَ خَيۡرَااۨلۡوَصِيَّةُ لِلۡوَالِدَيۡنِ وَالۡاَقۡرَبِيۡنَ بِالۡمَعۡرُوۡفِۚحَقًّا عَلَى الۡمُتَّقِيۡنَؕ

“It is decreed that when death approaches, those of you who leave behind property shall pass on equitably to parents and kinsmen. This is an obligation on the God-fearing.”

 

Prophet Muhammad pbuh has said:

“It is not fit for a Muslim to sleep at night and not to have his will underneath their pillow.”

What this means is that the Will should always be ready.

Imam Muhammad Baqir (A.S) said:

“To make a Will is the right of every Muslim.”

Imam Jaffer As-Sadiq (A.S) said:

“Rasulullah once said: If a person does not write their will, it is a sign that they are not wise.”

 

Rules of writing Wills:

  1. The person writing the Will must be sane and baligh.
  2. The Will should align with the Shariah.
  3. To act upon a will is wajib if it is in accordance to the
  4. If a person has more than one will, then the latest one will be acted upon.

The managing of the wealth after death:

  1. If there are any debts or any shari wajibat, for example Khums, they all will be paid first.
  2. All funeral expenses will be deducted from the money, but if they are outside of the wajibaat then they can only be done by the permission of all the inheritors.
  3. The Will can only be acted upon one third of the wealth left after death.
  4. If someone was to write a will with more than one third of their wealth, then if all the inheritors are happy with it, then it will be acted upon.
  5. The eldest son can take the father’s, Quran, ring and clothes, they are not included in the inheritance.
  6. Everything else will be distributed according to the shariah.

Groups of Inheritors, there are 3:

  1. Group #1:
  • Mother and Father
  • Children
  1. Group #2:
  • Paternal Grandparents
  • Brothers and Sisters
  1. Group #3:
  • Paternal Uncles and Aunties
  • Maternal Uncles and Aunties

Some important rules to do with these groups:

  1. If there is someone alive in Group 1 then no one in group 2 and 3 will receive inheritance.
  2. If someone is alive from group 2 and not group 1, then no one will receive inheritance in group 3.
  3. If there is no one alive in group 1 and 2, but is alive in group 3, then Group 3 will receive the inheritance.
  4. Between husband and wife, they are independent of any groups, in every situation they receive inheritance from each other.
  5. Until everyone one that is to receive inheritance is satisfied, then no one can use the property left behind, for example praying is not allowed there.

Note: After the death of the parents, in our culture the brothers do not let the sisters have a share of the inheritance, which is Haraam, and in such a property also, use of it is not permissible and even prayer is not valid there.

These points were mentioned in a will workshop at Idara-e-Jaaferiya in 2019

 

Additional Resources:

Book on Islamic Will by Syed Muhammed Rizvi

Shia Wills Website

Will Info on Duas.org

Imam Ali a.s Will

UK Will writing advice

Inheritance Calculator