What is the ruling on writing a will? Is it obligatory?
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Question:
The questioner asks: What is the ruling on writing a will? Is it obligatory? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
A will falls into two categories: an obligatory one and a recommended one. The obligatory category is when a person has debts, or holds trusts, or has debts owed to him by people without written documentation; in that case, he must make a will regarding his wealth, what he owes, and the trusts and deposits he holds for people, so that they are not lost to their owners after his death. This is obligatory upon him. For this reason, it came in the hadith:Sunan Abi Dawud 2862Sahih (Al-Albani) This is regarding the obligatory matters. As for the recommended will, it is to bequeath a third of one's wealth or less in the causes of good, to someone who is not an heir. One should bequeath a third of his wealth or less in the causes of good, and it should be for someone who is not an heir, because its benefit continues for him after his death. So it is recommended. However, if his heirs are in need, it is better for him to leave the wealth for them and not make a will. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Ibn Majah 2708Sahih (Darussalam) So he is rewarded if he leaves wealth for his heirs and they benefit from it and it makes them independent of people; in that case, he is rewarded for this, even if he did not make a will. Yes.
The questioner asks: What is the ruling on writing a will? Is it obligatory? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
A will falls into two categories: an obligatory one and a recommended one. The obligatory category is when a person has debts, or holds trusts, or has debts owed to him by people without written documentation; in that case, he must make a will regarding his wealth, what he owes, and the trusts and deposits he holds for people, so that they are not lost to their owners after his death. This is obligatory upon him. For this reason, it came in the hadith:
It is the duty of a Muslim man who has something which is to be given as bequest not to have it for two nights without having his will written regarding
ما حق امرئ مسلم يبيت ليلتين إلا ووصيته مكتوبة عندIf you leave your heirs rich that is better than leaving them destitute and begging from people.
إنك أن تذر ورثتك أغنياء خير من أن تتركهم عالة يتكففون الناس
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم كتابة الوصية، هل هي واجبة؟ الشيخ صالح بن فوزان الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.