The Ruling of the Shari'ah Regarding Bequests

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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Fatwa No. ( 18958 )
Q: What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding bequests, that is: what a person bequeaths before his death, what is its form, and what is the matter regarding which a bequest is obligatory?
A: Whoever wishes to make a bequest from his wealth must hasten to write his bequest before his term overtakes him, and he must take care to document it and have witnesses to it. This bequest is divided into two categories:
The first category: The obligatory bequest, such as a bequest specifying what is owed to him and what he owes in rights, such as a debt or a loan, or the values of sales, or trusts deposited with him, or specifying rights he has in the obligations of people. In this case, the bequest is obligatory; to preserve his wealth and clear his conscience, and so that no dispute arises between his heirs after his death and the owners of those rights. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

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 it.

ما حق امرئ مسلم له شيء يوصي فيه يبيت ليلتين إلا ووصيته مكتوبة عنده

Sunan Abi Dawud 2862Sahih (Al-Albani)

, narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, and this is the wording of al-Bukhari vol. 3, p. 186. The second category: The recommended bequest, which is pure generosity, such as a person bequeathing after his death one-third of his wealth or less to a non-inheriting relative or to someone else, or bequeathing in acts of righteousness, such as charity to the poor and the needy, or in
Works of good, such as building mosques and charitable projects; for what was narrated by Khalid ibn 'Ubayd al-Sulami, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Indeed, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has given you, upon your death, one-third of your wealth as an addition to your deeds

إن الله عز وجل أعطاكم عند وفاتكم ثلث أموالكم زيادة في أعمالكم

, al-Haythami said in *Majma' al-Zawa'id*: It was narrated by al-Tabarani and its chain is good, and Imam Ahmad narrated something similar in his *Musnad* from Abu al-Darda', and the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), which is recorded in the two authentic collections, states:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit me while I was in Makkah, and he disliked that I should die in the land from which he had emigrated. He said: May Allah have mercy on Ibn 'Afra'. I said: O Messenger of Allah, shall I bequeath all my wealth? He said: No. I said: Then half? He said: No. I said: Then one-third? He said: One-third, and one-third is much. Indeed, if you leave your heirs wealthy, that is better than leaving them poor, begging from people with their hands outstretched

جاء النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يعودني وأنا بمكة، وهو يكره أن يموت بالأرض التي هاجر منها، قال: يرحم الله ابن عفراء، قلت: يا رسول الله: أوصي بمالي كله؟ قال: لا، قلت: فالشطر؟ قال: لا، قلت: الثلث؟ قال: الثلث والثلث كثير، إنك إن تدع ورثتك أغنياء خير من أن تدعهم عالة يتكففون الناس في أيديهم

The wording of the hadith is that of al-Bukhari, and in another wording of al-Bukhari as well:

I said, "I want to will my property, and I have only one daughter and I want to will half of my property (to be given in charity)." He said," Half is too much." I said, "Then I will one third." He said, "One-third, yet even one-third is too much."

قلت: أريد أن أوصي وإنما لي ابنة، قلت: أوصي بالنصف؟ قال: النصف كثير، قلت: فالثلث؟ قال: الثلث والثلث كثير -أو- كبير

Sahih al-Bukhari 2744

He said: So he advised the people to bequeath one-third, and that was permissible for them. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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