If the deceased makes a bequest in a dream, is it obligatory to carry it out, and what is the story of Thabit ibn Qays?
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The questioner : Please, let us take a call. Peace be upon you. If a deceased person, for example, comes to us in a dream and makes a bequest, is it obligatory to act on that bequest?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. It is not obligatory to act on such a bequest. I fear that a deceased person might come and say, "Give charity on my behalf of one million riyals, or ten riyals," or "I inform you that my wife was divorced before I died a year ago," which would require excluding her from the inheritance. In any case, it is not permissible to act on a dream in matters of bequests or otherwise, unless there is a very, very clear indication regarding what was seen. In that case, one acts on the indication, not on the dream.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. What is an example of an indication, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : An indication, such as what happened to Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammās (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was killed in the Battle of Yamamah. One of the soldiers passed by him, and Thabit was wearing a suit of armor. The soldier removed the armor from Thabit and took it to his camp, placing it under a water jar where a horse was urinating. Thabit’s companion saw Thabit in a dream, and Thabit told him, "A man passed by me and took my armor and placed it under a water jar at the far end of the camp, with a horse urinating around it." Then he gave him some bequests. He made a bequest to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the Caliph at the time. So Abu Bakr carried out his bequest. The indication here was that they went to the place Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) had specified, and they found the armor under the water jar by the horse.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. It is not obligatory to act on such a bequest. I fear that a deceased person might come and say, "Give charity on my behalf of one million riyals, or ten riyals," or "I inform you that my wife was divorced before I died a year ago," which would require excluding her from the inheritance. In any case, it is not permissible to act on a dream in matters of bequests or otherwise, unless there is a very, very clear indication regarding what was seen. In that case, one acts on the indication, not on the dream.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. What is an example of an indication, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : An indication, such as what happened to Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammās (may Allah be pleased with him) when he was killed in the Battle of Yamamah. One of the soldiers passed by him, and Thabit was wearing a suit of armor. The soldier removed the armor from Thabit and took it to his camp, placing it under a water jar where a horse was urinating. Thabit’s companion saw Thabit in a dream, and Thabit told him, "A man passed by me and took my armor and placed it under a water jar at the far end of the camp, with a horse urinating around it." Then he gave him some bequests. He made a bequest to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the Caliph at the time. So Abu Bakr carried out his bequest. The indication here was that they went to the place Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) had specified, and they found the armor under the water jar by the horse.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2715- إذا اوصى الميت في الرؤية هل يجب ان تنفذ وصيته وما قصة ثابت بن قيس/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.