An elderly woman wishes to make a bequest; what is your advice to her?

The questioner : He says:The questioner : An elderly woman wishes to make a bequest; what is your advice to her? How should the text of her bequest be written? She will listen to this recording and then make the bequest. Please note that she has no sons, but she has married daughters, and they have children, praise be to Allah. She owns more than one property, including a building with apartments, and she intends to include it in the bequest. May Allah reward you with the best reward for her and for the Muslims.

The Shaykh : Yes. I say to this questioner and to whoever is listening: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Listen: You are healthy, stingy, and desire wealth meaning: a long life This is the best of charity, whether it is ongoing charity that remains for you after your death, or occasional charity for a poor person who is in dire need of it or the like. This is the best of charity. So we say to this sister who is asking: Based on what we see of people now, their conditions, their love of this world, their stinginess, and their severing of family ties, we see that a person should allocate some of his wealth to mosques, charitable associations, such as Quran memorization associations, welfare associations, and the like. Then, if he wishes to make a bequest, he should bequeath to his relatives who do not inherit from him. For example, a man has an uncle and his uncle’s sons, or a brother and his brother’s sons. His brother inherits from him, but his brother’s sons do not inherit from him. His uncle inherits from him, but his uncle’s sons do not inherit from him. He should bequeath to those who do not inherit from him, because maintaining family ties is better than freeing slaves. Therefore, when one of the Mothers of the Believers said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that she had freed a slave, he said: Bequeath to the relatives who do not inherit. If you wish, say: the closest, then the next closest. If you wish, say: the most needy, then the next most needy. As for those who do inherit, they have their inheritance. I also say: I advise them to bequeath something that is cut off, where each person takes his share and moves on. But we have found that with permanent things, the sons of uncles resort to litigation and dispute over a shared house or shared land, and they sever their family ties. Some people told me that a group disputed over a house that their grandfather had endowed, and they were cousins before these courts and official matters existed. They continued to dispute and talk until some of them said: May Allah curse the grandfather who brought us together. I seek refuge in Allah. He was their grandfather who endowed the house for them. But the dispute and contention, may Allah protect us from it . So there is no need for this. I give charity or bequeath something that is cut off and ends, or something permanent that is distant from relatives, such as mosques and associations and the like. In summary, I say to this woman: She should choose one of the buildings and make it an endowment for mosques, or it should be sold and a mosque built with the proceeds. This is the best thing.

The questioner : The text of the bequest.

The Shaykh : The text of the bequest does not require effort. It is written: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Two men, a writer and a witness, are present. The woman so-and-so was present with us and bequeathed her known building located in such-and-such a place, stipulating that its rental income be for mosques, or that it be sold and a mosque built with the proceeds. Yes, or its rental income be for charitable associations or a Quran memorization competition, and the like. Yes, the bequest is one-third or less. A bequest of one-third or less to a non-heir. Yes.