Is a bequest obligatory, and what is its legal text?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: The sister who used the initials N. M. from Riyadh says in her question: Is writing a bequest obligatory, and are witnesses required for it? Since I do not know the legal text, I ask you to guide me to it. May Allah reward you with good.
A: The bequest is written according to the following formula: I, so-and-so, son of so-and-so, or so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, bequeath that I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, and that Jesus is the slave of Allah and His Messenger, and His word which He cast to Maryam, and a spirit from Him, and that Paradise is true and the Fire is true, and that the Hour is coming, of which there is no doubt, and that Allah will resurrect those in the graves.
And I bequeath to my family, my descendants, and my other relatives that they fear Allah, reconcile between people, obey Allah and His Messenger, advise one another to truth and patience upon it, and I bequeath to them what Ibrahim (peace be upon him) bequeathed to his sons, and what Ya'qub (peace be upon him) bequeathed: [al-Baqarah: 132]. Then he mentions what he wishes to bequeath, whether it is a third of his wealth or less, or a specific amount that does not exceed a third, and he specifies its lawful destinations, and he names the agent for it.
A bequest is not obligatory, but it is recommended if one wishes to bequeath something, based on what is established in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Sahih Muslim 1627a. However, if he has debts or rights for which there are no documents proving them for their owners, it is obligatory for him to bequeath them so that the rights of people are not lost. He should have two just witnesses testify to his bequest, and he should have it drafted by a trustworthy person from among the scholars so that it can be relied upon. He should not be content with his own handwriting alone, because his handwriting may be confusing to people, and it may not be possible to find a trustworthy person who knows it. And success is from Allah.
A: The bequest is written according to the following formula: I, so-and-so, son of so-and-so, or so-and-so, daughter of so-and-so, bequeath that I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, and that Jesus is the slave of Allah and His Messenger, and His word which He cast to Maryam, and a spirit from Him, and that Paradise is true and the Fire is true, and that the Hour is coming, of which there is no doubt, and that Allah will resurrect those in the graves.
And I bequeath to my family, my descendants, and my other relatives that they fear Allah, reconcile between people, obey Allah and His Messenger, advise one another to truth and patience upon it, and I bequeath to them what Ibrahim (peace be upon him) bequeathed to his sons, and what Ya'qub (peace be upon him) bequeathed:
"O my sons, indeed Allah has chosen for you this religion, so do not die except while you are Muslims."
يَا بَنِيَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَA bequest is not obligatory, but it is recommended if one wishes to bequeath something, based on what is established in the two Sahihs from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
It is the duty of a Muslim who has something which is to be given as a bequest not to have it for two nights without having his will written down regarding it.
ما حق امرئ مسلم له شيء يريد أن يوصي فيه يبيت ليلتين إلا ووصيته مكتوبة عنده
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.