Writing a Shari'ah-compliant Will as a Muslim (Lesson 2)

Bismillāhi Raḥmāni Raḥīm 

Date:  14th Muharram, 1442 A H / 2nd September, 2020

Subject:  Al-Farā’id (The Islamic Law of Inheritance) 

Lesson: 83

Topic:  Al-Waṣiyyah (Sharī‘ah-compliant Will/Bequest): Part 8

Sub-Topic:  Writing a Sharī‘ah-compliant Will as a Muslim (Lesson 2)

Dear Participants,

Glory be to Allah. In out last class, we spelt out the meanings of Sharī‘ah-compliant Will and non-Islamic State. It is now imperative to look at the modalities that could be adopted by a Muslim living in non-Islamic state to write his Wasiyyah and make it valid and tenable in the Court of law after his demise. We must bear it in mind however, that, as we exemplified previously, the Common law Will and its content are not the same as Sharī‘ah-compliant Will because in Islām, a Muslim cannot use his or her Will to decimate or share his property while alive as obtainable in Common law, but, he could use it to give out one-third (Thuluth) of his total estate discretionally to whomever he deem fit excluding the legal heirs who have been divinely apportioned a share of property by Almighty Allāh, the Law-Giver.  

In essence, the Sharī‘ah-Compliant Will that could be written by a Muslim and be admissible in Courts of non-Islamic State would include the following before it could be considered as a valid Islamic Will:

1. The Preamble should specify that, I ________________, A MUSLIM, ON THIS DAY, ____________ pronounced that my estate should be devolved and shared according to the provision of Islamic law. 

2. Then, all the legal heirs who (if Allah wills) are the inheritors will be spelt out by the testator without specifying what is due to them after his death.

3. Then the testator would then enumerate all his or her properties and specifies that “one-third” should be given out as bequest after his or her demise (if he or she wishes to do so).

4. Then for clarity, all the beneficiaries of the bequest (Wasiyyah) would be spell out.

5. The bequest and its testament (content) must be explicit; in order word, it must not be ambiguous. 

6. There must be an unbiased will-Executor willingly appointed and specified in the testament of the Wasiyyah by the testator. He must also agree to be the Will-executor and sign the document also.

7. Also, there must be two or more Shuhadāi (Witnesses) who must attest to the Will document and its content and sign thereof. 

8. He would then specify as part of his Will that, I, _____________________ hereby without prejudice or been under any influence solemnly admit that, all the content of the above bequest are real and must be executed according to the provision of Islamic law of inheritance (Al-Farā’id) as enshrined in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and as dictated in the religion of Islām, the religion of peace which I chose as my faith.

9. The testator would then sign and date the document as required by law.

Inshā’ Allāh, we shall conclude the procedure of depositing the Will at the Courts of law in our next class. 

Jazākumullāhu Khayran for reading today’s lesson. 

Yours in Islām

©Busari Muhammad Jamiu (Abū  ‘Ᾱishah)

The Founder/Instructor  

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