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Fatwa CenterWants to write a will according to Sharee'ah
Question
Assalam-o-alaikum,
I am a married prosperous muslim with no children.I have my own house and reasosable bank balance.my father is alive ,two married brothers,three married sisters,fourth divorced eith one child.my father and divorced sister with her child are dependent on me.I AM 41 yrs old fully health and have no debt of any kind on me.I followhanafi fiqh.I wish to write my wasiyah according to shariyah so that when I die my death is on fitrar-e-saleem.
please tell me my assetts division and how much i am allowed to allocate by share to the people under my care both maximum and minimum amounts .jazakAllah.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
The Muslim should not busy himself with the manner of distributing his inheritance while being alive as long as there is no necessity for that because things might change and perhaps a new heir is born or a current heir dies, the thing which consequently changes the course of distribution. Some righteous predecessors disliked asking about what did not take place because this includes exaggeration and a groundless speculation without a necessity.
However, if there is a necessity, like, for instance, if the questioner fears that his inheritance will not be distributed according to the Sharee'ah after his death because he lives in a non-Muslim country or the like, then if you die and leave behind a father, brothers, sisters, and a wife without any other heirs, the wife gets one fourth of the inheritance and the rest will be given to the father. His brothers and sisters would not be entitled to any share because they are precluded by the father. So the inheritance will be divided into four shares: one for the wife and three for the father. If you know that the inheritance will not be distributed according to the Sharee'ah after your death except by writing a will, it will be obligatory for you to write it because what is necessary for the fulfillment of an obligation is in itself obligatory.
As for the minimum and maximum amounts that you may allocate to your dependants, it is permissible for you, while being alive and healthy, to gift whatever amount for any relative you will even if he is a legal heir. If you want to make a will, you will be allowed to make it in no more than one third of your wealth for a non-heir such as the son of your sister. It was authentically narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Allaah The Almighty Entitled you to freely dispose of one third of your wealth at the time of your death to increase your (good) deeds." [Ahmad, Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi] For further information see Fataawa 85091, 85438 and 86417.
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