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Fatwa CenterAbstaining from fulfilling bequest results in sin
Question
What is the ruling on not fulfilling the bequest and distributing the inheritance according to the Sharee'ah?
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.
It is obligatory to fulfill the bequest of the deceased within one third of his property. It is impermissible not to fulfill it as long as its validity conditions are met. Whoever does so commits a sin because Allaah Almighty says (what means): {Then whoever alters the bequest after he has heard it – the sin is only upon those who have altered it. Indeed, Allaah is Hearing and Knowing.} [Quran 2:181]
Commenting on this verse, Al-Qurtubi 
indicated that the one who alters the bequest will bear the sin, not the deceased.
The bequest should be extracted from the estate before it is distributed among the heirs. Allaah Almighty says (what means): {after any bequest which was made or debt.} [Quran 4:12]
This ruling is repeated after each of the rulings of inheritance.
Allaah Almighty Himself stated the distribution of inheritance among heirs in a perfect, concise and detailed way. Whoever follows the Command of Allaah in this regard is guided. Whoever disobeys Allaah in this regard goes astray and is exposed to painful torment. This is indicated in the verses that succeed the verses on clarifying the rulings of inheritance. Allaah Almighty says (what means): {These are the limits [set by] Allaah, and whoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits – He will put him into the Hell to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.} [Quran 4:13-14]
Allaah Knows best.
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