Do you know what will happen to your assets after you are gone? If you are living in a non-Muslim country and have no will then you will have died “intestate” and the laws of intestacy will govern how your assets are distributed.
There is one thing certain in this life and that is death. However, it’s also an aspect we sometimes don’t adequately prepare for. Specifically, I’m not talking about our good deeds that we are constantly trying to accumulate but about having an Islamic will.
The preparation of an Islamic will (wasiyah) is to make sure our finances are still dealt with accordingly with respect to the principles of Islamic finance after we no longer have any say. The aim of this article is to cover what exactly is meant by an Islamic will and why it is important.
What is a will?
A will is a legal document that sets out your wishes in how your assets are to be distributed after you pass away.
Why Have an Islamic Will?
To begin with let us consider the different type of scenarios that can happen:
1) Conventional will: This is the type of will that anybody in society can prepare. They can decide to allocate 100% or 0% of their wealth to X, all depending on what they see fit. There are no mandatory allocations required with this.
2) Islamic will: A will written in accordance with Islamic principles. All wealth will be distributed according to what has been prescribed by God. The government will have no option but to make sure this is enacted on your behalf irrespective of whether you live under a Muslim or non-Muslim government.
3) Intestate: If you do not create any type of will then the distribution of your assets will be determined by the laws of intestacy. This is where the government decides how to allocate your wealth and to whom. If the government is based in a non-Muslim country then the distributions will not be within Islamic principles but by how they see fit.
With these options laid out it should be apparent why creating an Islamic will is a must, in fact the third option is one which you should actively avoid. With the government deciding how and whom to distribute your wealth to, the result may go completely against Islamic principles.
One can argue that relatives receiving any of the assets (under option 3) can then go and redistribute according to Islamic principles. This though will require recipients all coming together, voluntarily giving up their allocations and then discussing what the correct Islamic distribution should be (as well as presuming you wanted one). The government may have given it to relatives abroad or people that stopped communicating with each other a long time ago. These issues would make this process all the more complicated if not unlikely to occur.
Requirements of an Islamic Will
Did you know it has already been set out in terms of how our assets should be distributed? That being said there is also an optional part given to us to decide how we want our remaining assets to be allocated.
As with all finance topics this can get very convoluted with details, but to kick off the explanation lets have a look at the below Pacman looking pie chart. This is what you will be focusing on when determining your Islamic will.
The Mandatory Allocation
Before any allocations begin it should be noted that all legal debts and funeral expenses will have to be taken care of. After this, the mandatory distribution will be split amongst the blood relatives of the deceased.
It will be impossible to list every conceivable allocation combination here as it depends on who you have in your own family and it even covers any expectant children in the womb! But the main premise is that the closer the relation to the deceased the greater the allocation assigned to them. Rest assured though, no matter how big or small your family is there is a combination specified for them!
Further, the split in most cases will be double for male heirs compared to female heirs. This is due to the requirements Islam has for males in their responsibilities towards family.
If you want to see at a high level of how this mandatory portion is allocated then I recommend a useful mobile app created by iWill Solicitors. The app allows you to enter your family members and then shows the resultant split.
The allocation towards blood relatives has been predetermined in Islam however you may feel that you would like to give a certain portion of inheritance to someone else. This is where the remaining 1/3 of your wealth will be able to be split up into.
The Discretionary Allocation
This remaining 1/3 is to be determined by you as you see fit – however there are some caveats before you allocate these out:
– Anyone in this 1/3 cannot be part of the 2/3 section described above
– If allocating to a charity then the charity must not go against Islamic principles
– A non-Muslim cannot be one of the inheritors (irrespective of the relation)
– The murderer of the deceased cannot claim any inheritance (irrespective of the relation)
Apart from the above points it will depend entirely on your own personal wants. This could be friends, a family member not included above or a charity you support.
The Administrative Side of an Islamic Will
Now that you know what an Islamic will consists of and who can inherit from one – how would you go about putting this into practice? The administrative side of a will is just as Islamically important as who to leave your assets to.
It is important to remember that all wills should be prepared so that they do not invalidate the rules and regulations in your respective country. One example is that an Islamic will does not have to be in writing however the law of your country may require it to be in writing.
Below are 10 administrative points you should be aware of when preparing an Islamic will:
1) The person making the will should be over 18 and of sound mind.
2) If you have made a previous will you should mention that this new will is to supersede the previous. The legal term you may come across for this is codicil.
3) You will need to date and sign the document.
4) 2 witnesses should also sign this and importantly are not recipients of the will.
5) The funeral arrangements should be made clear especially wanting one in accordance with Islamic practices e.g. no post mortem examination.
6) You should value and list your assets. This doesn’t mean you list everything to the penny but make clear what is to be distributed so people are aware. Importantly any debts should be cleared/mentioned as to avoid any burden on other people to resolve.
7) You can choose up to 4 people to act out your wishes and these can be from the recipients of the will.
8) If you have responsibility of children, how you wish for them to be looked after e.g. guardians, should be mentioned.
9) There is the possibility for you to leave a last message for your loved ones here.
10) Keep your will safe and keep it updated on a periodical basis. These could be major changes such as the addition of a person in the will or minor changes such as pointing out a new bank account you’ve opened.
When it comes to anything legal or financial a lot of people are put off, usually by the unknown. A will is nothing more than a piece of paper where your assets are listed and you write down who will receive what after you have passed away.
It is an important action to prepare for and to also become aware of what is Islamically required. The Prophet (pbuh) said “it is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequeath not to let two nights pass without writing a will about it.”
Please note the information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute financial advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.
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