Why does this matter?

Everything we own is trusted to us by Allah. One day it will pass to other people. Islam does not leave this to chance, to custom, or to whoever is strongest in the family. Allah Himself set the shares in the Quran. He calls them a duty from Allah¹.

Right after the shares, Allah says: these are the limits set by Allah. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will enter gardens with rivers flowing beneath them².

Before Islam, many people gave nothing to women and children. The Quran gave them a fixed right. Clear shares also stop family fights. Your part is to get ready: write a will, list your debts, and make sure the law where you live accepts your will.

This chapter covers the will, what is paid first after a death, the Quran's shares in common cases, who inherits and who does not, and gifts while you are alive. What to do when someone is dying, and the funeral itself, are in When someone is dying and The Janazah.

Why write your will now?

Nabi ﷺ said: a Muslim who has something to leave in a will should not spend two nights without his will written down and kept with him³.

• A strong sunnah. Most scholars say writing a will is a strong sunnah for anyone who owns something of value.
• Sometimes you must. You may owe debts, keep things safe for others, or know of rights that nobody else knows. Then scholars say you must write them down, so nobody loses what is theirs after you die.
• Do not wait until you are old or sick. Death does not ask your age. Write it while you are well and your mind is clear.

What goes in an Islamic will?

• Your shahada, and a request for an Islamic washing, Janazah and burial, with nothing that goes against the sunnah.
• A list of your debts, and money people owe you.
• Your bequest (wasiyyah), if you want one. This is up to one third, for people who do not inherit, or for charity.
• A clear line saying the rest must be shared by the Islamic rules of inheritance.
• Who will carry out the will (the executor, in Arabic wasi), and who will look after your young children (a guardian).

Give while you are alive

A man asked Nabi ﷺ which charity is best. He said: to give while you are healthy, when you still want money and fear being poor. Do not wait until the soul reaches the throat and then say: this much for him, this much for her. By then it already belongs to others⁴.

What is paid first after a death?

Allah says the heirs get their shares after any bequest or debt⁵. Scholars put it in this order:

First, take out what never belonged to the person who died

• A wife's own money, gold and mahr are hers. They are not part of what her husband leaves.
• Things kept for someone else, like a friend's money kept safe, go back to the owner.
• What is left is the estate (tarikah), meaning everything the person left: cash, property, a share in a business, a car, and money others owed them.

Debts come before anything else

• Nabi ﷺ said: the believer's soul is held back by his debt until it is paid⁶.
• A man who owed three dinars was brought for the Janazah prayer. Nabi ﷺ did not lead it until Abu Qatadah said: I will pay it⁷. So when family pay a debt for the person who died, it is a great kindness.
• Unpaid zakat or a Hajj never done: Shafi'is and Hanbalis say these are debts owed to Allah. They are paid from the estate before the shares. Hanafis and Malikis say they are paid only if the person asked for it in their will, and then only from the one third.

Up to one third, no more

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was very sick and wanted to give all his wealth in charity. Nabi ﷺ said no. He asked: half? Nabi ﷺ said no. Then he said: a third, and a third is a lot. Leaving your heirs rich is better than leaving them poor, asking people for help⁸. At the time, Sa'd had only one daughter. Many scholars say less than a third is better, because Nabi ﷺ called a third a lot.

Who can you leave a bequest to?

The bequest is the part of what you leave that you choose where it goes. It can be up to one third, after funeral costs and debts.

No bequest for an heir

Nabi ﷺ said: Allah has given everyone who has a right their right. So there is no bequest for an heir⁹. He said the same in his farewell speech¹⁰.

• Your wife or husband, your children and your parents already have their shares. You cannot add to one of them in your will, because that takes from the others.
• If you do, most scholars say it only goes ahead if the other heirs agree after the death. They must agree freely, and be adults with a sound mind.
• The same rule applies to a bequest of more than one third. It needs the heirs to agree.

Good people to leave a bequest to

• Relatives who do not inherit: grandchildren whose father has died, nieces and nephews, an aunt in need.
• An adopted child or step-child, who does not inherit from you.
• A non-Muslim relative, like a parent, brother or sister. They do not inherit, but most scholars allow a bequest to them.
• Charity that keeps giving: a masjid, a well, a school, or teaching Islam. See Sadaqah, waqf and giving.

A will must not cause harm

• Allah says the shares come after any bequest or debt, without causing harm¹¹. Writing a will to hurt the heirs, or to cut someone out, is a sin.
• If someone changes a will after hearing it, the sin is on them¹².
• But if someone sees a will is unfair and makes peace between the people, they have done no wrong¹³.

What shares does the Quran set?

Allah says: men have a share of what parents and close relatives leave, and women have a share of what parents and close relatives leave, whether it is little or much. A fixed share¹⁴.

The main shares are in three ayat: Quran 4:11 (children and parents), Quran 4:12 (husbands, wives and some brothers and sisters), and Quran 4:176 (brothers and sisters when there are no children and no father).

The shares in common cases

In this table, "children" means a son or daughter of the person who died. Scholars count a son's children too.

Nabi ﷺ said: give the fixed shares to the people they belong to. What is left goes to the nearest male relative²⁵. So after the fixed shares, the rest goes to the closest male relatives: sons first, then the father, then brothers, and so on.

• Brothers and sisters do not inherit when there is a son or a father. When there is neither, they can inherit²⁶. This ayah came down when Jabir was very sick and asked how his wealth would be shared²⁷.
• The mother, when there is a husband or wife and the father, but no children: most scholars give her one third of what is left after the husband's or wife's share, not one third of everything. This is one of many special cases.

Three simple examples

Say the estate is 24,000 (in any currency), after funeral costs, debts and any bequest.

• A man leaves a wife, one son and two daughters. Wife: 1/8 = 3,000. The rest, 21,000, is split into 4 parts: 2 parts for the son, 1 part for each daughter. Son: 10,500. Each daughter: 5,250.
• A woman leaves her husband, her mother and one son. Husband: 1/4 = 6,000. Mother: 1/6 = 4,000. Son: the rest, 14,000.
• A man leaves a wife, one daughter and his father. Wife: 1/8 = 3,000. Daughter: 1/2 = 12,000. Father: 1/6 = 4,000, plus what is left, 5,000. So the father gets 9,000 in all.

Allah says: your parents and your children, you do not know which of them is more useful to you²⁸. We would get it wrong. So He set the shares Himself.

Why does a son get twice a daughter's share?

Allah says: for the male, the share of two females²⁹. Some people think this means women are worth less. It does not. It is about who has to pay for whom.

• A man must pay for his family. Allah says men are responsible for women because they spend their money on them³⁰. A husband must pay his wife's mahr. He must pay for her food, clothes and home, and for the children. A son may also have to support his parents and his unmarried sisters.
• A woman's share is hers alone. She does not have to spend it on anyone, not even her husband or children, even if she is rich. Her husband must still pay for her needs.
• So the son's bigger share comes with a bigger duty.

It is not always two to one

• When the person who died had children, the mother and the father each get 1/6. It is the same share³¹.
• Brothers and sisters who share only the same mother get equal shares³².
• In some cases a woman gets more than a man. In the third example above, the daughter got 12,000 and the father got 9,000.

For how money works between husband and wife, see the post When the wife earns more, whose money is it?

Who inherits, and who does not?

People inherit through family by blood (children, parents, brothers, sisters and others) or through marriage (husband and wife). Closer relatives can block some relatives who are further away.

Someone of a different religion

Nabi ﷺ said: a Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, and a non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim³³.

• This is the view of the four schools. It has nothing to do with love. You can still give non-Muslim family gifts while you are alive, and leave them a bequest from the one third.

Someone who killed the person

Nabi ﷺ said: the killer does not inherit³⁴. Nobody can gain by killing the person they would inherit from.

• Most scholars: this includes killing by mistake when the killer was to blame, not only killing on purpose.
• Malikis: only killing on purpose stops someone from inheriting. Someone who killed by mistake still inherits, but gets nothing from the blood money.

Other points

• A baby not yet born inherits if it is born alive. Scholars say: wait to share the wealth until the birth, or keep a share aside for the baby.
• Divorce: after a first or second divorce, the wife and husband still inherit from each other while she is in her waiting time (iddah). Once the waiting time ends, they do not inherit from each other.

Do adopted children and step-children inherit?

Caring for a child who is not your own is a great good deed. But Islam keeps family lines clear. Allah says: He did not make your adopted sons your real sons³⁵. Call them by their fathers' names³⁶.

• An adopted or foster child does not inherit from the people who raised them. They inherit from their own birth parents.
• A step-child does not inherit from a step-parent. A step-child inherits from their own mother or father.
• In-laws do not inherit from each other.

But you can still provide for them

• Gifts while you are alive: there is no limit, as long as you do not use them to cheat your heirs.
• A bequest of up to one third. This is exactly what the bequest is for.

Grandchildren whose parent died first

Say your son died before you, and you have other sons still alive. Then his children do not inherit from you under the fixed rules. This can be very hard on them. Leave them a bequest from the one third. Some Muslim countries have made this bequest required by law.

Can you give gifts while you are alive?

While you are alive and healthy, your wealth is yours. You may give gifts to anyone. But between your own children, Allah asks you to be fair.

Nu'man ibn Bashir's father gave him a gift. Nabi ﷺ asked: have you given the same to all your children? He said no. Nabi ﷺ said: fear Allah, and be fair between your children. So the father took the gift back³⁷.

What does fair mean?

• Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is: give sons and daughters the same in gifts.
• Hanbalis: give in the same way as inheritance, a son twice what a daughter gets.
• Many scholars allow giving one child more for a real need: a child who is sick, disabled, a student, or has many children. Paying for one child's wedding or studies when they need it is not unfair.
• Giving one child more for no reason: Hanbalis say it is not allowed. Most other scholars say it is something to really avoid.

When a gift is really a will

• A gift only counts when you really hand it over. Most scholars say: putting a house in a child's name on paper, while you keep full control, does not make it theirs.
• Most scholars treat gifts made in a final illness, when death is near, like a bequest. So they are limited to one third, and cannot go to an heir.
• Giving everything away while you are alive just to cut out some heirs goes against the purpose of Allah's shares. Do not do it.

How do you make your Islamic will count where you live?

In many countries, if you die without a will that the law accepts, the local law decides who gets what. Those rules are often very different from the Quran's shares.

• Write a will that your local law accepts. Say in it that everything you leave is to be shared by the Islamic rules. Many places allow this.
• Each country, and sometimes each state or province, has its own rules on how a will must be signed and witnessed. Some laws give a husband, wife or children rights that a will cannot take away. Check your local law and speak to a qualified adviser.
• Some things may pass outside the will, like property you own jointly with someone, or pensions with a named person. Ask your adviser how these fit in.
• Keep the will safe, and tell your family where it is. Look at it again after a marriage, a new child, a death or a move.

Allah says: people who worry about leaving weak children behind should fear Allah and say what is right³⁸. Planning ahead is part of caring for them.

How do you keep the family at peace?

Many close families break apart over inheritance. It does not have to be that way.

• Share it soon. Long delays make people suspicious. Once the debts are paid, share it, or agree together on a clear plan.
• Be kind to people who get no share. Allah says: if relatives, orphans and poor people are there when it is shared, give them something from it, and speak to them kindly³⁹.
• Never take an orphan's share. Eating up the wealth of orphans is one of the seven great sins that destroy a person⁴⁰. Allah says it is like eating fire⁴¹.
• Do not pressure sisters to give up their share. In some cultures, daughters are made to feel guilty for taking what Allah gave them. That is wrong. Once she has received it, she may give it away if she freely wants to.
• Do not be greedy. Allah blames people who greedily eat up inheritance⁴².
• The family home: the heirs can sell it and share the money. Or they can keep it together, with each person's share written down. Or one heir can buy the others out at a fair price. Agree on it in writing.

When someone dies, the family should be busy with dua, patience and paying their debts, not with fighting.

Common questions

Can I leave more to the child who looked after me in my old age?

Not in your will, because there is no bequest for an heir⁴³, unless the other heirs agree after your death. While you are healthy, many scholars allow a gift to that child for their real effort or need. But be fair and open about it, so the others do not feel cheated⁴⁴.

We adopted our daughter as a baby. Will she get nothing?

She does not inherit by the fixed shares⁴⁵. But you can give her gifts while you are alive, and leave her up to one third in your will. Many families do this, and it is a beautiful thing to do.

My father is not Muslim. Can I leave him something, or take what he leaves me?

You can leave him a bequest from the one third, and give him gifts while you are alive. By Islamic rules you do not inherit from him⁴⁶. If his will or the local law gives you something, ask a scholar you trust what to do with it.

My brothers say daughters do not take land in our family. What should I do?

Your share is a right Allah gave you⁴⁷. Remind them gently, with the story of the daughters of Sa'd⁴⁸. Ask a scholar or an elder they respect to help. If you then choose to give some of it back to them, it must be your own free choice.

My husband died with a car loan and some credit card debt. Do we pay it before sharing?

Yes. Debts are paid from what he left, before the bequest and the shares⁴⁹. If what he left is not enough, the heirs do not have to pay from their own money. But paying it for him is a great kindness⁵⁰. For interest charges, see Debt and lending.