(Part 3)
The Will (Al-wasiyya) The Testator (Al-musi) Every adult Muslim with reasoning ability has the legal capacity to make a will. An adult for this purpose is someone who has reached puberty. Evidence of puberty is menstruation in girls and night pollution (wet dreams) in boys. In the absence of evidence, puberty is presumed at the completion of the age of fifteen years. The Maliki and Hanbali fiqh also consider the will of a discerning (tamyiz) child as valid. Under English Law you must be at least 18 years of age to make a valid will (similarly in most of the United States of America) unless you are a military personnel in which case you may make a valid will at the age of 17. The testator must have the legal capacity to dispose of whatever he bequests in his will. When making a will the testator must be of sane mind, he must not be under any compulsion and he must understand the nature and effect of his testamentary act. The testator must of course own whatever he bequests. The testator has the right to revoke his will by a subsequent will, actually or by implication. In traditional Sunni Islamic law the power of the testator is limited in two ways: firstly, he cannot bequest more than 1/3 of his net estate unless the other heirs consent to the bequest or there are no legal heirs at all or the only legal heir is the spouse who gets his/her legal share and the residue can be bequeathed. Narrated Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas (RA): "I was stricken by an ailment that led me to the verge of death. The Prophet came to pay me a visit. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have much property and no heir except my single daughter. Shall I give two-thirds of my property in charity?" He said, "No." I said, "Half of it?" He said, "No." I said, "One-third of it?" He said, "You may do so, though one-third is also too much, for it is better for you to leave your offspring wealthy than to leave them poor, asking others for help..." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahah Muslim, Muwatta, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.) secondly, the testator cannot make a bequest in favour of a legal heir under traditional Sunni Muslim law. However, some Islamic countries do allow a bequest in favour of a legal heir providing the bequest does not exceed the bequeathable one-third. Legal heir in this context is one who is a legal heir at the time of death of the testator. Narrated Abu Hurayrah (RA): Allah’s Prophet (SAWS) said, "Allah has appointed for everyone who has a right what is due to him, and no bequest must be made to an heir. (Abu Dawud). Similar hadith narrated by Abu Umamah (RA) and reported by Ibn Majah, Ahmad and others. Retrieved from Islam101, By: Dr. Abid Hussain To be continued, insha'Allah . . . R.M. Quarels, LDA R.M.Quarels Legal Form Help legal document preparation service Tel: (323) 900-9837 Email: [email protected] http://legalformhelp.weebly.com R.M. Quarels Legal Form Assistance is a non-attorney alternative for typing your legal documents. We are not attorneys and cannot provide you with legal advice, select forms, nor represent you in court.
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