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ISLAMIC WILLS (WASIYYAH) by Ummah Welfare Trust
ISLAMIC WILLS (WASIYYAH) by Ummah Welfare Trust

ISLAMIC WILLS (WASIYYAH): AN OBLIGATION MEANT TO LEAVE A LASTING IMPACT

Writing a Will is an essential for any Muslim who has assets to bequeath. Unfortunately, many Muslims do not pay attention to the important issue of preparing a Will, often resulting in turmoil among family members after their demise.

A properly written Will ensures your estate is distributed according to Islamic principles, fulfilling the rights of heirs, settling debts, and enabling you to support charitable causes even after your death. And it’s not just about financial planning, writing a will is necessary before your accountability with Allah.

‘It is the duty of a Muslim who has anything to bequest not to allow two nights to pass without writing a Will.’[Bukhari]

Without a legally binding Islamic Will in the UK, a deceased person’s estate will be distributed according to English law. Such laws could prevent your final wishes regarding inheritance, funeral rites and charity.

Sadly, it’s estimated that more than 60% of the adult population in the UK are estimated to not have a Will. Of the 40% who do, around a quarter of the Wills executed are estimated to not reflect the will of the deceased person.

Why writing an Islamic Will is Essential

  • Fulfils an Islamic obligation.
  • Prevents disputes among inheriting family members.
  • Guarantees your funeral and religious wishes being carried out.
  • Allows you to obtain Sadaqah Jariyah after your demise.
ISLAMIC WILLS (WASIYYAH) by Ummah Welfare Trust

If you do not have a Will, you die intestate- that is, your assets are distributed according to the rules set by the domestic inheritance law. In some circumstances your assets may go to distant relatives you have never met or even pass to the crown if you have no living relatives.

“Prescribed for you when death approaches any one of you if he leaves wealth is that he should make a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable – a duty upon the righteous.” (Qur’an, 2:180)

Legally Binding Islamic Will in the UK

To write an Islamic will that is legal in the UK, you must meet the following conditions and takes steps:

1

You must be 18-years-old or over.

2

You must be of sound mind.

3

Your Will must be in written form (oral declarations are not legally-binding).

4

You must state that you are the author of the will.

5

You must legally declare that this is your last will – meaning that any other wills are now invalid.

6

You appoint reliable executor(s) in your will. A spouse can be an executor.

7

You appoint guardians for under 18 children in your will.

8

You and your witnesses must sign and date the will. The witnesses cannot be your spouse or beneficiaries of the will.

9

Store the signed will in a secure place and inform the trustworthy executioner(s) where it could be found in the event of your passing.

You will need the following information to effectively write the will using the provided link:

1.
Document all your assets and liabilities including debt, unpaid zakat and missed religious duties.
2.
Identification of your Islamic heirs.
3.
Information about the charity and charitable causes or non-heirs if you intend to allocate up to one-third for charity or non-heirs.
4.
Your funeral and burial wishes.

For full legal guidance, we recommend you consult a solicitor. For Islamic guidelines, a scholar will be able to give Sharia-complaint advice.

UWT invites you to make a FREE Will Online

To help you to fulfil this obligation of writing a Will that fits with your religious and personal concerns, Ummah Welfare Trust has partnered with Islamic Finance Guru (IFG) who are experts in Islamic Wills and inheritance.

The charity’s expert partners will guide you through the process of creating a legal, valid Will that meets your needs and wishes. And it’s all free and wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes.

Create Your Free Will

Up to a Third for Charity

As well as the obvious reward of fulfilling an individual obligation, ensuring that your Will is prepared allows you to leave a lasting impact on the Muslim Ummah. The Shari’ah allows you make a bequest (Wasiyyah) of up to one third of your estate as for charity.

Sa’d reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, visited me while I was ill in Mecca. I said, “I have some wealth. May I donate all of it?” The Prophet said, “No.” I said, “Half of it?” The Prophet said, “No.” I said, “A third of it?” The Prophet said, “Yes, a third, but this is still too much. That you leave your inheritors wealthy is better than leaving them dependent, begging for what people have. Whatever you spend on them is charity for you, even the morsel you feed to your wife”.

This dispensation gives you the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for people in need and earn rewards through Sadaqah Jariyah (ongoing charity). This type of charity can take many forms and is usually the best way to benefit a deceased person in the next life.

What can I do with my Gift?

Wanting to leave a gift in your Will can raise some very personal questions:

  • What matters to me?
  • How can my wealth change lives?
  • Who can uphold this for me after I’m gone?

These are questions you will likely think about and discuss with your family. Your legacy gift is an opportunity to make a difference for people and causes you care most about. To ensure this is done properly will undoubtedly matter to you.

“When a man dies all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity (Sadaqah Jariyah), beneficial knowledge and a righteous son who prays for him.” (Nasa’i)

Options To Bequest 1/3rd Of Your Estate for Charitable Causes Through Your Islamic Will

UWT offers you a wide range of options that you may choose from while planning how to bequest up to one third of your estate for a charity.

1.

Endowment (Waqf)

You may wish to follow the famous legacy of the third Muslim Caliph Uthman Radhi Allahu Ta’al Unhu, who dedicated the famous well (Bi’ir Uthman) and the surrounding land in Medina that later expanded into a vast date palm plantation. Until today, as per his R.A. will, half of profits are disbursed on charitable causes including orphans and widows support, and the other half is reinvested to further grow the endowment. It is solely up to you whether you want to use the above model or want UWT to use 100% of the endowment profit in your selected charitable causes available at UWT.

2.

Sadqah-e-Jaariah

means “continuous charity” in Arabic, referring to a lasting act of giving that continues to benefit people long after the initial donation, generating ongoing rewards for the giver even after death, as described in the Hadith. Unlike a one-time gift (like feeding someone for a day), it involves long-term projects that benefit the community for generations, such as building or sponsoring the running expenses of:

 

  • mosques, madrasah, classrooms, maktabs,
  • schools, orphanages,
  • development of dawah and educational material,
  • healthcare facilities,
  • water wells,
  • Shelter and housing for homeless and displaced
  • Orphan(s) or student(s) sponsorship programmes, ensuring perpetual blessings.

You may decide to distribute one third of your estate to one or more of the above Sadqah-e-Jaariah projects offered by UWT. These projects are also available to you with the endowment option. This means that instead of spending your donation once, UWT will disburse the profit of your estate to support your selected sadqah-e-jaariah projects forever inshaAllah.

Other Relief and Charitable Causes

In addition to the above you also have option to make a bequest (Wasiyyah) of up to one third of your estate for other charitable relief and humanitarian causes in consultation with the UWT Projects Department. They may include providing food & non-food items, shelter, medical care, financial support, and disability support, etc.

Use Your Stock as a Legacy

If you own a business and have physical stock, why not allocate a portion of it for suffering families in Syria?

Clothing and other non-cash contributions, such as hygiene supplies and medicines, can also be sent abroad to directly benefit needy families. Alhamdulillah, non-cash contributions in recent years have enabled Ummah Welfare Trust to prepare and send over 40 containers of relief supplies to Syria.

Giving away possessions like this is much in keeping with the way of the early Muslims who would regularly give away their beloved items for Allah’s pleasure. Like them, you can make a difference with your valuable goods and have them delivered to displaced, forgotten and orphaned families.

“The most beloved deed in the sight of Allah after the compulsory acts is to bring happiness to a Muslim.” [Tabarani]

Common Questions & Answers

Yes – Once signed and dated by you “testator” and your witnesses, these wills are fully legal and binding in England & Wales. Islamic Finance Guru have fully qualified and registered solicitors and scholars who oversee the preparation of the will.

Once you receive the draft of the will prepared by our partner IFG, you may get it reviewed by a knowledgeable Islamic scholar whom you trust to ensure that the shares of your estate are bequeathed correctly.

Yes. Simply direct your spouse to this webpage so that they can create their own free Islamic Will.

The IFG trust-based will is a tax-efficient will designed and crafted in collaboration with a leading Wills barrister. It is automatically offered it to those for whom it is suitable.

Just fill out the Will form, and it’ll be flag to you if the trust-based will is relevant. It is ideal for people with an estate over £325,000, or who have mean-tested benefit recipients among their heirs.

This solution can cost hundreds or thousands of pounds. However, thanks to the partnership with IFG, a trust-based Will can be provided for free.

For estates over £2m, you should seek specialist tax planning advice, but for assets totalling under that, the IFG trust-based Will is fine.

Ummah Welfare Trust cannot, and will not, pressure a donor to leave a legacy gift for the charity. This is completely an optional act on your behalf.

Yes. You have two options:

  1. You can pay £30 whenever you need to change your will in the future.
  2. Or on the IFG website you can subscribe for just £10 a year to make unlimited changes your will whenever you need.

You can contact Islamic Finance Guru (IFG) via their Islamic Wills contact page.

The current wills service is suitable for anyone whose assets are mainly based in England and Wales. If your assets are based in Scotland or Northern Ireland then we recommend making your will via a local law firm that provides an Islamic Wills service.

Islamic marriages (nikah contracts) are typically not recognised in English courts.

We’d strongly recommend getting a legal marriage. This is particularly advantageous for inheritance tax purposes as legal spouses inherit from each other tax free.

These wills are designed so you can get the will done and get legally married afterwards without it nullifying your will.

Not at this stage.

Ummah Welfare Trust will try its utmost to spend the legacy gift according to the wishes of the legator.  In the absence of any instructions, Ummah Welfare Trust will choose the best available option to maximise the Sadaqah Jariyah for the legator.

Data privacy

The will writing service is provided by our partner, Islamic Finance Guru (IFG). Any personal data supplied in using this service will be processed by IFG in accordance with their Privacy Policy. We only select partners that have been screened and that we are confident will keep personal data secure. We also ensure that there is a written contract in place that includes data protection clauses.

Some personal data supplied in using this service will be shared by IFG with us under the lawful basis of legitimate interests. This includes the below categories of personal data only. No personal data that is considered special category under the UK GDPR will be shared.

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Amount bequeathed or % bequeathed, and/or value of estate
  • Will submission date
  • Cause being supported

We receive and process this data to help us effectively manage our legacy programme, including:

  • to allow us to see through the execution of a bequest to us made as a result of our partnership with IFG, and
  • to ensure that we can indicate the bequest to us on the relevant supporter’s record.

Personal data we process to help manage our legacy programme is kept for 6 years from fulfilment of bequest, unless otherwise we are notified that the bequest has been cancelled, or the supporter has asked us to erase their personal data for this purpose.