“It is the duty of a Muslim, who has anything to bequeath, not to let two nights pass without including it in his Will.” – Sahih Al-Bukhari –
There are numerous references relating to Wills in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which emphasise the importance of having a Will.
A will states who inherits your estate. Without one, you die intestate and your estate is distributed according to the rules set by UK law. These rules will not be based on Shariah and will mean that your estate will not be distributed as prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah.
“It is prescribed, when death approaches any of you, if he leaves any goods that he makes a bequest to parents and near relatives, according to reasonable usage; this is due from the God-fearing.” – Surah Al-Baqarah, Quran 2:180
Your Islamic Will Guide
This Islamic Will Guide will give the information needed for you to complete your legal Islamic Will. Once you have download the Guide and the Will Template itself, please watch the explanation video to understand the process and the fiqh details behind your Will. These documents are only valid in England and Wales, but you have permission to use them and encourage solicitors in your own countries to tweak them and make them valid and relevant for you as well.
Free Islamic Will
This is a fully valid and legal Islamic Will which you can download and will accordingly be valid in both England and Wales.
If the Will opens up in your web browser, please save the file to your computer or phone first, and then open the file with a dedicated PDF reader, then fill in the necessary fields by typing in the answers, save the final form, print out and then sign in the presence of your witnesses.
Please watch the explanation video from Shaykh Abu Eesa above, as well as reading the Islamic Will Guide before you complete the form.
Legal Resources for Death Planning
For advice on what to do in the case of someone passing away and/or what one should prepare before death from a legal standpoint in the UK, please see this link. Please check our Guide to Islamic Wills to see whether the free Islamic Will will be sufficient for your needs.
If you do need professional help then our recommended specialists are iWill Solicitors in Birmingham, who are widely recognised as the most experienced in Islamic Wills.
For those who would like a Will template for their own country (our Will is only legally valid in its current state in England and Wales), please be aware that we are unable to create different versions due to the huge variance in laws that govern countries. For example, in America the rules that govern Wills differs from State to State, let alone country to country. However in some countries such as Scotland or Ireland and others, the differences are minimal. So as per the video above, if you are able to find a solicitor and tax expert who can apply your country’s own laws to the template to make it valid where you live, please feel free to download the Microsoft Word version here and edit it accordingly.
For those wanting to know more about the Islamic rules of Inheritance, these apps have proved useful: for Apple here, and Android here.