The Fiqh of travelling from the Flight Home to the Enduring Home (6)

- Question 2/8: The will, which is given by witnesses, is taken into consideration if writing is impossible.

 
  If a legato is illiterate and does not know how to write or read, he may bring witnesses to the will as Allah Almighty says:

{يِا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ شَهَادَةُ بَيْنِكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ حِينَ الْوَصِيَّةِ اثْنَانِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ}

“O you who believe! Call to witness between you when death draws nigh to one of you, at the time of making the will, two just persons from among you.” [Al Maida 106]

Witnessing has three conditions: Witnesses should be Muslims, just and males, however if it is impossible to find a Muslim witness, it is permissible to bring a non-Muslim.

-  Question 2/9: It is permissible to change or cancel the will

  A will is one of the permissible contracts which take place after death, however a legato may change or cancel it before death.

-  Question 2/10: Is it better for a legator to bequeath a third or less?

  It is better for a legator to bequeath by less than one third because of the Hadith of Sa`d (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him:

“A third, o Sa`d, and a third is much.” The words of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): “If (only) people decrease the one third to one quarter, it will be better because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “A third and a third is much.” Abu Bakr As-Sidiq (may Allah be pleased with him) bequeathed a fifth, so if people bequeathed a quarter or fifth, then it is better than one third, especially if the money is much. There is no harm if a person bequeaths one third, it will be better.[1]

                              

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[1] Look at the Islamic Fatawa of Ibn Baaz, compiled by Mohammed Al Musnad (3/35)