Points to Remember in Writing A Will
Some of those points are as follows:
1- In writing a will, one should not focus only on financial issues but should take inspiration from the Quran that says: “Were you (believers) there when death approached Jacob? When he asked his sons, ‘Whom will you worship after my death?’ They replied, ‘We will worship your Lord, the Lord of your fathers, Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac. He is the only Lord, and to Him we have submitted ourselves.’” (Verse 133 of Surah Al-Baqarah)
So on his deathbed, Jacob (AS) was thinking about his children’s beliefs and whether or not they will worship God.
2- In writing a will, one should not try to take revenge or violate others’ rights because he holds grudges against them. Rather, he should consider justice, fairness, necessities and expediency. According to a Hadith, if someone does an injustice in his will, he has committed a grave sin.
3- In writing a will, one should respect the rights of his children.
It is said that a man gave away all his money before he died, and when he died there was nothing left for his little children. When the Holy Prophet (PBUH) heard about this, he said the man should not have been buried in Muslims’ cemetery and that he had made a very big mistake by taking such a measure.
There is also a Hadith in which the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that sometimes a man worships God throughout his life but acts unjustly in writing his will and by doing that he joins those who go to hell.
4- Many a time, one can do something himself instead of writing it in his will so that others would do it. Writing a will is making use of the last opportunities not postponing what we can do today, such as helping others and giving to the needy.
A man wrote in his will that they would give a storeroom full of dates to the needy. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) fulfilled the man’s wish and distributed the dates among the needy. In the end, one date was left over. The Prophet (PBUH) said that if the man had given that one date to a needy person himself, it would have been better than all the dates given away after his death.
5- A will can be a means to generate kindness and promote love. It is said that the Infallible Imams (AS) wrote in their wills that even some of their relatives who were unkind to them benefit from their money, thus spreading love and attracting them to their path and school.
6- Writing a will sometimes becomes Wajib (obligatory). According to Islamic Fiqh, if someone owes something to others or to God, or has been entrusted with something that he fears may be damaged after his death, it is necessary to write a will and determine what should be done in such cases.
7- According to Islamic rulings, there is a limitation on freedom of testation, as a testator, in terms of the Islamic law of testate succession, is generally not allowed to bequeath more than a third of his or her net estate.
8- In writing a will, one should act on Hikma (wisdom) and reason, as the Quran says: “It is prescribed, when death approaches any of you, if he leave any goods that he make a bequest to parents and next of kin, according to reasonable usage; this is due from the Allah-fearing.” (Verse 180 of Surah Al-Baqarah)
