Am I Allowed to Remove My Parents from an Islamic Will (Wasiyya) upon Request?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question. I commend you for working on preparing an Islamic will (wasiyya), which is important, especially when living in non-Muslim countries. This way, one can state and ensure that one’s wealth and assets are distributed upon death according to Islamic law.

One of the conditions of an Islamic will (wasiyya) is that it cannot be given to any possible heirs. In your case, your parents, wife, and children are possible heirs.

Abd Allah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “It is not befitting for a Muslim who has something to make a will of, to stay for two nights without having his last will written and kept ready with him.” [Bukhari]

However, this does not mean that one must divide one’s wealth amongst the various inheritors in one’s life; instead, one must merely stipulate in an Islamic will (wasiyya) that “upon my death, my executors will distribute my wealth according to Sunni Islamic law.” One may also state that this will be determined by a Muslim scholar or Mufti, who will be contacted and appointed by my executors.

This is because the inheritance portions have been determined and allotted by Allah Most High in the Quran. These portions vary according to who is alive at one’s death. Death with leaving parents behind will differ from passing away after the parents have passed away in that the inheritance portions will vary in both cases.

As such, one cannot determine in one’s life how many portions exactly will be allocated to each individual, for one is unaware of who will be alive at the time of one’s death. Even the death of one person can make a big difference in division and distribution.

Therefore, normally when making a will, one would stipulate the following:

You can give some of your wealth to your wife and children following the rulings of gifting wealth and others while alive.

[Ibn ’Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Contact a reliable local scholar who may help you through the possible ways. Also, there are firms in many Western countries who help and support one in writing and preparing a shariah compliant will living in a Western country. See the link below for an example.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)?

I pray this helps with your question.

Wassalam,

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.

He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His personal interest is the love of books and gardening.