Wasiyyah

A bequest: instructions for up to a third of your estate, taking effect after death.

Also written · Wasiyya · Wasiya · Wasiyat · Wasiyah · Vasiyet · Wasaya · Wassiyah · will · bequest · Islamic will · last will · testament

The meaning

What Wasiyyah means in Islam

The Qur'an mentions it before the inheritance shares, and debts are settled before both. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas asked about leaving his whole estate to charity and was told a third, and that even a third is a great deal. A wasiyyah cannot be made in favour of someone who already inherits, since their share is fixed by revelation, so it is used for non heirs, for charity, and for burial and guardianship instructions.

Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an

Read beside it

Words that sit beside it

MirathIslamic inheritance: fixed shares of an estate distributed among relatives named in the Qur'an.الميراث
Waqf (endowment)A permanent charitable endowment: property held forever so that its income keeps serving a purpose.وَقْف
AmanahA trust: anything placed in your care that you must return, or use exactly as agreed.أَمانة
FiqhThe human effort to work out Islamic law from its sources, and the rulings that result.الفِقْه