The Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) emphasized the importance of having a Last Will and Testament, stating in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhāri, “It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to will to stay for two nights without having his Last Will and Testament written and kept ready with him.” This underscores the significance of this topic for Muslims.
While it's crucial for everyone to have a will, its significance is amplified for Muslims living as a minority, such as in Europe and the Americas. Understanding the unique challenges and circumstances they face, it becomes clear why having a will is a necessity.
Dying without a will comes with a lot of potential problems. Here are some examples:
The family cannot operate if you become incapacitated: When making a will, people often create a power of attorney that gives someone else the right to Rinder's affairs when they are incapacitated.
Lack of guidance on medical decisions during terminal illness: not having medical power of attorney or advance directives will leave your family with no guidance on what you feel about terminal weaning of life, heroic treatment of hopeless cases, and organ donation.
Burial in a non-Muslim cemetery: If you are away from your family on work or study, and you die alone and surrounded by a Muslim community, you might end up being buried in a non-Muslim cemetery. If you are married to a non-Muslim wife and the children are not practicing Muslim or do not feel strongly about burying you in a Muslim cemetery.
Burial in a distorted Islamic way: some communities practice funeral customs that might be considered un-Islamic, like screaming, hitting faces, or doing extravagant funerals or graves.
Unpaid debt: you will be asked for their judgment about any debt you have not paid yet. Therefore, it's important to list your debts in your will for your family to pay.
Unfulfilled religious obligations: It's also important to tell your family about obligations that you have not been able to fulfill yet, such as the hajj, fasting, zakat, and noozor.
Potential of children's guardian being non-relative and non-Muslim: this might happen if both parents died together in an accident. This might also happen if the parent is a widow or divorced. For immigrant families, often, the next of kin is overseas and not accessible.
The inability to leave a special amount to special people: Wassyah is money you can leave to people other than your mandatory hiers.
Inability to donate to charity: part of the Islamic world is the ability to leave money to charity and keep rewarding you with good deeds even after you die. If you die without a wheel, you lose that chance.
Distribution of inheritance according to the state system and not according to the Islamic way: If that were a will, the judge would distribute the money to your spouse, children, and parents, but not according to Islamic law but according to the state of law. The systems are different.
Delayed family support: The process of going through court probate takes a year or more. During that time, your family may have very limited access to anything in your name, which may delay their support and make their lives difficult.
Court probate is public and expensive: your inheritance and any problem arising from its distribution will become public information. The court probate process of accounting and distributing your inheritance might cost between 2 to 5% of your estate.
Lack of special protections for spouses, children, parents, and special needs: planning through a will or, even better, a trust will give you a chance to provide for all those loved people
Potential of family disputes: not planning and leaving the matter only to the court will open the door to family disputes and lawsuits between the heirs
Lack of protection against creditors, divorce, and irresponsible spending: such potential problems might happen to your heirs when they receive their inheritance in public and sometimes at 18 or while going through a divorce or being subject to creditors.
Exclusion of Islamic but not registered marriage or children: On the occasion of Islamic marriage or divorce that has not been registered legally, the rights of those people are completely excluded if you do not have a will or a trust
Unfavorable capital gain, income, and inheritance taxation: when you plan, you can adjust distribution in a way that would cause a lot of tax savings. This is not the case at all when you die without a will.