And if he has poor relatives who are not heirs, they are more entitled to the entire one-fifth.

The apparent meaning of the author’s words is that he should be reminded of this, whether the illness is grave or not, and whether or not such a reminder would alarm the patient. For some patients, if you say to them, “Repent to Allah, seek His forgiveness, and consider the wrongs for which you are accountable, then make a will,” you bring death close in their minds, and they may perhaps die, because they will say, “He has seen death in me.”

Others have certainty and are not troubled by such a matter. They know that making a will does not bring one’s appointed term closer, nor does neglecting to make one delay it; the same applies to urging repentance.

Some scholars said: He should not be reminded of this unless his illness is grave.

Others drew a distinction, saying: As for repentance, he should be reminded of it in all circumstances, even if the illness is not grave, because repentance is required in every condition. But he should be reminded to make a will only if the illness is grave.

What appears correct to me is that he should be reminded of it in all cases, unless there is fear of harm to him. This is because repentance is legislated at all times, and so too is making a will. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “It is not right for a Muslim who has something to bequeath to spend one or two nights without having his will written and kept with him.” (1)

Even if he is healthy, when he is reminded about making a will, he should be shown the legislated form of bequest—one that entails no harmful consequences—by saying: “Bequeath what Allah has prescribed regarding relatives who are not