—it is therefore obligatory to specify by bequest any claims one has upon others and any liabilities one owes that are not otherwise documented, lest those rights be lost. The Prophet ﷺ said, “No Muslim who possesses something that should be bequeathed may spend two nights without having his bequest written and kept with him.” Accordingly, if a person is safeguarding other people’s deposits or is indebted to them, he must record those obligations and make them clear.

A bequest is recommended when one designates a portion of his wealth for avenues of charity and benevolence so that its reward may reach him after death. The Lawgiver has permitted him, at the moment of death, to dispose of up to one-third of his estate, and this is among Allah’s kindnesses to His servants, enabling their righteous deeds to multiply.

A bequest is valid even from a discerning minor, just as his prayer is valid. It may be established either by witnessed testimony or by a written document unmistakably penned by the testator.

Among the legal rulings governing bequests is that they are allowed up to one-third of the estate, or less. Some scholars deem it preferable that the bequest not reach a full third. Reports to that effect have come from Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, and ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them all. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I am content with what Allah has chosen for Himself,” alluding to the verse, “And know that whatever spoils you gain, one-fifth of it belongs to Allah …” (Q 8:41).