He replied:

If she was lying in this acknowledgment, then, by the consensus of the Muslims, she was disobeying Allah and His Messenger. Indeed, she was committing a major sin subject to the threat of punishment, for injustice in making a will is a major sin:

“Whoever deprives someone of their inheritance, Allah will deprive him of his inheritance in Paradise.”

Allah Most High has said:

“These are the limits set by Allah. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, He will admit them to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. That is the great triumph.”

“And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will admit him to a Fire, abiding therein forever, and he will have a humiliating punishment.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“A servant may spend sixty years obeying Allah, then act unjustly in his will, thus meeting an evil end and entering the Fire. And a servant may spend sixty years disobeying Allah, then be granted a good end, acting justly in his will and entering Paradise.” He then recited this verse: “These are the limits set by Allah.”

Anyone who helps her in this falsehood and injustice shares in her wrongdoing, whether a scribe, an adviser, or anyone else. All such people are cooperating in sin and aggression. Any witness who prompts her to make the false acknowledgment is a transgressor whose testimony is inadmissible.

If, however, she was telling the truth, then she was doing good in this and obeying Allah and His Messenger. The same applies to anyone who helps her in that for the sake of Allah Most High.

As for the legal ruling based on outward evidence, most scholars—including Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, Ahmad, and others—do not accept such an acknowledgment, because the grounds for suspicion are evident. Moreover, the heirs’ rights attach to the deceased’s property upon the onset of the final illness, so the owner becomes restricted in disposing of it insofar as their rights are concerned. By consensus, the owner has no right to make a gratuitous transfer to any one of them.