Islamic Wills, Estates & Family Planning

Yes. The Messenger ﷺ taught that a Muslim with anything to bequeath should not let two nights pass without a written will kept with them. Beyond the reward, a will is the only way to secure three things at once:

• Your estate is divided by the Sharīʿah, not by the default rules of England and Wales.
• You receive an Islamic burial, led and located as you wish.
• People you trust — not a court — administer everything and honour each heir's exact share.

It is a normal, legally valid English will — but its instructions direct your estate according to the fixed Islamic shares (the farāʾiḍ), set out your funeral wishes, provide for missed worship, and appoint Muslim executors. It bridges two worlds: valid in the eyes of the law, and correct in the eyes of the Sharīʿah. The mechanism that makes this work is a trust: your estate passes to trustees you name, who are legally bound to apply the correct shares.

The law decides — through the intestacy rules, which do not follow the Sharīʿah. Your estate is divided by a fixed legal formula rather than the Islamic shares, an Islamic burial is not guaranteed, and a court-appointed administrator runs everything. Your Islamic duty is left unfulfilled, and any dispute is settled by the courts — not your family or a Mufti. The precise legal split is set out under "What are the intestacy rules?" in the English & Welsh law section.

Yes. Even a modest estate needs an executor, a funeral plan, and a clear record of your shares — otherwise your family faces delay, cost and possible dispute at the worst time. The template in the pack is free and takes little time.

A solicitor-drafted will gives the best protection (they are regulated and insured), and there are free and low-cost routes to one:

• Free Wills Month (March and October) — participating solicitors draft a simple will free for people aged 55+ (or a couple where one is 55+). You may be asked to consider a charity legacy, but you are not obliged.
• Will Aid (November) — solicitors write a basic will in return for a suggested donation to charity.
• The National Free Wills Network and some charities, unions and employers offer free or discounted wills.
• Low-cost online will services for straightforward estates, if you don't qualify for a free scheme.

Two things to remember for a Muslim will: a general free or online will may not be built around the Islamic shares, so still have the fiqh checked; and any charity legacy a scheme asks for comes out of your 1/3, which is entirely permissible.

No. English courts will not enforce a vague instruction to "distribute by Sharīʿah" on its own — it can be challenged or fall back to rules that ignore the Islamic shares. Your will needs a proper mechanism: it passes your estate to trustees you name, who are bound to apply the correct shares. The template does this for you.

Check it at least once a year, and review it properly every 3 to 5 years — or sooner after any big change: a marriage, a birth, a death, a divorce, buying property or a business, or moving country. Islamic shares are fixed by who is alive at your death, so keeping the will current keeps it accurate.

Nothing is shared among the heirs until these steps are done, in this exact order:

• Funeral costs — a simple, dignified Islamic burial (family may also cover this voluntarily).
• Debts — loans, mortgage, unpaid bills, and money owed to others.
• The waṣiyyah (up to 1/3) — bequests to non-heirs and good causes, plus missed-worship dues.
• The fixed shares — the remaining 2/3 or more is distributed to the heirs by their Qurʾānic shares.

You may give away up to 1/3 of your net estate by will, to non-heirs and good causes. The other 2/3 or more is fixed by Allah for your heirs and cannot be redirected. When Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ (RA) asked to give more, the Prophet ﷺ said "1/3 — and 1/3 is a lot; to leave your heirs wealthy is better than to leave them begging." The written will only ever controls the 1/3.

• Dhawil Furūḍ — the "fixed-share heirs," given a set fraction by the Qurʾān (such as a spouse, mother, or daughters). They are paid first.
• ʿAṣabah — the "residuary heirs," usually the male line (son, then father, then brother). They take whatever remains after the fixed shares are paid — which may be a lot, a little, or nothing.

Inheritance tax is charged on the net estate — after debts and reasonable funeral costs are deducted, not on the gross value. The Islamic shares are likewise calculated on what remains after funeral, debts and the waṣiyyah.

They are fixed. The core rules sit in just a few verses of Sūrah an-Nisāʾ (4:11, 4:12 and 4:176), naming who inherits and how much. Dividing the estate this way is not paperwork — it is staying within the limits Allah set (4:13–14), an act of obedience.

• 1/4 if there are no children.
• 1/8 if there are children.

Co-wives share that same single portion between them equally.

• 1/2 if there are no children.
• 1/4 if there are children.

After the fixed-share heirs are paid, the children take the remainder as residuary heirs, with a son receiving the share of two daughters (2:1). This ratio tracks financial responsibility, not worth — a son must provide a dowry and maintain a family, while a daughter keeps her entire share for herself.

• One daughter alone takes 1/2.
• Two or more daughters share 2/3 between them.

If there is also a son, they instead share the residue with him, 2:1.

• With children: each parent takes a fixed 1/6.
• No children: the mother takes 1/3 (reduced to 1/6 if you left two or more siblings), and the father takes the remainder as a residuary heir.

Note: the father is never simply given a flat 1/3 — with children he takes 1/6, otherwise he takes whatever is left.

The 2:1 ratio is not a blanket rule that women get half. It applies only in specific cases and is tied to responsibility, not value:

• Sometimes equal — mother's-side (uterine) siblings inherit the same, and a mother and father can each take 1/6.
• Sometimes a woman inherits and a man does not — a daughter can inherit while the deceased's brother is blocked and gets nothing.
• Where the 2:1 does apply — the man must shoulder the family's upkeep, so in practice the woman is often better off: she keeps her share, he must spend his.

Only in kalāla — where the deceased left no children and no father. The moment there is a son or a father, full and paternal siblings are blocked and receive nothing. In kalāla: a lone full sister takes 1/2, two or more share 2/3, and a brother present takes the remainder (sharing 2:1 with any sisters).

• Mother's-side (uterine) siblings: 1/6 if one, or 1/3 shared equally if two or more — with no 2:1 here. They are blocked entirely by any child or by the father.
• Father's-side (paternal) siblings: inherit much like full siblings when no full sibling stands ahead of them.

In this specific case (a spouse and both parents, no children), the mother takes 1/3 of what remains after the spouse's share — not 1/3 of the whole estate. The father then takes the rest. This is a subtle point (the ʿUmariyyatān) that is very often gotten wrong.

Scholarly note: confirm the exact figures for your family with a reliable Mufti — small changes in who survives you change the result.

Because of ḥajb (blocking): a nearer heir can exclude a more distant one. It is the single most common reason a relative you expected to inherit receives nothing — the classic example being a son, who blocks the deceased's siblings and grandchildren (the next question sets out exactly who blocks or reduces whom).

• A son blocks the deceased's siblings and grandchildren entirely.
• Any child reduces a spouse: a wife 1/4 → 1/8, a husband 1/2 → 1/4.
• Any child reduces the mother: 1/3 → 1/6.

This is ʿAwl: every share is scaled down in proportion so the estate is not overspent. For example, a husband (1/2) with two full sisters (2/3) comes to 7/6 — so we raise the base to 7, and the husband takes 3/7 while the sisters share 4/7.

This is Radd: if the fixed shares add up to less than the whole and there is no residuary heir to sweep up the surplus, the leftover is returned to the fixed-share heirs in proportion (the spouse is normally excluded from this return).

In the Ḥanafī position followed here, yes — the true grandfather inherits in the father's place and blocks the brothers and sisters, so they receive nothing. Other schools handle this case differently, so where a grandfather and siblings appear together, confirm the exact result with a Ḥanafī scholar.

Non-heirs and good causes, including:

• Step-children, step-parents and foster children.
• Non-Muslim parents or children, who do not inherit by default.
• More distant relatives — nephews, nieces, cousins.
• Charities and good causes (sadaqah jāriyah).
• Your unpaid worship dues — fidya, missed zakat, hajj badal.

• It cannot be given to someone who already receives a fixed Qurʾānic share — "there is no bequest to an heir."
• It cannot exceed 1/3; any excess is reduced to fit, unless all heirs freely agree after death.
• It cannot be used to top up one heir at another's expense.

Not by will alone. The bequest is capped at 1/3; anything above it only stands if all your heirs, as adults, freely agree to it after your death. If you wish to give more to charity, do it in your lifetime, where you may give freely.

• If you wish to do this for a valid reason, make them the owner of the asset during your lifetime, without causing oppression to your other heirs. Once you pass away, that asset can no longer be redirected — the estate is distributed strictly according to Sharīʿah.
• Alternatively, you may write it into your will as a request. This is not legally binding on your heirs, but if all of them freely agree to forego their own share of it, they may allow that person to receive the additional amount.

Yes, within the 1/3 discretionary portion. A conditional clause may be added if they return to Islam.

Yes, within the 1/3 discretionary limit.

A sincere estimate should be made, alongside repentance. In the Ḥanafī view any resulting fidya is paid from your 1/3 (waṣiyyah), not from the debts owed by the estate — unless the heirs willingly settle it from the whole estate. Name it in your will so it is not forgotten. This does not replace making up missed worship in life where possible.

• Zakat: any zakat you still owed is calculated and paid, so the obligation is cleared from your wealth.
• Hajj: if hajj was obligatory on you but unperformed, someone can be appointed and funded to perform it on your behalf (hajj badal).

In the Ḥanafī position these are settled from your 1/3 unless the heirs choose to pay them from the whole estate. Mention each in your will.

No. Funeral costs and debts come first, from the whole estate. Then the 1/3 limit applies to bequests, and then whatever is left is for the family.

No, not by fixed Islamic share — a difference of religion prevents inheritance both ways. This should be made clear in the will. You may, however, provide for a non-Muslim parent or child from your 1/3.

Yes. Assuming they are Muslim, fathers always inherit, subject to Sharīʿah rules.

Not by fixed share — Islam does not treat adoption, or a step or foster relationship, as creating an inheritance link, and a child keeps their own lineage. These are non-heirs, so the way to provide for them — often generously — is through your 1/3.

If you leave a living son, your grandchildren through a predeceased son do not inherit by fixed share — a nearer heir blocks a further one. This is a common and painful situation, and the intended remedy is to provide for those grandchildren from your 1/3.

Scholarly note: this is exactly the kind of case to confirm with a Mufti, and to write clearly into the 1/3 while you can.

Such a child inherits from the mother and her relatives, but not from the father, since lineage to the father is not established. This is a sensitive area.

Scholarly note: please confirm the position for your specific situation with a qualified Mufti before relying on it.

A missing heir's share is not simply given away. It is held while reasonable steps are taken to trace them, and the estate is settled with their portion reserved.

Scholarly note: the handling of a missing heir (mafqūd) has specific rules — take both scholarly and legal advice.

A share is reserved for a child expected but not yet born, and the estate is distributed once the child is born and their share is known.

Scholarly note: the exact amount reserved for an unborn heir follows detailed rules — confirm with a Mufti.

No. In Islam, heirs who die together (for example in an accident) where it cannot be known who died first do not inherit from one another — each estate passes to their own surviving heirs. English law presumes otherwise, which is why your will needs a simultaneous-death clause (see the English & Welsh law section).

No. A person who unlawfully causes the death of the one they would inherit from is barred from inheriting — both in the Sharīʿah and in English law.

• Write your will clearly explaining your wishes, and sign it in the presence of two trustworthy witnesses.
• Appoint Muslim executors who you trust to carry out your wishes.
• Keep the will safe, and explain to your family the religious importance of fulfilling it as written.
• Speak to your local Imam, who may be able to support your family in understanding and accepting your wishes.
• Sign a Statutory Declaration alongside your will, to further evidence your religious intentions.

• If divorced Islamically, he does not inherit.
• If married Islamically, he does.
• If married legally but not Islamically, and no will exists, he may inherit under UK law.

A UK nikāḥ alone is not a legal marriage. Without a registered (civil) marriage, your spouse is a legal stranger: no automatic inheritance, no legal protections, and no spouse exemption from inheritance tax. Registering your marriage is one of the most important protective steps you can take — it is the same trap that leaves unmarried partners with nothing under intestacy.

Yes, if it was legally valid in the country where it took place. Keep the certificates safe — no re-registration is needed. A nikāḥ alone is not sufficient.

They can inherit nothing automatically, and must make a costly, uncertain claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. A registered marriage and a valid will together avoid this.

Yes. Where there is more than one wife, they share the single wife's portion (1/8 with children, 1/4 without) equally between them.

Yes. Executorship is a serious responsibility and an amānah before Allah — consent should be sought before you name someone.

Yes. There is no Islamic or legal restriction. Any trustworthy and capable person may be appointed, and a woman may appoint a female executor if suitable male relatives are unavailable.

Two to four trustworthy adults (over 18) is sensible, plus a back-up; the same people can act as both executors and trustees. Choose someone who is:

• Trustworthy and honest above all.
• Organised and capable with money and paperwork.
• Willing — always ask them before naming them.
• Able to follow the Islamic shares, or to take advice.

Tip: don't assume the firm that writes your will must be your executor. Naming a professional firm as executor can lead to hefty percentage-based fees on the estate — appoint people you trust, and let them instruct professionals only if needed.

Two independent adults, present together with you when you sign. Crucially, a witness (or their spouse) must not be a beneficiary — if they are, the gift to them is voided. Choosing independent witnesses protects the will from challenge.

No. The will remains valid, though updating may help prevent disputes.

The will is valid, but someone must apply for administration. This often causes delay and conflict and should be avoided.

Yes. Reasonable expenses may be reimbursed from the estate.

Yes. Name a guardian (and a back-up) for children under 18 — anyone 18 or over who is willing can be appointed, so it need not be a family member. Choose practically: willing, able, and close in faith, and ask their permission first. Keeping siblings together is usually best.

No. All Powers of Attorney end immediately upon death. From that moment the will and the executors take over.

A will deals with death; an LPA deals with life. It lets someone you trust make decisions for you if you lose the ability to do so — through illness, a stroke, or dementia. Many advisers consider it as important as a will, because a spouse cannot automatically manage your accounts or your care without one.

• Two types: property & finances, and health & welfare. Ageing parents in particular should consider both.
• Set it up while well: an LPA can only be made while you still have mental capacity. Once capacity is lost it is too late, and the family must apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship — slower and dearer.
• It ends at death, when the will and executors take over.

You can make an LPA yourself for free on GOV.UK, so the only unavoidable cost is the registration fee:

• £92 to register each LPA (from 17 November 2025) — so £184 for both types per person.
• Fee reductions: if your gross income is under £12,000 you pay half (a "Help with Fees" remission, form LPA120A); some people on certain benefits pay nothing.
• Timing: registration takes roughly 8–10 weeks, and an LPA cannot be used until it is registered — so don't leave it until it's needed.

Yes. Trustees may manage a child's share until a specified age, which could be set in the will or left to the trustees to decide. The share always remains the child's — the trustees only look after it.

No. After death, Sharīʿah rules apply regardless of personal wishes. The total value of the properties would be aggregated, then divided according to the Islamic shares of inheritance.

No, Islamically. Retaining benefit means the gift is incomplete and remains part of the parent's estate. For tax it is also a "gift with reservation," so it often saves no inheritance tax either.

Yes, unless there are genuine exceptional circumstances — for example, elderly parents living with one child who bears all their expenses. The Prophet ﷺ commanded fairness between children in giving, and even leaned toward favouring daughters where anyone was to be favoured. The default is equal.

A real handover: you genuinely give up ownership, control and benefit. Simply changing a name on the deeds while you carry on living in and benefiting from the property is not a valid hiba — and for tax it is treated as a "gift with reservation" (see the next question). If you truly give it up, or pay full market rent to keep using it, the gift is clean.

If you give something away but keep using it — classically, gifting the house to the children but continuing to live there rent-free — HMRC treats it as never really given, so it stays fully taxable in your estate no matter how long you live, and the 7-year clock never starts. The only clean fixes are to genuinely give it up, or to pay full market rent; otherwise plan through the will or a trust instead.

No. A gift given fairly in your lifetime does not reduce the fixed inheritance share that child receives later. This is the correct, Islamic way to "leave more" for someone — do it fairly while alive, never by favouring an heir through the will.

Only the net equity owned at death forms part of the estate. Mortgage liabilities are deducted before inheritance is calculated.

• Joint tenancy (the usual default): on death the home passes 100% automatically to the surviving co-owner. This overrides your will entirely — Islamically wrong if it cuts out children, parents and other rightful heirs — but it is tax-efficient between spouses.
• Tenants in common: each owns a defined share (e.g. 50/50) that passes by your will — so it can follow the Sharīʿah.

If you own it as joint tenants, no — that share passes automatically to the survivor and bypasses your will. To make your will control your share, you either sever the joint tenancy (becoming tenants in common), or state clearly that the survivor must pass your share to the rightful heirs Islamically. Take advice, especially if the home pushes the estate over the tax allowances.

By a simple notice registered with the Land Registry — free or low cost. This converts the ownership to tenants in common, so your share follows your will.

On death she inherits only her fixed share, and the children become co-owners of the house — which can mean the family home has to be sold to pay them. The protection is to sort out ownership in your lifetime and use a life-interest (will) trust, so the widow can live in the home for life while the children's shares are preserved and released later, without forcing a sale.

A trust is simply an arrangement where people you trust (trustees) legally look after money or property on behalf of others (beneficiaries). Think of it as a secure container: the trustees hold the key and must follow your written instructions — which we make Sharīʿah-compliant.

Mostly for control and protection rather than to delete tax:

• Keep a widow secure in the family home for life, while the home ultimately reaches the children.
• Manage young children's or a vulnerable heir's share instead of handing over a lump sum.
• Protect a disabled heir's means-tested benefits.
• Shield a child's inheritance from a future divorce, bankruptcy or remarriage.
• Stagger access at sensible ages, and — used well — reduce or defer the tax bill.

Usually not by itself — most trusts do not magically delete inheritance tax. Their real value is control and protection. Used well (for example a life-interest trust for a spouse, or a lifetime gift into trust), they can still cut or defer the total bill.

No. A will is still required and should reference the trust.

• Bare trust — works like a straight gift to a child: no upfront tax (just the 7-year rule), but the child gains full control at 18, so you lose control after that.
• Discretionary trust — trustees decide who gets what and when, giving strong control and protection. It can carry a small entry charge above £325,000 and modest periodic charges, but it freezes today's value so future growth builds outside your estate.

You leave the home into a life-interest trust with your spouse as "life tenant." She can live there for life (and the trust can even let her sell and downsize if she needs the money), then it passes to the children. Her life interest qualifies for the spouse exemption, so there is no tax on the first death, and the home keeps its residence allowance. It delivers the Islamic outcome while protecting the widow.

Yes. A disabled person's trust holds the heir's share and spends it for their benefit over time, instead of a lump sum that could be lost or could stop their means-tested benefits. These trusts get favourable tax treatment, and the share remains 100% the heir's — it is simply looked after.

Here lies an important limit. The moment you die, each heir owns their share — the children's portion is legally theirs from day one, not a promise for later. A trust may organise the timing of an inheritance, but it must never cancel or indefinitely deny an heir's right. Once a competent adult heir asks for their share, withholding it is unlawful (a form of ẓulm). Adult heirs may freely choose to wait — they can never be forced to; and a minor's share must be ring-fenced and given in full at adulthood.

Inheritance Tax is charged at 40% on the value of your estate above your tax-free allowances. Each person has a Nil-Rate Band of £325,000 (2026/27, frozen to April 2031). Anything left to a legally married spouse is completely free of tax. Most estates pay nothing — the ones that do tend to be property-rich.

• Nil-Rate Band (NRB): £325,000 per person, tax-free.
• Residence Nil-Rate Band (RNRB): up to £175,000 more when your home passes to direct descendants (children or grandchildren) — £500,000 per person in total.
• Transfer between spouses: unused allowances pass to the survivor, so a married couple can reach £1,000,000 where the home goes to descendants.

An Islamic split among many heirs can complicate the RNRB, so it often needs careful structuring (frequently a trust) to keep the allowance. Above a £2m estate, the RNRB tapers away, £1 for every £2 over.

Correct — any amount left to a legally married spouse is free of Inheritance Tax, and their unused allowance transfers to you. This is another reason registering a marriage matters so much. It applies only to a legally registered marriage, not a nikāḥ-only one.

You never break the shares to save tax. UK tax law rewards leaving 100% to a spouse (£0 tax), but the Sharīʿah gives a spouse only a fixed share, with the rest passing to the other heirs. The halal resolution is to reduce tax within the Islamic split — a life-interest trust for the spouse, lifetime gifts, using the allowances, and charitable giving. Cut the bill, don't cut the heirs.

Yes. From 6 April 2027, most unused pension pots will count as part of your estate for Inheritance Tax — a door that was previously open is closing. What to do:

• List every pension (old jobs included) on your asset sheet.
• Review your beneficiary nominations against your will.
• Take advice before that date — gifting and trusts may help.

A pension you no longer own at death joins the estate (tarikah) and follows the fixed shares — so don't let a pension form quietly override your Islamic distribution.

• Survive 7 years after a gift and it falls completely outside your estate.
• Die within 3 years and the full 40% applies.
• Between 3 and 7 years, a reducing ("taper") rate applies.

For example, gift £400,000 and die after 4 years → roughly 24% = £96,000 tax.

• £3,000 a year — an annual exemption, with one year's unused amount carried forward.
• £250 per person — to any number of different people each year.
• Wedding gifts — £5,000 to your child, £2,500 to a grandchild, £1,000 to anyone else.
• Regular gifts out of surplus income — the powerful one: if they don't affect your lifestyle, they are exempt immediately, with no 7-year wait.

Yes. Gifts to charity are completely free of tax, and leaving 10% or more of the estate to charity drops the rate on the rest from 40% to 36% — and it is sadaqah jāriyah. Qualifying trading businesses and farmland can attract Business or Agricultural Relief (up to 100%), though recent reforms have tightened these for very large holdings, so check the current rules with a solicitor.

Yes, but professional advice becomes increasingly important. Above roughly £1 million, use the template for guidance and then involve both a solicitor (to maximise your tax allowances) and a Mufti (to confirm the fiqh).

It can happen. Take an £800,000 estate that is mostly the home, with a wife and one child: only the wife's share is spouse-exempt, so the amount above the £500,000 allowances is taxable — around £80,000, payable quickly in cash. Without planning, the family may have to sell the home to pay it. A valid will is step one; property-heavy estates also need tax planning — often a life-interest trust — so heirs aren't hit with a cash bill.

The State decides through a rigid queue — each group inherits only if the one before is absent: spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings, and so on. In practice:

• A surviving spouse takes personal belongings plus the first £322,000 and half of the rest.
• Parents may receive nothing.
• Step-children, foster children, unmarried partners, friends, carers and charities receive nothing.

None of it follows the Sharīʿah, and the courts have the final say in any dispute.

Under the Wills Act 1837 it must be:

• Made by an adult of sound mind, acting freely.
• Printed on paper.
• Signed by you with a physical ("wet ink") signature.
• Signed in the physical presence of two independent witnesses, who then sign too.

Then store it safely and tell your executors where it is.

No. A will created, signed and witnessed entirely electronically is not currently valid in the UK. An electronic signature, or witnessing only over video, does not satisfy the law. You may draft on a computer, but it must be printed and wet-signed with two witnesses physically present. Reform has been proposed but is not yet law.

No. If a witness (or their spouse) is a beneficiary, the gift to them is voided. Always use two independent witnesses who inherit nothing under the will.

If a couple die together and it cannot be told who died first, English law (s.184 Law of Property Act 1925) presumes the younger survived the elder — which can force inheritance to flow between the spouses and be taxed twice, contrary to the Sharīʿah. The fix is a simultaneous-death clause that disapplies s.184, so each estate is distributed independently as Islam requires. This clause is vital for couples.

The STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Standard Provisions are a ready-made set of sensible powers for your executors and trustees — to manage, sell, insure and invest assets, run or sell a business, and release funds — so the will doesn't have to spell out every power by hand. For an Islamic will they still must follow the Sharīʿah shares; STEP just gives them the toolkit. Disapplying s.33 Wills Act is a technical adjustment so gifts pass exactly as your will directs rather than by a statutory default.

Probate is the legal process that proves the will and authorises your executors to gather and distribute the estate (where there is no will, it is called "Letters of Administration"). It is usually needed where the deceased owned property in their sole name or held significant savings; many banks release smaller balances without it, each setting its own threshold. Delays are most likely where no executor is named, assets can't be found, or there is a dispute — all of which a clear will and a completed assets identifier help avoid.

• Court fee: a flat £300 for estates over £5,000 (nothing at or below £5,000), plus £16 for each sealed copy of the grant — order several at the outset for the banks.
• Doing it yourself: executors can apply directly through GOV.UK for simple estates, paying only the court fee.
• Using a professional: fine for complex estates — but be wary of firms charging a percentage of the estate, which can be far more than a fixed fee for the same work.

Sole accounts are usually frozen at death, but two things can still happen before probate: banks will often release funds directly to pay the funeral and any inheritance tax due, and smaller balances (below each bank's own limit) can be released to the executors without a grant. Money in a joint account normally passes straight to the surviving holder by survivorship, outside the will — so check this doesn't accidentally cut across your Islamic distribution.

• Yes, heirs can re-arrange their shares after death, but it is more involved than simply agreeing verbally.
• Islamically: every heir must agree freely, without pressure or coercion. Forcing someone to give up their rightful share is a serious sin.
• Legally: all heirs must sign a Deed of Variation within two years of the death — a formal document that changes how the estate is distributed.
• It can be a useful way to redirect a share, or to improve the family's tax position, provided it is done correctly and entirely willingly.

Under English law, an unhappy beneficiary or dependant can make a claim against the estate (for example under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975). Islamically, a claim against a correct Sharīʿah distribution is effectively a dispute against the Sharīʿah itself. If the family accepts the Islamic distribution, the matter ends there.

Not on its own — an English court will not enforce a bare instruction to distribute by Sharīʿah. That is why the will passes your estate on trust to trustees you name, who are legally bound to apply the correct Islamic shares. A trust is a legal structure English law does recognise, which is what makes the will enforceable.

No. These materials follow the law of England and Wales. Scotland in particular differs — it gives certain family members "legal rights" in the estate that cannot be fully removed by a will — so if you are in Scotland or Northern Ireland, arrange local legal review before signing.

Yes. This is permissible, and quite noble. Otherwise the funeral is paid first from the estate, before debts and the 1/3.

Write them down clearly so decisions aren't made in haste at an emotional time:

• Islamic ghusl and shrouding (kafan).
• The janāzah prayer and burial — not cremation.
• A quick burial, and your preferred cemetery.
• No autopsy unless legally required (you can suggest an MRI/CT scan instead).
• One named person to take charge of it all.

You can state a clear wish for no autopsy unless it is legally required (a coroner may still order one), and suggest a less invasive MRI/CT scan as an alternative. Recording this in writing — and, among non-Muslims, a statutory declaration of your burial wishes — adds weight.

You may name who should lead the funeral prayer (and a back-up) and your preferred cemetery. Writing this down heads off disputes — for instance where two capable relatives might otherwise disagree over who leads.

You do not necessarily need multiple wills — one will is sufficient if the assets are clearly identified, with details of how to access them. The Islamic shares are universal and do not change from country to country. The law itself, however, is not the same everywhere: the procedural and tax rules of each country differ, so consult a local solicitor for anything you own abroad.

Appoint executors and trustees whom you trust to distribute funds to those abroad in the most efficient and cost-effective way available.

For probate here you'll need the original, a certified English translation, and the translator's sworn statement. Bilingual drafting, or an English-governing clause, avoids delays.

Yes. All children have the right to transparency. No single child may withhold paperwork unless they held valid Power of Attorney during life or are a named executor after death. Withholding information that affects inheritance is Islamically oppressive and legally improper.

No. Benefits belong to the recipient. Any funds remaining at death form part of the estate and must be accounted for.

No automatic entitlement exists. These must be reviewed fairly. Some payments may have been legitimate expenses; others may require clarification.

Typically:

• Your identification, and revocation of earlier wills.
• A declaration of faith, and Islamic guidance to your family.
• Funeral wishes, and provision for missed worship (fidya).
• Guardianship of children, and executors and trustees.
• The residuary estate passing on trust, distributed per the Sharīʿah.
• Standard (STEP) provisions, and a simultaneous-death clause.

Plus a signature/witness page and an attached Assets & Liabilities Identifier. The template in the pack covers all of this.

It is a single living list of everything you own and owe — property, accounts, pensions, investments, business interests, valuables, digital assets and debts — and where to find them. Kept with your will, it is the map your executors follow; without it, even a perfect will can leave assets lost. Adding it up also gives your net estate, the figure you need for the 1/3 and any tax. Review it yearly, and after big events.

Islamic shares are fixed by who is alive at the moment of death, not when the will is written. So the will should state that shares are fixed by the heirs living at the date of death, and leave the split to your trustees to apply Islamically at that time. New children are then included automatically and predeceased heirs drop out — with no need to rewrite the will after every birth or death.

Keep the signed original safe, make copies, and tell your executors and close family exactly where it is. Options include:

• At home in a secure, fireproof place (and tell people where).
• With your solicitor — many store wills free of charge (check whether a fee has since been introduced).
• The Government's will storage service, or a national will register, for a modest fee.

Store your Assets & Liabilities Identifier alongside it, and never remove staples or bindings from the signed will — tampering can raise doubts about its validity.

• No will at all, or relying on a nikāḥ-only marriage with no registration.
• Leaving the home as joint tenancy, cutting out heirs.
• A typed or e-signed will that was never printed and witnessed.
• Using a beneficiary (or their spouse) as a witness — voiding the gift.
• "Gifting" the house but still living there rent-free.
• No simultaneous-death clause for couples.
• Forgetting tax on a property-rich estate — risking a forced sale.
• Naming no executor, or vague wording with no mechanism.
• Writing it once and never reviewing it.

The template itself is free to use. A solicitor specialising in Islamic wills will charge a fee based on the size and complexity of the estate — worth considering for larger or more complicated estates, for trusts, or where you'd like the peace of mind of professional drafting. Remember there are also free routes to a solicitor-drafted will (see "Where can I get a will written for free?" above).

Yes. This is specialist work and usually comes at a cost — please get in touch at gloswills@hotmail.com to discuss.