Islamic Wills: A Primer

Our article, Islamic Wills: A Primer, was recently published on Tri-State Muslim's website. You can read the entire article on their site

Remembrance of death and the afterlife is a cornerstone of the Islamic ethos. Nevertheless, when it comes to inheritance many Muslims living in the United States fail to make the arrangements necessary to ensure their legacy will pass under the precepts of Islamic Shariah law, and as a result their possessions will be disposed of in a manner suitable to the State, but not Shariah law. After one’s death, it is too late, in any American jurisdiction, for relatives to dictate to a court of law how the decedent would have wanted his or her possessions to be distributed. All jurisdictions, without exception, will ignore such pleas and apply their own laws of intestacy, laws that govern how an estate will be distributed upon death absent a will. Such laws will hardly conform to Shariah law.

In order to best illustrate how the laws of intestacy function, it is best to use the example of Husband, H, the decedent, who has not drafted a will during his lifetime. H dies survived by his wife, W, one son, A, and one daughter, B. H had an estate of $240,000 with no outstanding debts. According to Shariah law, W is entitled to one-eighth, or $30,000, and A and B share the remaining $210,000. Since A is male, he receives a share twice that of B. So A is entitled to $140,000 and B is entitled to $70,000.

If H died in New York, for example, the above distribution would be dramatically different under the intestacy laws of those states. W would be entitled to $50,000 plus one-half of the remainder, for a total of $145,000. A and B would share equally in the remainder, getting $47,500 each.

In comparing Islamic intestacy laws with those of New York, it is clear that the distributions are vastly dissimilar, but all parties are still represented. However, if H was survived by a mother or father, then they would also be entitled to one-sixth under Shariah law. Under New York state law, the distributions would be the same as above, and the parents would get nothing. Essentially, U.S. state laws permits disowning a blood relative, which is forbidden under Shariah law.

In order to prevent this, those wishing to comply with Shariah law should have a carefully drafted, enforceable will that upholds Shariah law under U.S. jurisdiction.

Read it all here.