Whoever wants to bequeath something from his wealth should, before death approaches him, have it written down as soon as possible and carefully complete the process of authentication and witnessing.
There are two types of wills:
First type: Obligatory will: Mentioning and detailing the rights of others that are obligatory to pay, such as debts, loans, sales transactions, trusts, or the rights and matters due from his own people. In this case, to protect one’s wealth and to absolve oneself, as well as to prevent any dispute between the heirs and the owners of those rights after death, it is obligatory to make a will, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“If a Muslim has something to bequeath and wants to make a will about it, he does not have the right to delay it for two nights without having it written down.”
Second type: Recommended will: Made purely out of goodwill for charity, such as when a person bequeaths one-third or less of his wealth after death to a non-heir relative or for good deeds, like giving charity to the poor and needy, or for righteous causes, building mosques, and other welfare projects.
The evidence for this is the hadith narrated from Hazrat Khalid bin Ubaid Salmi that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
“Indeed Allah has given you one-third of your wealth at the time of your death, which increases your deeds.”
Haithami mentions in “Majma’ al-Zawa’id” that it was narrated by Tabarani and its chain is Hasan (good). Imam Ahmad also narrated a similar hadith from Hazrat Abu Darda in his Musnad. In Sahihayn, there is a hadith narrated from Hazrat Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, who said that I was in Mecca when the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to visit me. He disliked dying in the land from which he had migrated. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “May Allah have mercy on Ibn Afra.” I said: O Messenger of Allah, should I bequeath all my wealth? He said: No. I said: Half? He said: No. I said: One-third? He said:
“Make it one-third, but even one-third is too much. If you leave your heirs wealthy, it is better than leaving them poor so that they have to beg from people.”
In Bukhari, these words are also recorded: I said: I want to make a will, but I have only one daughter. I said: Should I bequeath half? He said: Half is too much. I said: Then one-third? He said: “One-third is appropriate but still too much.”
He says: Then people made wills of one-third and the Prophet (peace be upon him) permitted it for them.
