Islamic Will UK: Why Every Muslim Needs One, and How to Get It Right

If you die in the UK without a will, the law does not follow Islamic inheritance rules. It follows the intestacy rules of England and Wales, or of Scotland - and they can leave your estate divided in ways that clash sharply with what you intended, and with what your faith asks of you.

The short version: a UK will lets you direct up to one-third of your estate freely (the wasiyyah) - commonly used for gifts to non-heirs, a charity, or a masjid - while the remaining two-thirds passes to your heirs according to the fixed Qur'anic shares. Without a will, none of that happens automatically: a UK court applies UK intestacy law instead, which does not recognise Islamic shares at all. Getting this right normally means a solicitor (ideally one experienced in Islamic wills), two independent witnesses, and a will that is reviewed periodically as your family changes.

This page gives you the shape of the subject. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a solicitor's review of your own will - see the disclaimer below.

The one-third rule: your wasiyyah

Islamic law gives you a specific, limited freedom within an estate that otherwise belongs, by fixed shares, to your heirs. It is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari that Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, gravely ill and with only a daughter as heir, asked the Prophet ﷺ whether he could give away two-thirds of his wealth in charity. The Prophet ﷺ said no. Sa'd asked about a half - again, no. He asked about a third, and the Prophet ﷺ agreed, adding: "one-third, and even a third is a lot. It is better for you to leave your heirs wealthy than to leave them poor, asking others for help."

That narration is the foundation of the wasiyyah: up to one-third of your net estate (after debts and funeral costs) can be directed however you choose in your will - commonly to non-heirs (a grandchild who would not otherwise inherit, a friend, a favourite student), to a charitable cause, or as a legacy gift. It is reported in Sunan Abu Dawud, Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Sunan an-Nasa'i and Sunan Ibn Majah that "there is no bequest for an heir" - meaning the one-third discretionary portion is generally understood not to be used to give an existing heir more than their fixed share, since that would effectively override the shares Allah has already set. Scholars note an exception where the other heirs unanimously consent after your death.

The remaining two-thirds (or more, if you bequeath less than a third, or nothing at all) is distributed according to the fixed shares below.

Practical UK steps for writing your Islamic will

1. Decide the shape of your estate. List assets (property, savings, pensions, business interests) and debts. Pensions and jointly-owned property sometimes pass outside your will entirely (for example, jointly owned property may pass automatically to the surviving joint owner) - a solicitor can flag where this affects your Islamic distribution plan.
2. Work out your wasiyyah. Decide whether you want to use some or all of the one-third discretionary portion - for a legacy gift, a specific relative outside the fixed heirs, or a cause close to your heart.
3. Get the fixed shares calculated properly. Use a qualified scholar, an Islamic inheritance calculator built on sound fiqh, or a solicitor working with one - for your actual family, not a generic table.
4. Choose your executors. These are the people (or a professional, such as a solicitor) responsible for administering your estate and carrying out your wishes. Many people name more than one.
5. Put it in writing and sign it correctly. Under the Wills Act 1837 (section 9), a valid will in England and Wales must be in writing, signed by you, in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same time, and each witness must then sign in your presence. Witnesses should be independent adults - generally 18 or over - and must not be a beneficiary of the will, or married to one, or the gift to that beneficiary can be voided even though the rest of the will stands.
6. Use a solicitor experienced in Islamic wills. Sharia-compliant will drafting sits at the intersection of two systems, and mistakes are common when either the Islamic shares or the UK legal formalities are handled without proper expertise.
7. Review it. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a house purchase, or simply the passage of years can all mean a will needs revisiting. In England and Wales, marriage generally revokes an earlier will unless the will was made in contemplation of that marriage - another reason to review after major life events.

If you live in Scotland

Scotland's succession law is a different legal system from England and Wales, and a will written with only English and Welsh rules in mind can misfire badly north of the border. Scots law gives a surviving spouse/civil partner and children fixed "prior rights" and "legal rights" over specific parts of an estate (broadly, "moveable" estate such as money and possessions, as opposed to "heritable" estate such as land and buildings), in ways that do not exist in English law, and which can limit how freely you can leave money away from a spouse or children even in a will. The amounts involved are set by law and reviewed from time to time, and Scotland's succession law is currently under Scottish Government and Scottish Law Commission review, so always check the current position - see gov.scot's page on inheritance and the law of succession - or ask a Scottish solicitor. If you live in Scotland, tell your solicitor plainly, and ask specifically how Scots law interacts with the Islamic shares you want to apply.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Every family's situation is different, and inheritance and succession law is detailed and changes over time. Please have any will reviewed by a qualified solicitor before you sign it, and speak to a knowledgeable scholar about your specific faraid calculation.