The Obligatory Bequest (Will) in Islamic Jurisprudence Compared to Emirati Law

Abstract

God has legislated the bequest (will) for us from one-third of the wealth, and it should not be for a relative who is an heir. It often happens that a person dies during the lifetime of one of his parents, leaving behind children. When a grandfather or grandmother dies, the grandchildren are withheld from the inheritance and it is divided among their uncles. The obligatory will has recently appeared in law, which has allocated these grandchildren a share of their grandfather’s money in accordance with the law. This study aims to identify the jurisprudential opinions on the issue of the obligatory will, the position of Emirati law regarding the entitlement of grandchildren withheld from the obligatory will, its amount and conditions, and the legal origin of the obligatory will in Islamic jurisprudence. The study concluded that the scholars of the zahiri school of thought were of the view that a will is obligatory, and therefore it is taken from the person’s estate if he dies and did not make a will during his life. Because it is an obligation in their view, the right to it is not forfeited by the death of the person. However, the majority of scholars held that a will is desirable and recommended, so nothing is taken from the deceased’s estate if he did not make a will during his lifetime. Emirati law based its obligation of the will on the opinion of the zahiri scholars, who say that the will is obligatory for anyone other than the heir. Emirati law allocates it to the withheld grandchildren and not the rest of the relatives, so that it is for the son’s children and the daughter’s children, and any of these children’s children. The male is allocated the equivalent of the share of two females. Based on its findings, the study recommends the need for the grandfather to make bequests to his grandchildren during his lifetime as a precaution and to avoid jurisprudential disagreement, and the need to direct people more to be careful about making bequests to their relatives who do not inherit, especially the grandchildren who are withheld from inheritance.