CHAPTER 3 – The Undesirability of Exceeding the Limits in a Will and Harmful to Heirs
Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
That someone asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, "O Messenger of Allah, which charity is most virtuous?"
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “It is better that you give in charity when you are healthy and wealthy, loving your wealth and fearing poverty. But do not wait until your soul reaches your throat, and you say, ‘Such and such a portion to so-and-so, and such a portion to so-and-so,’ for indeed your heirs will have inherited that wealth.” [575]
EXPLANATION:
A person can give his property in charity during his lifetime. But it is not appropriate to make wills distributing all of his property to here and there with the intention of harming his heirs when death is near and his soul reaches his throat.
Sa’d ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: "It is better for a person to give one dirham of charity in his lifetime than to give one hundred dirhams at the time of his death."
Abū Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: “Someone spends sixty years in obedience to Allah, male or female, exerting themselves until death comes to them. Then, if they harm their heirs through their will, Hell becomes obligatory upon them.”
The narrator said: Abū Hurairah recited to me from the verse of An-Nisa’ (chapter 4) [4:12] “…after fulfilling the bequest and debts, the one who is harmed by the bequest should not be burdened,” until the end of [4:13], saying, “Indeed, this is a great salvation.”