Wills and Testaments (Wasaayaa)

ʿAbd Allah ibn Yusuf informed us; Malik informed us, from Nafiʿ, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), that the Messenger of Allah said: “A Muslim who has something to bequeath should not let two nights pass without having his bequest written and kept with him.” Muhammad ibn Muslim also narrated it from ʿAmr, from Ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet.

Ibrahim ibn al-Harith narrated to us; Yahya ibn Abi Bukayr narrated to us; Zuhayr ibn Muʿawiya al-Juʿfi narrated to us; Abu Ishaq narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn al-Harith, the brother-in-law of the Messenger of Allah through his sister Juwayriya bint al-Harith, who said: When the Messenger of Allah died, he left neither a dirham nor a dinar, neither a male nor female slave, nor anything else, except his white mule, his weapons, and land that he had made a charitable endowment.

Khallad ibn Yahya narrated to us; Malik narrated to us; Talha ibn Musarrif narrated to us, who said: I asked ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him): “Did the Prophet make a bequest?” He replied, “No.” I asked, “Then how was the bequest prescribed for people, or how were they commanded to make one?” He replied, “He bequeathed the Book of Allah.”

ʿAmr ibn Zurara informed us; Ismaʿil informed us, from Ibn ʿAwn, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, who said: In ʿAʾisha’s presence, people said that ʿAli (may Allah be pleased with them both) had been appointed by bequest. She said, “When did he make a bequest to him? I had been supporting him against my chest—or she said, in my lap—and he asked for a basin. Then he slumped in my lap, and I did not even realize that he had died. So when could he have made a bequest to him?”

Abu Nuʿaym narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Saʿd ibn Ibrahim, from ʿAmir ibn Saʿd, from Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet came to visit me while I was ill in Mecca. He disliked dying in the land from which he had emigrated. The Prophet said, “May Allah have mercy on Ibn ʿAfraʾ.” I asked, “Messenger of Allah, shall I bequeath all my property?” He said, “No.” I asked, “Half?” He said, “No.” I asked, “A third?” He said, “A third—and a third is much. It is better to leave your heirs wealthy than to leave them poor, holding out their hands to people. Whatever you spend is charity, even the morsel you place in your wife’s mouth. Perhaps Allah will prolong your life so that some people benefit through you and others are harmed by you.” At that time Saʿd had only one daughter.

Qutayba ibn Saʿid narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Hisham ibn ʿUrwa, from his father, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I would advise people to reduce their bequests to a fourth, because the Messenger of Allah said, “A third, and a third is much”—or “great.”

Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahim narrated to us; Zakariyya ibn ʿAdi narrated to us; Marwan narrated to us, from Hashim ibn Hashim, from ʿAmir ibn Saʿd, from his father (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I fell ill, and the Prophet visited me. I said, “Messenger of Allah, pray that Allah does not turn me back on my heels.” He said, “Perhaps Allah will raise you and benefit people through you.” I said, “I want to make a bequest, and I have only one daughter. May I bequeath half?” He said, “Half is much.” I asked, “Then a third?” He said, “A third—and a third is much,” or “great.” The narrator said: People thereafter made bequests of a third, and that was permitted to them.

ʿAbd Allah ibn Maslama narrated to us, from Malik, from Ibn Shihab, from ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, from ʿAʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet’s wife, who said: ʿUtba ibn Abi Waqqas had entrusted his brother Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas with the matter, saying, “The son of Zamʿa’s slave woman is mine; take him into your custody.” In the year of the Conquest, Saʿd took the boy and said, “He is my brother’s son; he entrusted him to me.” ʿAbd ibn Zamʿa stood and said, “He is my brother, the son of my father’s slave woman, and he was born in his bed.” They both went to the Messenger of Allah. Saʿd said, “Messenger of Allah, he is my brother’s son, entrusted to me by my brother.” ʿAbd ibn Zamʿa said, “He is my brother and my father’s slave woman’s son.”

The Messenger of Allah said, “He is yours, ʿAbd ibn Zamʿa. The child belongs to the marital bed, and the adulterer gets nothing.” Then, because he saw the boy’s resemblance to ʿUtba, he said to Sawda bint Zamʿa, “Veil yourself from him.” She never saw him again until he died.

Hassan ibn Abi ʿAbbad narrated to us; Hammam narrated to us, from Qatada, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): A Jewish man crushed a young woman’s head between two stones. She was asked, “Who did this to you? So-and-so? So-and-so?” until the Jewish man was named. She nodded. He was brought in and questioned until he confessed. The Prophet then ordered that his head be crushed with stones.

Muhammad ibn Yusuf narrated to us, from Warqaʾ, from Ibn Abi Najih, from ʿAtaʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: In the past, property went to children, while a bequest was made for parents. Allah abrogated what He wished of that practice: He assigned the male the share of two females; each parent one sixth; the wife one eighth or one fourth; and the husband one half or one fourth.

Muhammad ibn al-ʿAlaʾ narrated to us; Abu Usama narrated to us, from Sufyan, from ʿUmara, from Abu Zurʿa, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A man asked the Prophet, “Messenger of Allah, which charity is best?” He replied, “That you give charity while healthy and eager for wealth, hoping to become rich and fearing poverty. Do not delay until the soul reaches the throat, then say, ‘Give this much to so-and-so and this much to so-and-so,’ when it already belongs to so-and-so”—that is, the heirs.

Sulayman ibn Dawud Abu al-Rabiʿ narrated to us; Ismaʿil ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Nafiʿ ibn Malik ibn Abi ʿAmir Abu Suhayl narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet, who said: “The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when entrusted, he betrays the trust; and when he makes a promise, he breaks it.”

Muhammad ibn Yusuf narrated to us; al-Awzaʿi narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab and ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr, that Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I asked the Messenger of Allah for something, and he gave it to me. I asked him again, and he gave it to me. Then he said, “Hakim, this wealth is lush and sweet. Whoever takes it with a contented heart will be blessed in it; whoever takes it with a greedy, grasping heart will not be blessed in it, and will be like someone who eats but is never satisfied. The upper hand is better than the lower hand.”

Hakim said: I replied, “Messenger of Allah, by the One who sent you with the truth, I will never take anything from anyone after you until I leave this world.” Abu Bakr would call Hakim to give him his stipend, but he refused to accept anything. Then ʿUmar called him to give it to him, and he refused. ʿUmar said, “Muslims, I am offering him the share Allah allotted him from this spoils, but he refuses to take it.” Hakim never took anything from anyone after the Prophet until he died—may Allah have mercy on him.

Bishr ibn Muhammad al-Sakhtiyani informed us; ʿAbd Allah informed us; Yunus informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Salim informed me, from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say, “Each of you is a shepherd and responsible for those under his care. The ruler is a shepherd and responsible for his subjects; a man is a shepherd over his family and responsible for them; a woman in her husband’s home is a shepherd and responsible for those in her care; and a servant is a shepherd over his master’s property and responsible for it.” He said, “I think he also said: A man is a shepherd over his father’s property.”

ʿAbd Allah ibn Yusuf informed us; Malik informed us, from Ishaq ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Talha, who heard Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) say: The Prophet said to Abu Talha, “I think you should give it to your close relatives.” Abu Talha said, “I will do so, Messenger of Allah.” He distributed it among his relatives and cousins.

Ibn ʿAbbas said: When “Warn your nearest relatives” was revealed, the Prophet began calling out, “Banu Fihr! Banu ʿAdi!”—the branches of Quraysh. Abu Hurayra said: When “Warn your nearest relatives” was revealed, the Prophet said, “People of Quraysh!”

Abu al-Yaman informed us; Shuʿayb informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab and Abu Salama ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman informed me that Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When Allah revealed, “Warn your nearest relatives,” the Messenger of Allah stood and said, “People of Quraysh”—or words to that effect—“save yourselves from the Fire, for I cannot avail you against Allah at all. Banu ʿAbd Manaf, I cannot avail you against Allah at all. ʿAbbas ibn ʿAbd al-Muttalib, I cannot avail you against Allah at all. Safiyya, aunt of the Messenger of Allah, I cannot avail you against Allah at all. Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, ask me for whatever you wish from my wealth, but I cannot avail you against Allah at all.” Asbagh also narrated it from Ibn Wahb, from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab.

Qutayba ibn Saʿid narrated to us; Abu ʿAwana narrated to us, from Qatada, from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet saw a man leading a sacrificial camel and said, “Ride it.” The man said, “Messenger of Allah, it is a sacrificial camel.” He repeated the instruction; on the third or fourth time he said, “Ride it, woe to you”—or “alas for you.”

Ismaʿil narrated to us; Malik narrated to us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah saw a man leading a sacrificial camel and said, “Ride it.” He said, “Messenger of Allah, it is a sacrificial camel.” The Prophet said, “Ride it, woe to you,” on the second or third time.

Ismaʿil narrated to us; Malik narrated to us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah saw a man leading a sacrificial camel and said, “Ride it.” He said, “Messenger of Allah, it is a sacrificial camel.” The Prophet said, “Ride it, woe to you,” on the second or third time.