Chapters On Wasaya (Wills and Testament)

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Ibn Abi ‘Umar narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhri, from ‘Amir ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, from his father, who said: I fell gravely ill in the year of the Conquest, nearing death. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit me. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, I have considerable wealth and only my daughter will inherit from me. May I bequeath all my wealth?’ He said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Two-thirds?’ He said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Half?’ He said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘A third?’ He replied, ‘A third—and a third is much. It is better to leave your heirs well-off than to leave them dependent, begging from people. Whatever you spend will be rewarded, even a morsel you raise to your wife’s mouth.’

I said, ‘Will I be left behind after my emigration?’ He said, ‘You will not remain behind and do any deed seeking Allah’s countenance without thereby increasing in rank and degree. Perhaps you will remain, so that some people benefit through you and others are harmed through you. O Allah, complete my Companions’ emigration and do not turn them back on their heels. But how pitiable is Sa‘d ibn Khawlah!’ The Messenger of Allah grieved that he had died in Makkah. Abu ‘Isa said: There is also a report on this topic from Ibn ‘Abbas. This is a hasan sahih hadith, narrated by more than one route from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas. Scholars act according to this report: a person may not bequeath more than one-third, and some scholars recommended bequeathing less than one-third, because the Messenger of Allah said, ‘A third is much.’

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Nasr ibn ‘Ali al-Jahdami narrated to us; ‘Abd al-Samad ibn ‘Abd al-Warith narrated to us; Nasr ibn ‘Ali—this Nasr’s grandfather—narrated to us; al-Ash‘ath ibn Jabir narrated to us, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Abu Hurayrah, who related from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): ‘A man and a woman may perform acts of obedience to Allah for sixty years, then, when death approaches, they cause harm through a bequest, and the Fire becomes due to them.’ Abu Hurayrah then recited to me: ‘After a bequest made or a debt, without causing harm—a commandment from Allah,’ through to His words, ‘That is the great triumph.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih gharib hadith. Nasr ibn ‘Ali who narrated from al-Ash‘ath ibn Jabir is the grandfather of Nasr ibn ‘Ali al-Jahdami.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Ibn Abi ‘Umar narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: ‘It is not appropriate for a Muslim who has something to bequeath to spend two nights without having his bequest written with him.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith. A similar report was narrated from al-Zuhri, from Salim, from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Ahmad ibn Mani‘ narrated to us; Abu Qatan ‘Amr ibn al-Haytham al-Baghdadi narrated to us; Malik ibn Mighwal narrated to us, from Talhah ibn Musarrif, who said: I asked Ibn Abi Awfa, ‘Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) leave a bequest?’ He said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Then how was the bequest written, and what did he enjoin upon the people?’ He said, ‘He enjoined the Book of Allah.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih gharib hadith; we know it only through the narration of Malik ibn Mighwal.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

‘Ali ibn Hujr and Hannad narrated to us; they said: Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash narrated to us; Shurahbil ibn Muslim al-Khawlani narrated to us, from Abu Umamah al-Bahili, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during his sermon in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage say: ‘Allah has given every rights-holder his due. There is no bequest for an heir. The child belongs to the marital bed, and the adulterer gets the stone; their reckoning is with Allah. Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father, or affiliates himself with people other than his patrons, upon him is Allah’s continuing curse until the Day of Resurrection. A woman may not spend from her husband’s household except with her husband’s permission.’ They asked, ‘Not even food, Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘That is among our best possessions.’ He then said, ‘A loaned item must be returned, a borrowed milch-animal must be returned, a debt must be repaid, and a guarantor is liable.’

Abu ‘Isa said: There are reports on this topic from ‘Amr ibn Kharijah and Anas ibn Malik. This is a hasan sahih hadith, and it has been narrated from Abu Umamah by other routes. The narration of Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash from Iraqis and Hijazis is not strong when he is the sole transmitter, because he narrated objectionable reports from them; his narrations from Syrians are sounder. Muhammad ibn Isma‘il said this. I heard Ahmad ibn al-Hasan say: Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, ‘Isma‘il’s hadith is better than Baqiyyah’s; Baqiyyah has objectionable reports from reliable transmitters.’ I heard ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman say: I heard Zakariyya ibn ‘Adi quote Abu Ishaq al-Fazari: ‘Take from Baqiyyah what he narrates from reliable transmitters, but do not take from Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash what he narrates, whether from reliable or unreliable transmitters.’

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Qutaybah narrated to us; Abu ‘Awanah narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Shahr ibn Hawshab, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm, from ‘Amr ibn Kharijah, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon while I was beneath the front of his she-camel. She was chewing her cud, and her saliva flowed between my shoulders. I heard him say: ‘Allah has given every rights-holder his due. There is no bequest for an heir. The child belongs to the marital bed, and the adulterer gets the stone. Whoever claims descent from someone other than his father, or affiliates himself with people other than his patrons out of aversion to them, upon him is Allah’s curse; Allah will accept from him neither compensation nor substitute.’

I heard Ahmad ibn al-Hasan say: Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, ‘I do not object to the hadith of Shahr ibn Hawshab.’ I asked Muhammad ibn Isma‘il about Shahr, and he regarded him as reliable, saying, ‘Ibn ‘Awn is the one who criticizes him.’ Yet Ibn ‘Awn narrated from Hilal ibn Abi Zaynab, from Shahr ibn Hawshab. Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Ibn Abi ‘Umar narrated to us; Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq al-Hamdani, from al-Harith, from ‘Ali: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that a debt be settled before a bequest, although you recite the bequest before the debt. Abu ‘Isa said: Scholars generally act according to this report, beginning with the debt before the bequest.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Bundar narrated to us; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi narrated to us; Sufyan narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Abu Habibah al-Ta’i, who said: My brother bequeathed part of his wealth to me. I met Abu al-Darda’ and asked him, ‘My brother has left me part of his wealth. Where do you think I should allocate it—to the poor, the needy, or those striving in Allah’s cause?’ He said, ‘As for me, I would not regard them as equal to those striving in Allah’s cause. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “The one who emancipates a slave at the time of death is like one who gives a gift when already sated.”’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Qutaybah narrated to us; al-Layth narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from ‘Urwah, who said: ‘A’ishah told him that Barirah came to ask her for help with her emancipation contract, having paid nothing yet. ‘A’ishah said to her, ‘Go back to your owners. If they agree that I pay off your contract and your wala’ belongs to me, I will do it.’ Barirah told her owners, but they refused. They said, ‘If she wants to pay your contract on the condition that your wala’ belongs to us, let her do so.’ Barirah told the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said, ‘Buy her and emancipate her; wala’ belongs only to the one who emancipates.’

The Messenger of Allah then stood and said, ‘What is the matter with people who impose conditions not found in the Book of Allah? Whoever imposes a condition not found in the Book of Allah has no right to it, even if he stipulated it a hundred times.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith, also narrated through other routes from ‘A’ishah. Scholars act according to it: wala’ belongs to the one who emancipates.