between you, when death draws nigh to one of you, at the time of making the will, two just persons from among you” (5:106). All these verses afford clear proof that a person can make a will with regard to his property.

There are, however, reliable ḥadīth which place a certain limitation upon the right to make a bequest and, in fact, if no limitations were placed, the injunctions contained in 4:11, 12 would be nullified, for there would be no property to be divided among the legal heirs. Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqās is said to have made the following report: “I fell ill in the year in which Makkah was conquered, being almost on the brink of death when the Holy Prophet paid me a visit. I said to him, O Messenger of Allāh! I possess much wealth and my only heir is a single daughter; may I therefore make a will with regard to the whole of my property? The Holy Prophet said, No. I then enquired about two-thirds of it, and he again said, No. I then asked him, if I may give away one-third of my property by will, and he approved of one-third, adding: A bequest of one-third is much, for if thou leavest thine heirs rich, it is better than that thou shouldst leave them poor, begging of other people, and thou dost not spend anything with which thou seekest the pleasure of Allāh but thou art rewarded for it, even for the morsel that thou puttest into thy wife’s mouth” (Bu. 85:6; M. 26:0; Tr. 29:1). The same ḥadīth is reported somewhat differently through another channel and, according to this report Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqās said: “The Holy Prophet paid me a visit when I was ill, and he asked me if I had made a will. I said, Yes. He then asked, How much. I said, I have bequeathed the whole of my property to be spent in the way of Allāh. He said, And what hast thou left for thy children? I said, They are in sufficiently good circumstances. He said, Better make a will about one-tenth of thy property. I then continued to ask him for less and less (for the heirs), until he said, Make a will of one-third of property and one-third is much” (MM. 12:20-ii). These reports make it clear that the will spoken of on various occasions in the Holy Qur‘ān is a charitable bequest, and not a will for the heirs, and that this bequest was to be limited to one-third of the property, so that the heirs might not be deprived of their share of inheritance, the well-being of the heirs being as good a consideration with the law-giver as charity. It may also be added that according to another ḥadīth, a