Inheritance: Regulations & Exhortations

The Inevitable Journey #2

by Muhammad Mustafa al-Jibaly

We inevitably go through a journey starting with this life, and extending into the grave, before our final abode in the hereafter. In the process, we pass through stages of sickness, death, and the intermediate life in the grave (al-Barzakh). These are the subjects with which “The Inevitable Journey” deals with:

This book deals with the Islamic Will and Testament. Writing a will is a religious obligation on every capable Muslim. It protects against many problems and conflicts that could arise after a persons death. This obligation is more emphasized in the West; Failing to write a well founded will may result in the distribution of ones estate in discord with the Islamic law, and may lead to losses for some of the rightful inheritors.

148 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

About the author

Muhammad Al-Jibali acquired a sound knowledge of Shaykh al-Albanis fiqh and methodology through personal contact with the Shaykh and an extensive study, indexing, and teaching of his works.

He Studied and maintained strong friendship with most of the late Nasir ud-Din al-Albanis prominent students from Syria, Jordan, and other countries (1983 to current).

He has authored many original books and articles in various areas of fiqh, `aqidah, manhaj, da`wah, etc and has lectured at many conferences and seminars, in North America and around the world.

Reviews

[Tuscany Bernier]

This book is the clearest book in English I've ever seen on Islamic inheritance law. I would personally suggest making the will in the back of the book to fit your needs though. (To claim that nobody can wear black to your funeral and you can't make food for guests? In the will? To each their own.) It's really good though. The blue text was kind of different; oddly enough, it helped me remember what I was reading better. I'm a visual learner so that color change made a difference in my retention skills. The author does an excellent job at using proper daleel for why things are seperated up as they are supposed to be.

[جبرئیل]

It is not rightful for a Muslim, if he has anything to bequeath, that he sleeps 2 consecutive nights without having his WILL written with him. -Hadith

The above Hadith, and some other relevant ones in “Bidayah al Hidayah - imam ghazali” prompted me to read this book on a priority basis.

It explains concept of Will (wasiyyat), and how to implement it practically, with a template in appendix.

Rest of the chapters expound on “Inheritance” (wiraasat).

Important read.

[Mystery]

The book is a concise information piece about the laws of inheritance for Muslims. The author does a good job of giving several examples of many different cases, but the topic itself was too complex to fully grasp. I wondered if there might have been a better way to explain some of the examples. The book probably works better as a reference guide than leisure reading.