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The question

Why was the word "bequest" (al-waṣiyyah) presented before "debt" (al-dayn) in the Holy Qur’an, even though debt is fulfilled before bequest?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The wisdom behind prioritizing the mention of bequests over debts in the Quran, even though debts take precedence over them by scholarly consensus (Ijma'), stems from several matters, including:

1. The intent to prioritize both matters over inheritance without establishing an order between them. 2. Giving importance to the bequest because it is less obligatory than debt. 3. The bequest is the share of the poor and the weak, while debt is the share of the strong creditor. 4. The bequest is initiated by the testator by choice, whereas debt is fixed and obligatory. 5. The bequest is made for the sake of piety and maintaining ties, unlike debt which often arises from some form of negligence. 6. The bequest is taken without compensation, making its disbursement more difficult for the heir and its fulfillment more prone to neglect, unlike debt.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Where this answer came from
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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
8830
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy