Why did Islam prohibit bequests to heirs?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A bequest to an heir is not permissible, based on the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: (Indeed, Allah has given every rightful person his due, so there is no bequest to an heir.) The wisdom behind this prohibition is to prevent an heir from taking more than his rightful share according to Islamic law, thereby transgressing Allah's boundaries in inheritance, which could lead to animosity and envy among the heirs. If a bequest to an heir were permissible, the determined shares of inheritance would be invalidated, and people would tamper with them.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/22325
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 22325
- 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.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy