Why Every Muslim in the UK Needs a Will

UK intestacy law and Islamic inheritance are not the same thing

Under the Wills Act 1837 and the Administration of Estates Act 1925, a person who dies in England and Wales without a valid will is said to have died “intestate.” Their estate then passes according to intestacy rules set by Parliament — not by the Quran.

Those intestacy rules were not designed with Islamic inheritance in mind. Under UK law:

• A surviving spouse inherits the first £322,000 of the estate outright, plus half of whatever remains. Children share the other half equally between them.
• Children inherit equal shares with no distinction between sons and daughters.
• Parents of the deceased receive nothing if the deceased left a spouse or children.
• Siblings receive nothing if the deceased left a spouse, children, or parents.

Compare this with the Faraid system established in the Quran. In Surah An-Nisa (4:11–12), Allah sets out precise shares for heirs. A wife receives an eighth of the estate if there are children, a quarter if there are none. Parents each receive a sixth if there are children. Where sons and daughters inherit together, a son receives twice the share of a daughter — a ratio that reflects not personal worth, but the different financial obligations Islam places on men and women within the family structure. The rules are detailed, specific, and — in the view of all four Sunni madhabs — obligatory.

The gap between these two systems is not a minor technical difference. For many families, it determines who receives what, by how much, and whether the estate is distributed in a way the deceased would have wanted.

Mizaanly’s guide to UK intestacy rules for Muslim families explains those differences in detail.

Five situations where dying without a will causes real harm

Most Muslims in the UK who do not have a will are not being careless. They assume that their family knows what the Islamic shares are, that everyone will agree, or that it will all sort itself out. These assumptions are understandable. They are also often wrong.

1. The 2:1 son/daughter ratio disappears

Under UK intestacy, a son and a daughter inherit equal shares. Under Faraid — in all four Sunni madhabs — where sons and daughters inherit together, a son receives twice the share of a daughter. Without a will specifying otherwise, a UK court administering an intestate estate will divide it equally. The family may choose to redistribute it privately afterwards, but that requires unanimous agreement from every adult heir, recorded in a legal document called a Deed of Variation. If anyone declines, the UK default stands.

2. Parents are excluded if there are children

In Islamic inheritance, a surviving parent receives a fixed share (one-sixth) even when the deceased left children. Under UK intestacy, parents receive nothing if a spouse or children survive. A family following UK intestacy — without realising it — may inadvertently cut grandparents out of the estate entirely, in direct contradiction of Quranic instruction.

3. The extended family is written out

Islamic inheritance includes shares for siblings, uncles, and in some circumstances more distant relatives, when closer heirs are not present. UK intestacy has its own order of priority, which does not mirror the Islamic order. The precise shares and the order of priority differ from Faraid. Without a will, the correct Islamic distribution cannot be guaranteed.

4. Bequests and charitable giving are lost

Islam permits a person to direct up to one-third of their estate as they choose — a bequest (wasiyyah). This might be a gift to charity, a contribution to a mosque, or provision for a non-heir dependent. Under UK intestacy, no bequest takes effect. If you wanted a portion of your estate to go to a cause you cared about, that intention dies with you unless it is written into a valid will.

5. Charitable intentions go unrecorded

Many Muslims make mental commitments to give sadaqah jariyah — ongoing charity — after their death. Without a will specifying this, those commitments have no legal effect. The estate is distributed according to UK law, and the charitable intention is simply lost.

The nikah-only marriage: the gap most families don’t see coming

This is the situation that causes the most distress, and the one that most guides on Islamic wills fail to address clearly.

An Islamic marriage ceremony (nikah) is a religiously valid marriage in the eyes of Islam. It is not automatically a legally recognised marriage in England and Wales unless it also satisfies the requirements of the Marriage Act 1949 — which means it must take place in a registered venue with an authorised celebrant, and the civil registration must be completed.

Many Muslim couples in the UK perform a nikah without also completing a civil registration. Their marriage is Islamically valid but not legally registered. Under UK intestacy law, an unregistered spouse has no automatic inheritance rights at all. The estate passes to children, then to parents, then to siblings — and the partner who shared the deceased’s life, home, and family may receive nothing.

The only protection against this outcome is a valid will that names the spouse as a beneficiary. Without one, she — and it is disproportionately women who are affected — may have to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which is a court process that is expensive, distressing, and uncertain in outcome.

Mizaanly’s guide on whether a Muslim estate can be distributed Islamically without a will explains that posthumous redistribution is possible but requires every heir to agree. For a nikah-only spouse, the situation is more complex still, because she is not a legal heir at all under UK intestacy — she has to establish a claim separately.

What Islam says about making a will

The obligation to make a will is not a modern legal precaution. It is a religious duty.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said: “It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to bequeath to stay for two nights without having his last will and testament written and kept ready with him.” This hadith is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

The Quran itself devotes considerable attention to the question of inheritance. Surah An-Nisa (4:11–14) establishes the Faraid shares in precise terms and follows the distribution rules with a warning:

“These are the limits set by Allah. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted into Gardens under which rivers flow, to live there forever. That is the great triumph. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and exceeds His limits will be put into a Fire, to live there forever, and they will suffer a humiliating punishment.”

Surah An-Nisa, 4:13–14

The scholars across all four Sunni madhabs — Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanbali — are unanimous that distributing an estate contrary to Faraid, without the agreement of the heirs, is sinful. A will does not change those shares. What it does is ensure they can actually be implemented under English law.

What a Sharia-compliant will actually does in practice

A Sharia-compliant will — sometimes called an Islamic will or a wasiyyah — is a legal document valid under UK law that instructs the executor and the courts to distribute the estate according to Islamic rules. It does three things simultaneously:

1. It makes the estate legally distributable

Without a will, the estate must go through the intestacy rules. With a will, the executor can follow the Islamic shares directly. The Wills Act 1837 permits a person to leave their estate to whoever they choose, including in proportions that match Faraid exactly.

2. It specifies the madhab

Because the four Sunni madhabs differ on some inheritance questions — particularly on the position of certain distant relatives — a well-drafted Islamic will specifies which madhab’s rules govern the distribution. This prevents disputes later.

3. It records the bequest (wasiyyah)

Up to one-third of the estate can be directed to charitable causes, specific individuals, or kaffarah payments for missed prayers and fasts. The will is the legal instrument through which this intention becomes enforceable.

A will does not need to be expensive or complicated. For most Muslims in the UK — those with straightforward family circumstances and an estate within the nil-rate band (currently £325,000, or £500,000 when a residential property is included) — a straightforward Islamic will is sufficient.

How to create one and what it costs

Step one: calculate the shares

Before a will can be drafted, the Islamic shares must be calculated correctly for your specific family situation. This depends on which heirs survive you — spouse, children, parents, siblings — and their precise relationship. At Mizaanly, you can calculate your exact shares under all four Sunni madhabs, for free.

Step two: instruct a solicitor

Once the shares are calculated, a solicitor needs to draft the will in a form that satisfies the Wills Act 1837 — signed by you in the presence of two independent witnesses. Mizaanly produces a Solicitor Instruction Letter PDF (£29) that provides your solicitor with the exact Islamic shares for your family, in a format they can work from directly. This removes the burden of calculating Faraid from the solicitor, who may have no training in Islamic law.

Step three: sign and store

The will must be signed correctly to be valid. Store the original somewhere safe and ensure your executor knows where it is. It is good practice to review it after major life events — marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of a parent.

Worked example — £360,000 estate

Under UK intestacy

Under Islamic Faraid

The difference is stark. Under intestacy, the wife receives £341,000 — nearly the entire estate. The mother receives nothing. The son inherits £9,500 instead of £170,000. Without a will, none of the Quranic shares can be applied.

This is an illustrative example. Actual calculations depend on all surviving heirs and the madhab applied. Run the free calculation at Mizaanly for your specific family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an Islamic will valid under UK law?

Yes. Under the Wills Act 1837, a person has almost complete freedom to decide how their estate is distributed, provided the will is correctly executed — signed in the presence of two independent witnesses. A will that distributes an estate according to Islamic Faraid shares is fully valid under English and Welsh law.

Can I write my own Islamic will?

Free template wills are available online. They are appropriate for the simplest situations — a single person with few assets and no dependants. For anyone with a spouse, children, a property, or more complex circumstances, a solicitor-drafted will is strongly recommended. Errors in execution or drafting can render a will invalid or lead to disputes.

What if my family refuses to follow the Islamic shares after I die?

If the will is legally valid and properly executed, your executor is obligated to follow it. Heirs can challenge a will on very limited grounds — undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, improper execution — but disagreeing with the distribution is not itself grounds for challenge. The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 does allow certain dependants to claim reasonable financial provision, but this is a narrow remedy and does not override a clearly expressed will without good cause.

Does it matter which madhab I follow?

Yes. While the core Faraid shares (spouse, children, parents) are the same across all four Sunni madhabs, the position of certain relatives — a grandfather when brothers are also alive, for example, or a uterine sibling versus a full sibling — differs between schools. Mizaanly calculates shares under all four madhabs so you can see exactly what changes and which ruling applies to your family.

What does a Sharia-compliant will cost?

The Faraid calculation itself is free at Mizaanly. The Solicitor Instruction Letter — which gives your solicitor the exact Islamic shares in a format they can work from — costs £29. Solicitor fees for drafting the will itself vary, but a straightforward Islamic will typically costs between £150 and £500 depending on the complexity of your estate.