Nasihah (Advice): Do not make your Will a means of your destruction
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu Anhu reports thatRasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said: “Indeed a male and a female will spend sixty years in the obedience of Allah but at the time of death, they are unjust in their will and thus the Fire becomes their lot.” (Tirmidhi)
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Question and Answer:
- If a person has been nominated as an executor of an estate, is it compulsory to accept the nomination as an executor of an estate What happens if a person was not aware of being nominated as an executor of an estate?
(Question received from the Islamic Wills and Estate programme hosted by the Jamiatul Ulama KZN in Empangeni)
- In terms of Shariah, accepting the nomination and appointment of executorship is subject to the approval of a person being nominated as an executor of an estate. Hence, if a person has been nominated as an executor of an estate with his/her approval and consent, it would be the duty of such a person to accept the appointment of executorship and wind up the estate according to the Islamic Law of Succession and Inheritance.
On the contrary, if a person has been nominated as an executor of an estate without his/her approval or consent, then he/she will not be duty-bound to accept the appointment of executorship. They have the option to accept or reject the appointment of executorship. (Al-Bahrur-Raa’iq 8/521)
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai