How to Bequest Specific Amounts or Assets Within the One-Third Wasiyyah Limit

If you wish to leave money or a specific asset in your MuslimWill, our platform captures these bequests as a percentage of your estate.

This guide, therefore, explains how to leave a specific dollar amount or a particular asset — such as a property, vehicle, or piece of jewellery — and how to ensure your Wasiyyah remains within the Islamically permitted threshold.

Understanding the Percentage-Based Approach

When making a bequest in your Wasiyyah, you may have a specific dollar figure in mind — for example, $10,000 to a charitable organisation — or you may wish to leave a particular asset, such as a vehicle, boat, or property. In either case, our platform asks you to express the bequest as a percentage of your total estate, rather than a fixed dollar amount. There are two important reasons for this:

1. Islamic compliance. Islamic inheritance law limits what can be bequeathed outside of the prescribed Fara'id (mandatory) shares, to one-third (33.3%) of your net estate. Expressing bequests as percentages makes it straightforward to confirm you remain within this threshold, and to adjust if your estate value changes.
2. Accuracy over time. A fixed dollar amount becomes proportionally larger or smaller as your estate grows or changes. Similarly, the value of a specific asset may fluctuate over time. Expressing bequests as a percentage anchored to your estate value at the time of distribution is a more faithful and flexible expression of your intentions.

STEP ONE

Work Out Your Estimated Estate Value

Before you can calculate a percentage, you need an estimate of your total estate value. The simplest way to do this is:

THE CALCULATION

How to Convert a Dollar Bequest to a Percentage

Once you have your estate value, the formula is straightforward. Divide the dollar amount of your intended bequest by the total estimated value of your estate, then multiply by 100.

FORMULA

Once you have this figure, enter it into the Estate Percentage field in the Wasiyyah Transfers section of your MuslimWills platform builder. You may also wish to add a maximum dollar cap in the bequest instructions on the next page called Special Instructions for your Wasiyyah. This ensures the bequest does not exceed your original intention if your estate value increases significantly.

WORKED EXAMPLE 1

Putting this into Practice with an Awqaf Australia Bequest

Here is an example based on a $1,000,000 estate, where the testator (person making a Will) wishes to make a $10,000 donation to Awqaf Australia.

In this case, $10,000 divided by $1,000,000 equals exactly 1%. On the platform, you would enter 1% as the estate percentage and note a maximum cap of $10,000 in the instructions field. This protects against any variance in the estate’s final value at distribution.

WORKED EXAMPLE 2

A Bequest Entry for Grandchildren

Below is an example of how a group bequest is structured using the MuslimWills platform, combining a percentage allocation with a detailed instruction clause and a per-beneficiary dollar cap.

In this case, the testator has a $1,000,000 estate and wishes to leave $20,000 to be equally divided among four grandchildren — a total of $20,000. Divided by $1,000,000, that equals 2% of the estate. The per-beneficiary cap of $5,000 is built into the instructions clause.

The instruction that any surplus from the 2% allocation falls into the residue of the estate is an important safeguard. It ensures the estate is never over-distributed, and the bequest remains fair if the estate value at distribution differs from your estimate.

SPECIFIC ASSET BEQUESTS

What If I Want to Leave a Particular Item to Someone?

In some cases, you may wish for a specific asset — such as a vehicle, boat, jewellery, or investment property — to pass to a particular person as part of your Wasiyyah, rather than a cash amount. Our platform accommodates this through the bequest instructions field.

You will have already nominated the beneficiary and their allocated percentage in the bequest fields above. In the instructions field, you can then specify that this allocation is to be satisfied by way of the particular asset, provide your estimated value of that asset, and include a direction for what happens if the asset’s value exceeds the beneficiary’s entitlement.

SAMPLE WORDING

Special Instructions for Wasiyyah Allocations — Specific Asset

The following wording can be used in the Special Instructions field when you wish a specific asset to satisfy the allocation made to a named beneficiary above:

Replace the bracketed fields with the relevant details. Ensure the estimated value of the asset is reflected in the percentage you have allocated to that beneficiary, and that the total Wasiyyah remains within one-third (33.3%) of your estate.

Islamic Guidance

The One-Third Rule

Islamic scholars are in consensus that a Muslim may not bequest more than one-third (33.3%) of their net estate to non-heirs. Best practice is to add up all your Wasiyyah percentages before finalising your document and confirm the total sits comfortably within this limit. If your estate composition changes significantly, revisit and adjust your bequests accordingly.

SUMMARY

Completing Your Bequest on the MuslimWills Platform

1. Determine your total estimated estate value. Add up all assets — property, superannuation (where applicable), savings, investments and personal property — and subtract any outstanding liabilities.
2. Identify your intended dollar amount or specific asset for each individual or group bequest you wish to make. If leaving a specific asset, use your best estimate of its current market value as the basis for your percentage calculation.
3. Apply the formula: divide the bequest amount by your total estate value. For example, $10,000 ÷ $1,000,000 = 1%.
4. Enter the percentage in the Estate Percentage field. Round to one or two decimal places for simplicity.
5. Add a maximum dollar cap in the Special Instructions for Wasiyyah Allocations page — for example, "not to exceed $10,000". This ensures your intentions are preserved regardless of how your estate fluctuates.
6. Review your total Wasiyyah percentage across all bequests. The combined total must not exceed 33.3% of your estate.
7. If leaving a specific asset, use the instructions field to identify the asset, state your estimated value, and include the buyout direction in case the asset’s value exceeds the beneficiary’s entitlement. See the sample wording in the Specific Asset Bequests section above.