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What is an Islamic Will? The Complete UK Guide

Published 24 August 2026 · 8 min read

The 2021 Census reported the Muslim population of England and Wales had reached 3.9 million people, around 6.5% of the total, making Islam the largest non-Christian faith in the country. Yet English law has no built-in concept of Fara'id, the fixed system of inheritance set out in the Quran and Sunnah. If you do not leave a Will that says otherwise, your estate will be distributed under the same intestacy rules as everyone else — rules that take no account of Islamic inheritance obligations at all.

That is what an Islamic Will, or Wasiyyah, is for. This article explains what one is, how it works alongside English law, and what actually needs to be in it, including the part most Will writers gloss over: the letter of wishes that goes with it.

What is a Wasiyyah (Islamic Will)?

Wasiyyah is the Arabic term for the declaration a Muslim makes while alive, about how their property should be handled after death. It is the direct equivalent of what English law calls a Will. Writing one is not just good planning; it is widely regarded as a religious duty, with hadith literature describing it as something a Muslim with anything to bequeath should not leave unwritten for long.

In practical terms, a Wasiyyah does three things:

1. It appoints someone to carry out your wishes (your Executor, sometimes called the wasi),
2. It sets out any specific bequests you wish to make, and
3. It makes clear that the remainder of your estate should pass according to Islamic inheritance rules.

Is an Islamic Will legally valid in England and Wales?

Yes, and it is important to understand the position because it can remove a lot of unnecessary worry. English and Welsh law gives you testamentary freedom — the right to leave your estate to whoever you choose, in whatever proportions you choose, with no obligation to favour any particular relative. That is precisely what makes a Sharia-compliant Will possible here. You are not fighting the legal system to honour your faith; you are using a freedom the legal system already gives you.

For the Will to be valid, it has to meet the same formal requirements as any other Will under the Wills Act 1837. It must be:

• In writing,
• Signed by you, and
• Signed by two independent adult witnesses (who are not beneficiaries, and are not married to one), all present at the same time.

There is no separate legal category called an “Islamic Will.” What you will be creating is a standard, valid English Will, with instructions that your estate is to be distributed in accordance with Islamic principles. You can start your Will the same way as anyone else, and shape it into an Islamic Will as you go.

How does Islamic inheritance work? Fara'id and the Wasiyyah allowance

Once debts and funeral costs are paid, what is left is known as your ‘net estate’. Under Islamic inheritance law, that net estate is generally treated in two parts.

There is one rule here that many other Will writers do not get right: a Wasiyyah bequest generally cannot be made to someone who is already a Fara'id heir, such as your spouse, children, or parents, without the agreement of your other heirs. This comes from a well-established hadith principle, often summarised as “no bequest for an heir.” If you want to leave an heir something beyond their fixed share, that is a conversation to have with a scholar about how to structure it properly, not something to write into your Will and hope for the best.

We cover this limit in more depth — where it comes from, what it is calculated against, and what happens if a Will exceeds it — in The one-third rule explained.

To illustrate, imagine your net estate is £300,000. You would be permitted to direct up to £100,000 (one third) towards Wasiyyah bequests, chosen non-heirs or charities of your choice, while the remaining £200,000 or more is distributed among your Fara'id heirs according to their fixed shares. The exact split of that remaining portion between a spouse, children, and any surviving parents depends on your specific family and school of thought.

Why a letter of wishes matters

This is the part that causes the most real-world friction, and one our competitors rarely explain well.

A Will that tries to write fixed Wasiyyah amounts and Fara'id percentages directly into its clauses creates inflexibility: if your estate's value changes, a family circumstance shifts, or you simply want to adjust who benefits, a fixed clause can go out of date fast, and changing it means re-signing and re-witnessing your entire Will.

This is why Willow's Islamic Will pathway uses a discretionary trust instead. Rather than naming fixed Wasiyyah and Fara'id clauses in the Will itself, your Will leaves your residuary estate to Trustees you choose, who hold it with discretion over how it is ultimately distributed. Alongside your Will, you are guided through building a letter of wishes: the document where you actually specify the amount, whether as a fixed sum or a percentage, of your one-third Wasiyyah allowance and who it should go to, along with your guidance on how you would like the remainder to reflect Fara'id shares among your heirs. Your trustees are not legally compelled to follow it to the letter, but it is the document that tells them, and your family, exactly what you intended and why — and it is far easier to update than the Will itself if your circumstances change.

Frequently asked questions about Islamic Wills in the UK

How to create your Islamic Will with Willow

1. Start your Will. Choose Basic, Premium, or Mirror, depending on what fits your circumstances.
2. Opt into the Islamic Will pathway when prompted, partway through the process. This sets your Will up to leave your residuary estate to your chosen Trustees under a discretionary trust.
3. Build your letter of wishes: specify the amount, as a fixed sum or a percentage, of your one-third Wasiyyah allowance, who it should go to, and your guidance on how the remainder should reflect Fara'id shares among your heirs.
4. Review everything, then print, sign, and witness your Will, and keep your letter of wishes safely alongside it.

This guide sets out general principles that are consistent across published Islamic inheritance sources, but should not be treated as religious guidance, because exact Fara'id shares depend on your specific family situation and the school of thought you follow. Willow's role is to make sure your Will is drafted correctly. For the precise breakdown of your own Fara'id shares, speak to your Imam or a qualified scholar.