Mirath - The Laws of Islamic Inheritance

If there are numerous debts which in total accumulate to more than
the estate, and there is no way of full repayment for all of them, then
the creditors will all receive payment in proportion to each other. E.g.
Zayd owes A#m\d £2,000 Zayd owes *\mid £3,000
Zayd owes `Umar £4,000 Zayd owes Kh\lid £5,000
In Zayd’s estate (after a simple burial) there is only £2,000
A#mad cannot claim everything saying that at least his debt is
covered, nor can Kh\lid take everything saying that he was owed
the most. But instead the money will be distributed
proportionately. (In this case the method will be to divide £2,000
into 14 parts (5+4+3+2=14) which means £142.85 is one part.
A#mad will get £285.70, *\mid will get £428.55, `Umar will get
£571.40, and Kh\lid will get £714.25. This equals £1999.90. The
remainder (£0.10) will be considered indivisible (and disposed of
as %adaqah).
BEQUEST OF UP TO ONE THIRD OF THE REMAINING WEALTH
This is known as Wa]iyyah. Wa]iyyah is what is translated as bequest.
This is when the deceased has left instruction for the spending of
money from his estate in any way besides being distributed amongst
the receiving heirs. There are, however, some conditions:
1. The bequest cannot be given from more than one third of the
wealth, even if the deceased explicitly states that he wants more (or all)
of it to be spent in a certain way. If more than one third is allotted, then
too only one third will be given, and the surplus returned to the estate
to be distributed amongst the heirs.
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