Legacy Planning in Islam

Deeds of merit have a lasting reward

BY M. YAQUB MIRZA

Observant Muslims seek to leave two types of legacies: those that will cause the family and kith and kin remember them positively and attain a higher status in the Afterlife.

Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that, “If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift for him” (“Sahih al-Bukhari”). Islam and Muslims want everyone to live with dignity, peace and honor. Regarding the piety-charity relationship, the Quran teaches: “It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West, but to believe in God and the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your wealth, out of love for Him, for your kin, orphans, the needy, the wayfarer, those who ask, and to ransom slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice regular charity; to fulfill your contracts; to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering), adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-conscious” (2:177).

Islam outlines four ways to do this: zakat, sadaqa, bequests and voluntary gifts

Zakat (Obligatory Charity). Those entitled to receive zakat or sadaqah are “the poor, the needy (destitute), zakat administrators, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, captives (those held in bondage), debtors, stranded travelers and in the cause of God” (9:60). The last category includes any Islamically permitted community welfare activity.

Zakat is paid yearly out of one’s accumulated savings beyond one’s annual expenses. M. Umer Chapra comments, “The prescription of Zakah is a clear and unambiguous signal of the Divine desire to assure that no one suffers because of lack of means to acquire the essential need-fulfilling goods and services (“Islam and the Economic Challenge,” 2016; p. 271).

Sadaqa (Voluntary Charity). The Quran proclaims, “They ask how much they are to spend; Say: Whatever is beyond your needs” (2:219). The Prophet used to do this and place his faith in God as the best of the providers.

Giving sadaqa while alive is a preferred act of devotion. Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri said, “It is better for a man to give a dirham as sadaqa during one’s lifetime, than to give a hundred at the time of his death” (“Readings on Charity and Kindness in Islam,” 2002, p. 19).

Bequests. Islam advises Muslims to write their wills. Prophet Muhammad said a person who has something to bequest cannot sleep three nights without writing a will (“Sahih Bukhari,” vol. 4, book 51, hadith no. 1). Muslims can distribute up to 1/3 of their wealth (and more if the inheritors agree) for charitable purposes or to those who aren’t legal heirs.

Islam also permits Muslims to transfer up to 1/3 of their wealth to a trusted individual(s) who can manage their financial resources judiciously. In his/her role of trustee, that

person ensures that this legacy is preserved and continued almost in perpetuity, “And do not entrust to those are weak in judgement the possession which God has placed in your charge [for the whole society], but provide sustenance therefrom, clothing for them, and speak to them kindly and fairly” (4:5).

The Quran and Sunna contain specific inheritance rules that every observant Muslim must obey, unless the heirs voluntarily agree to a different arrangement or forego their rights to the inheritance. literature. One hadith reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu ’anh) and cited as the prime source for Islamic legacy planning, reads, “When the human being dies, his deeds end except for three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him” (“Sahih Muslim,” 1631).

Three categories could be understood today as investing in institutional charity, ideas and knowledge, as well as in human capital.

IF MUSLIMS WERE TO CALCULATE THEIR ZAKAT ACCURATELY AND DISTRIBUTE IT ON A CONSISTENT BASIS, IT COULD, ALONG WITH THE MONEY DONATED BY NON-MUSLIMS, ELIMINATE POVERTY AND ENABLE EVERYONE TO LIVE IN DIGNITY.

Before they die, Muslims can give to whomever they want, keeping in mind the Prophet’s saying, “It is obligatory for a father to treat all his children (male and female) equally, especially in the matter of giving gifts” and “Fear God and be just towards your children” (“Sahih Muslim,” vol. 3, hadith no. 76).

Voluntary Gifts. The Quran encourages sharing one’s wealth, “If other near of kin, orphans and needy are present at the time of division of inheritance give them something of it and speak to them kindly” (4:8-9). In addition to commanding inheritors to give to their relatives, the poor and needy family members or to orphans who are present when the inheritance is distributed, it also allows those who lack any legal claim (as inheritors) to be considered for charity. Thus, Islamic law ensures a wide distribution of inherited wealth.

If Muslims were to calculate their zakat accurately and distribute it on a consistent basis, it could, along with the money donated by non-Muslims, eliminate poverty and enable everyone to live in dignity. If this were not possible, then God would have mandated higher percentages. In fact, history documents that at certain times in the past, Islamic societies had no people who were qualified to receive zakat.

LEGACY PLANNING Legacy planning is a Prophetic tradition detailed within the Quranic and the Hadith

“Perpetual charity” means to create an endowment (waqf). The Prophet said, “Endow it for the sake of God, so that it cannot be inherited or sold forever, and its produce would perpetually go to the poor, your relatives, for freeing slaves, sheltering wayfarers and the homeless, and in the way of God in general. And those who manage the land and work on it could also benefit from it with moderation” (“Sahih Bukhari,” vol. 4, book 51, hadith no. 33). Such acts may also include digging a well, planting a tree, feeding animals and birds, and treating or caring for the sick.

Another hadith speaks of seven specific areas of perpetual charity: teaching knowledge, unblocking a (water) channel, digging a well, planting a tree, building a mosque (or a place of worship), bequeathing a book (leaving behind written knowledge) or leaving behind offspring who pray for the deceased parents.” In this hadith, teaching knowledge and bequeathing books are also parts of legacy planning.

Specifically, we may encourage individuals to consider creating endowments that help elderly people, hospitalized people and nursing home residents have a better quality of life; taking care of animals at a shelter; improving local parks and playgrounds; establishing health clinics (especially in rural areas) and propagating and supporting preventive medicine; campaigning lighting along poorly lit streets; cleaning up trash on vacant lots and highways; petitioning town leaders for more drinking fountains and public restrooms; and so on.

According to the Prophet, knowledge is the second area of leaving behind a legacy. This means every kind of useful knowledge (‘ilm al-nafi’), not just religious knowledge. One is rewarded for the knowledge taught to others and left behind as books or educational institutions.

Modern examples could be establishing an endowed chair at a university, equipping a science laboratory, buying books for local libraries, reading books or letters to the visually impaired, teaching computer skills to the elderly and rehabilitated inmates, providing counselling services, establishing diverse and inclusive scholarships, providing books and supplies to students and providing room and board to students residing at the college/ university campuses.

The “offspring who pray for him,” includes both the biological children and the beneficiaries. Such projects could be creating an endowment that supports teaching justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion; providing money for teacher education, orphans and needy students, tutoring and mentoring programs; and adopting/ fostering a child living in another country. Mentoring students and investing in building their character, strong ethics and values is akin to the remark of John Wooden, an American basketball player and coach, “Ability can take you to the top, but it is your character which will keep you there” (John Wooden and Jack Tobi, “They Call Me Coach,” 1973, p. 153).

A perpetual charity can also involve building collaborative projects, such as a $1 million university laboratory. The interested party — an investment club/group or a group of like-minded individuals or philanthropists — can ask friends to pool their donations so that the university will receive the allocated funds over a certain amount of time.

The Quran teaches that people of different faiths should “compete with one another in doing good” (2:148), and the Prophet said, “The best good deed is the one done promptly” (“Sahih Muslim,” book 1, hadith no. 0213). ih

M Yaqub Mirza, PhD, chairman, Amana Mutual Fund; member, Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, and Chair, Investment Committee, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Va. He is also author of “Five Pillars of Prosperity” (2014).