Over 1,300 pilgrims died at Hajj last year, and none of them planned to.
In June 2024, temperatures in Makkah reached 51.8°C, surpassing survivable heat thresholds for hours at a time. More than 1,300 pilgrims did not make it home. They left behind spouses, children, and parents — along with properties in Birmingham, mortgages in Manchester, and savings in Bradford. Most of them left behind no will.
This is not simply a Hajj problem. It is a British Muslim problem.
You may not be travelling to the Haram this Dhul Hijjah. You may be watching the pilgrims depart from your living room. The question is the same for all of us, and it has been waiting longer than most of us would like to admit:
Have you written your will?
The Prophet ﷺ Did Not Leave This to Chance
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was precise. He taught that no Muslim with anything to bequeath should let even two nights pass without their will written and ready. The Companion who narrated those words, Ibn Umar (RA), reportedly never spent a single night afterwards without his own will beside him.
This is not a bureaucratic formality. The hadith is agreed upon by both Bukhari and Muslim — the highest standard of authenticity in Islamic scholarship — and the scholars are unanimous: where debts, dependants, or obligations to Allah are at stake, writing a will moves from strongly recommended to obligatory. Most British Muslims know this. Almost none have acted on it.
Dhul Hijjah: The Season of Completion
These are the ten best days of the year. The Prophet ﷺ said that no righteous deed performed on any other day surpasses what is done in these ten days of Dhul Hijjah — not even jihad, except for the one who gives both life and wealth in the way of Allah.
It is the season of Hajj, Qurbani, fasting on the Day of Arafah, and multiplied reward. But across Islamic history, it has also been the season in which Muslims put their affairs in order before undertaking the journey to the Haram. Imam al-Nawawi counselled anyone preparing for Hajj to write a will, have it witnessed, appoint someone to settle outstanding debts, and leave the family with whatever they would need until the pilgrim's return.
That was standard counsel before the journey to Makkah. It was also counsel for life itself. The truth every pilgrim carries — dressed in two white cloths that mirror the burial shroud — is that Hajj is a rehearsal for death. The farewell Tawaf is a goodbye to the Sacred House, and pilgrims know this. They weep at it. And yet the vast majority return home without a will.
What English Law Does to Your Family
Here is where it becomes urgent for British Muslims.
If you die without a will in England and Wales, the rules of intestacy decide everything. They do not consult Surah An-Nisa. They do not consider Faraid — the Quranic inheritance system Allah prescribed with precision for parents, spouses, children, and siblings. They apply English law alone, and the results can devastate families.
Even if you are legally married under English law, your spouse receives the first £322,000 and half of what remains. That distribution bears no resemblance to the shares Allah ordained in the Quran. The fixed portions for your parents, daughters, and siblings are entirely irrelevant to the court. And if you hold property or assets in Pakistan, Bangladesh, or another country, a different legal system may govern those assets — potentially leaving your family years of cross-border legal conflict to navigate in grief.
As Didsbury Mosque puts it plainly: "English Law is completely different from Shariah Law." Without a valid will, English law wins every time.
The One-Third That Keeps Giving
There is something else the Prophet ﷺ preserved for us: the Wasiyyah, or Islamic Will — a voluntary bequest that allows you to direct up to one-third of your estate to causes of your choosing, beyond the Quranic shares. A mosque. An Islamic school. An endowment that earns you reward long after you are gone.
This one-third is where your personal agency lives. An Islamic Will is not about overriding divine law — it is about actively fulfilling it, ensuring that the portion you are permitted to direct does the most good it possibly can. The remaining estate is distributed according to Faraid, exactly as Allah ordained.
Why Most of Us Still Haven't Done It
Most of us are aware this is something we need to do. Most of us have told ourselves we will get to it — after Ramadan, after the summer, after the children go back to school.
Many assume that Islamic inheritance law applies automatically in this country. It does not work that way in England and Wales without a legally valid will. Others believe the process is expensive or requires months of legal meetings. A traditional solicitor can charge £1,000 or more — but that is no longer the only option available.
Twenty Minutes. £125. Done.
Through Wahed's own Islamic wills practice, you can create an Islamic Will that is Shariah-compliant and simultaneously valid under English law, in as little as 20 minutes, for £125. The document is drafted and approved by qualified legal professionals and Islamic scholars. No appointment needed. No explaining Faraid to a solicitor who has never heard the word. No months of waiting. You pay only after you have previewed the completed document.
This Dhul Hijjah, Do Not Wait
The pilgrims who did not return from Hajj last year had done everything right: visas stamped, ihram pressed, du'as memorised. They had not planned to die. Neither do any of us.
This Dhul Hijjah, in the days most beloved to Allah and in the season of sacrifice and completion, let this be the year you finally answer this obligation.
A Shariah-compliant Islamic Will, valid under English law, completed online in as little as 20 minutes for £125.
Disclaimer: I Will Solicitors Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wahed Inc. They provide Islamic Wills, Probates and Tax Advisory services. This is information, not financial advice or recommendation by Wahed.
Sources
- ASIS International / Saudi Ministry of Health — More than 1,300 People Died During 2024 Hajj
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2738, Kitab al-Wasaya; Sahih Muslim 1627a — Narrated Ibn Umar (RA)
- Sahih al-Bukhari 969 — Narrated Ibn Abbas (RA), the ten best days of Dhul Hijjah
- Imam al-Nawawi, Al-Idah fi Manasik al-Hajj — IslamQA Fatwa 109226
- GOV.UK — Who can inherit if there's no will (rules of intestacy in England and Wales)
- Quran, Surah An-Nisa 4:11–12 — Quran.com
- Akhter v Khan [2020] EWCA Civ 122 — Court of Appeal judgment, BAILII
- SI 2023/758 — Statutory legacy £322,000, in force 26 July 2023
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2742 — The one-third ruling, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (RA)
- GOV.UK — Inheritance tax relief for charitable gifts (36% reduced rate)
- iWill Solicitors / Wahed — British Muslim will-writing rate (industry estimate), February 2023
- Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) — Over half of UK adults don't have a will, 2025
- Didsbury Mosque — Islamic Will & Inheritance
- iWill Solicitors — iwillsolicitors.com
- Wahed UK Wills — wahed.com/uk/wills
