Rasulullah sallahu alaihi wa sallam said, “Sometimes a man and a woman live in the obedience of Allah for sixty years, then before they die, they cause such harm in their bequests that Jahannam becomes warranted for them.” [I.e., they cause harm to the heirs by either bequeathing more than one third, or they choose to gift all of their wealth to one heir to deprive the other heirs, etc.] [Sunan Tirmidhi]
Question:
Q. I have been appointed executor of an estate. How do we calculate the Fidyah amount payable for the missed salaah and fasts for the deceased, as no amount is included in the will? How do we determine the value of settling this from her estate?
(Question published as received)
Answer:
1. In the case of a will that has not made provision for paying for missed religious obligations, nothing may be paid from the estate. Any contribution in this regard must come voluntarily from the heirs.
In the case of a will where the executors are instructed to pay for missed religious obligations, the following applies:
a) If the deceased kept a record of the exact number of missed fasts and Salaahs, fidyah will be paid according to that record.
b) If no such record exists, the executors should make reasonable attempts to determine the number of missed fasts and salaah. If they can determine the number based on reliable evidence, they will accordingly pay for that number of missed fasts and salaah. If no evidence exists, they are not permitted to use the funds from the estate for fidyah.
c) The total fidyah amount may not exceed one-third of the value of the entire estate. [Hindiyyah 6:90]
And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Muhammed Hamza Farooqui
Mufti Taahir Hansa
Fatwa Department
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)
(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.)