Question Summary:
Various questions on wasiyyah (bequest)

Question Detail:

Assalamu Alaikum, Zaid during his lifetime made an agreement in which he mentioned "This 2000 sqft property of mine will belong to me during my lifetime and as soon as my death occurs my nephew(Hamid) will take over the property n he then will become its owner and have full possession over it".Zaid then hands over this agreement to Hamid.    After zaid's death his inheritors are asking Hamid for their share in the same property and have been torturing him to act accordingly.They however declared that they would no longer ask for their share once Hamid shows them the agreement which was made by Zaid but Hamid refuses to show them the agreement.
This refusal is creating a doubt in everyone's mind if Hamid is truely genuine with his statement.
My question is: 1)Zaid was not married.He has 3 brothers and one sister.Will the nephew(Hamid) be a heir in this case? 2)If this wassiyat was within the 1/3 of Zaid's total wealth,will then the inheritors still have the right to ask for a share? 3)If this wassiyat was more than 1/3 of Zaid's Wealth,will Hamid have to pay the inheritors (for the exceeding amount of the property) as per the current rate in the market or will the agreement be termed null n void? 4)All that zaid had in his ownership was this property and Rs 92000 in cash.So when calculating the total wealth of Zaid, will the property's current market rate be considered or the rate which was then when he died?
5)What if Zaid fails to show the agreement or bring forth witnesses in future.Will his claim get rejected?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If Zaid made the agreement in reference, then that will be a wasiyyah (bequest) in favour of Hamid.
In principle, a bequest is valued only up to 1/3^rd of a person’s estate after burial expense and debts (if any).
In the enquired situation, Zaid’s estate must be first valued to determine how much of the property Hamid is entitled to. If the estate comprises of the property and the Rs92000, then the market value of the property will be considered and Zaid will be entitled to 1/3^rd of the entire estate as explained above.[1]
If the heirs object to Hamid’s claim and he cannot substantiate his claim, he will not be entitled to the wasiyyah (bequest).[2]
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Muhammad IV Patel
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia 
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.