عثمان

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘A man is more rightful to his assets as long as there is spirit in his body.’”

And whatever is narrated regarding the will of Amir Al-Muʾminin, peace be upon him, to his son Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiyyah - may Allah (swt) be pleased with him - I have narrated it from my father - may Allah (swt) be pleased with him - from Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim, from his father, from Hammad ibn ʿIsa, from someone who mentioned it from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him. Most people make an error in this chain of transmission by replacing Hammad ibn ʿIsa with Hammad ibn Uthman, whereas Ibrahim ibn Hashim did not meet Hammad ibn Uthman; rather, he met Hammad ibn ʿIsa and narrated from him.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If one makes a will about one-third has not left any legacy.’”

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about a man who initiates writing to another man. The Imam said, ‘It is not an offense. It is an excellent act when a man initiates honoring his brother (in belief).”’

"When a boy reaches the age of ten, his will becomes valid."

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘When a boy becomes ten years old his will is permissible.’”

“The Imam (a.s.) knows the succeeding Imam and delivers his will to him.”

"Indeed, Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir (as), passed away and left sixty servants. He freed one-third of them, then I drew lots among the remaining ones and freed another one-third."

"That acknowledgment is binding upon the share of the one who made the acknowledgment."

"Whoever bequeaths one-third has not left [anything behind]."

“This is about a man who in his will has said to perform al-Hajj for him and his asset is not enough to perform it from al-Kufah. Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘It is sufficient to perform it from any place before Miqat (place for assuming the state of Ihram).”’

“About the case of a man who dies and a certain one of his heir confirms his owing a certain amount. He (the Imam) said, ‘It become binding and applicable to his share in the legacy.’”

“About a man who pays another man to perform al-Hajj but something happens to him, abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If he (the second man) goes for al-Hajj and something happens somewhere on the way, it is sufficient for the first one.’”

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If one makes a will about one-third of his legacy he has harmed the heirs. Making a will about one-fifth or one-fourth of the legacy is better than making a will about one-third. If one makes a will about one-third he has not left anything (for the heirs).’”

"There is no dying person approaching death except that Allah (swt) restores to him his hearing, sight, and intellect for the purpose of making a will - whether he chooses to make the will or not. This is the state referred to as the 'relief of death,' and it is a duty upon every Muslim."

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘The distance between two old wells must be forty Dhira‘ around it and between two wells for drinking water fifty Dhira‘ unless it is near the road, in which case it is less than twenty five Dhira‘.”’

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who dies and leaves behind an owned slave, but certain ones of the heirs testify that he is free. He (the Imam) said, ‘If the testifying person is an acceptable person his testimony is permissible on his share of the legacy and the slave is made to work to buy his freedom from the rest of the heirs.’”

“I asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.), ‘What are the rights of the Imam over the people?” He replied, “Of his rights over them is that they must listen to him and obey him.” I then asked, “What are their rights on him?” He replied, “Maintain among them equality and justice among the followers. When this prevails among the people then there would no fear as to who has taken this and that.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah asked for a sahifah (a book) and he (the Messenger of Allah) wanted to prohibit the use of certain names to use. He (the Messenger of Allah) passed away but he (the Messenger of Allah) did not mention them. Of such names are al- Hakam and Hakim, Khalid and Malik. He (the Imam) said that such names are six or seven and it is not permissible to use them.’”

“I once asked abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who makes a will and he is indebted. He (the Imam) said, ‘He (executor of the will) pays the debts first, then distributes the legacy among the heirs.’ I then asked, ‘What happens if what is assigned to pay debts is stolen and about who pays for the debt if it is deducted from the shares of the heirs?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘The heirs are not responsible for it but the executor of the will is responsible.’”