Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
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Qurʾān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn al-Adab al-Mufrad al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Bukhārī Muslim Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Nasāʾī Ibn Mājah Dārimī Aḥmad Mālik Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Bazzār Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

The one-third limit for a bequest

ahmad:1501 – al-Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī > Zāʾidah > ʿAṭāʾ b. al-Sāʾib > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī > Saʿd

[AI] Concerning me, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ set the one-third. He came to visit me and said to me, "Have you made a will?" He said: I said, "Yes, I have made all my wealth for the poor, the needy, and the wayfarer." He said, "Do not do that." I said, "My heirs are rich." I said, "Two-thirds?" He said, "No." I said, "Then half?" He said, "No." I said, "One-third?" He said, "One-third, and one-third is much."

أحمد:١٥٠١ – حَدَّثَنَا الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ عَنْ زَائِدَةَ عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ السَّائِبِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ السُّلَمِيِّ قَالَ قَالَ سَعْدٌ

فِيَّ سَنَّ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ الثُّلُثَ. أَتَانِي يَعُودُنِي، فَقَالَ لِي: «أَوْصَيْتَ؟» قَالَ: قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ، جَعَلْتُ مَالِي كُلَّهُ فِي الْفُقَرَاءِ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ. قَالَ: «لَا تَفْعَلْ». قُلْتُ: إِنَّ وَرَثَتِي أَغْنِيَاءُ. قُلْتُ: الثُّلُثَيْنِ؟ قَالَ: «لَا». قُلْتُ: فَالشَّطْرَ؟ قَالَ: «لَا». قُلْتُ: الثُّلُثَ؟ قَالَ: «الثُّلُثُ، وَالثُّلُثُ كَثِيرٌ».

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