WRITING OF WILL BEFORE DEATH

The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said, “Whoever fails to write his will sensibly before his death, lacks reason and manliness.” He (s) was asked, “How should excellent writing of one’s will be, Allah’s Messenger?” He (s) instructed: In the last hours of his lifetime and when people gather around him, he must say:

“O Allah! O Designer of the heavens and the earth!

O Knower of the unseen and seen!

O most Beneficent! O most Merciful!

I confide in You

that I bear witness that there is no god save Allah

alone, without Your having any associate.

I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger,

that the Hour shall undoubtedly come,

that Allah shall raise the dead from their graves,

that the Interrogation is true,

that Paradise is true,

that whatever is promised to be therein—such as bliss,

eating, drinking and marriage—is true,

that Hellfire is true,

that faith is true,

that the religion is as exactly as He has described,

that Islam is exactly as He has established,

that all what He has said is exactly the truth,

that the Qur'an is as exactly as what He has revealed,

and that Allah is verily the Manifest Truth.

I also confide in You in this world

that I submit to You being my Lord,

Islam being my religion,

Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his Household, being my Prophet,

'Ali being my Imam,

the Qur'an being my Book,

and Your Prophet’s Household—Your peace be upon him and them—being my Imams.

O Allah, in You I trust in tribulations,

You are my only hope in agonies,

You are my only provision when misfortunes befall me,

You are my sponsor in my blessings,

and You are my God and my ancestors’ God.

So (please) send blessings upon Muhammad and his Household

and do not make me depend on my own self even for the winking of an eye.

Please, entertain me in my grave and loneliness

and keep my confidence in You active for the day on which I shall meet You.”

The Holy Prophet (s) then added, “This is the covenant of the moribund when he makes his will, which is obligatory upon each Muslim individual.”

Commenting on this, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) is reported to have said: Certifying this fact, Allah the All-blessed and All-exalted says in Surah Maryam:

“They shall not control intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent Allah.”

They shall not control intercession, save he who has made a covenant with the Beneficent Allah

The Holy Prophet (s) then instructed Imam ‘Ali (‘a) to learn this covenant and advise the members of his household and his adherents (i.e. Shi’ah) to learn it. He (s) added, “I have been taught this by Archangel Gabriel.”