Article contributed by Najwa Hamid, Officer, Bar Council Syariah Law Committee and photos by Jul Indra Tofan, Administrative Assistant, Bar Council
On 3 Feb 2017, the Bar Council Syariah Law Committee organised a seminar entitled “Introduction to Islamic Wills and Faraid” at the Bar Council Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium.
The speaker for the seminar was Amir Bahari, himself a member of the committee.
The seminar commenced after the Committeee Chairperson, Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, delivered the opening remarks.
Amir Bahari kick–started the seminar by listing down the laws relating to Islamic Estate Planning, which include:
Selangor Islamic Will Enactment 1999;
Probate and Administration Act 1959;
Small Estates Distribution Act 1955;
Public Trust Corporation Act 1995;
Rules of Court 2012;
Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act 1993; and
Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.
He explained that an Islamic will refers to a document made by a person during his/her lifetime and the backbone of an Islamic will comprises the testator, the beneficiary, the property, and offer and acceptance. Faraid, on the other hand, is a section of Islamic law that deals with the distribution of the estate of a deceased person among his/her heirs in accordance with Allah’s decree in the Qur’an and according to the Hadith or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad.
Amir Bahari highlighted that the faraid calculation is important in determining the distribution for possible legal heirs. He then demonstrated the calculation by using both electronic and manual methods.
He acknowledged the contemporary issues in Islamic will and faraid, which include the areas of restriction on Islamic wills, quantum on distribution, obligatory will, and invalidation of a will.
In concluding, the seminar addressed the following topics:
Introduction to Islamic estate planning;
Principles of Islamic wills;
Principles of faraid;
Harmonising the application of Islamic wills and faraid; and
Contemporary issues in faraid and Islamic wills.
The seminar, which carried two Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) points, was well attended — with a total of 129 participants consisting of Members of the Bar, pupils in chambers and law students — and well received by the participants.