By Allah...

By Allah, my mind is perplexed when I consider her statement: "I have seen the Prophet (pbuh), while on my chest, ordering a wash-bowl to be brought to him; I hardly noticed how fast he collapsed and died; so, how could he have made a will to ‘Ali?" I do not know which aspect of her statement I should criticize, being scrutinized as a whole from various angles. I wonder how anyone can presume that since his death took place the way she described, he could not have left a will.

Did she think that a will is valid only at the time of death?! No, but it is the excuse of one who is fighting the irrefutable truth, whoever he or she may be, while Allah has said in His Glorious Book, addressing His revered Messenger (pbuh), "It is prescribed unto you when death approaches someone to leave something good, a will (Qur'an, 2:180 and 5:106)." Did the mother of the believers ever see him, peace be upon him and his progeny, going against the instructions of the Book of Allah or ignoring its injunctions?

God forbid. She saw him following its guidance, adhering to its verses, rushing to obey its bidding and forbidding, reaching the ultimate end of adherence to all its injunctions. There is no doubt in my mind that she must have heard him saying: "No believer who knows that he is leaving something behind him should sleep even two nights without having his will written,"[^6] or something in this meaning, for his instructions regarding the writing of wills have undoubtedly come from him.

It does not fit him or any other Prophet, blessings of Allah be upon all of them, to bid something without doing it himself, or forbid something while doing the opposite thereof; Allah is above selecting such individuals for conveying His message.

As regarding what Muslim and others have quoted ‘Ayesha saying: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) left neither a dinar nor a dirham, neither a male nor a female camel, nor did he leave any will," it is just like its previous "hadith." Yet it is not correct to assume that what she meant was that he (pbuh) did not leave any will at all, but rather that he did not have possessions which required a will, for, indeed, he did not leave much of this world's wares, the most ascetic person that he was.

He joined his Lord, the Exalted and the Sublime, leaving a few outstanding debts,[^7] and a few items, in addition to things entrusted to him by other people which required a will [regarding who they belonged to.