Short answer
Gifts, debt waivers and charity given during the illness a person dies of (marad al-mawt) are treated like a will. They are valid only within one third of the estate, and a gift to an heir stands only if the other heirs agree after the death. Normal sales at a fair price are valid.
Marad al-mawt is an illness that leaves the person unable to manage their usual affairs and from which they die. A gift (hiba), donation, waiver of a debt or freeing of a slave made in it takes the ruling of a wasiyyah: limited to one third after debts, and not valid for an heir without the other heirs' consent. Acknowledging a debt to an heir in this illness also needs the other heirs' consent.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Sometimes, in the last weeks of life, a person signs over a house to one child, gives large sums to a carer, or forgives debts. The family later asks whether these gifts stand. Islam protects the heirs here, because Allah fixed their shares, and a dying person should not undo that at the last moment.
The principle. Once a person is in the illness they die from, the heirs' right attaches to their wealth. So whatever they give away for nothing in return during that illness is treated like a bequest:
- It comes out of one third of what remains after debts. The Prophet ﷺ told Sa'd, "A third, and a third is a lot."
- A gift to an heir, such as one son, a wife or a daughter, is not valid unless the other adult heirs agree after the death.
- A man freed six slaves at his death, though he owned nothing else. The Prophet ﷺ let only a third take effect: two were freed and four remained. All four schools agree on this principle.
What is not affected. Buying and selling at a fair price, paying real debts, spending on food and medicine, and gifts made while healthy and fully handed over are valid. A gift made when well but never handed over is not complete; see dividing your wealth before death.
What counts as a final illness depends on facts: how ill the person was, whether they could manage their affairs, and how long it lasted. Some long illnesses are not counted once they become settled. So bring the details to a mufti. To plan ahead in health, see how much you can leave in a will and the Islamic will builder.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:12
۞ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصِينَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌۭ فَلَهُنَّ ٱلثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ تُوصُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍۢ ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌۭ يُورَثُ كَلَٰلَةً أَوِ ٱمْرَأَةٌۭ وَلَهُۥٓ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌۭ فَلِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍۢ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى ٱلثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍۢ يُوصَىٰ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّۢ ۚ وَصِيَّةًۭ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌۭ ﴿١٢﴾
And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for the wives is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third, after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused]. [This is] an ordinance from Allah, and Allah is Knowing and Forbearing.
Debts and bequests come before inheritance, and gifts at death are treated as bequests.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2742
Sahih... الثلث والثلث كثير ...
"A third, and a third is a lot."
The limit on what can be given away at death.
Sahih Muslim 1668
Sahih... فأعتق اثنين وأرق أربعة ...
"He freed two of them and kept four as slaves."
A gift at death took effect only within one third.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Wasaya, chapter on the acts of the sick person. Gifts and waivers in the final illness are treated as bequests.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Wasaya, the definition of marad al-mawt. What counts as a final illness.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Wasaya, gifts of the sick person. The Hanbali agreement on the one-third limit.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.