Islamic law gives every Muslim a defined space for testamentary generosity: the wasiyya, capped at one third of the estate, and, per the dominant Hanafi position followed by Diyanet, unavailable to existing legal heirs, whose shares faraid already fixes. Turkish civil law gives every testator a different defined space: the disposable portion, what remains after reserved shares protect descendants and spouse. The under-appreciated good news of Turkish Muslim estate planning is that these two spaces nest: the Islamic third for non-heirs and charity fits comfortably inside the civil disposable portion, which means the religious bequest is one part of the plan that works by straightforward drafting, no heir consent required. This article is about using that space well.
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Why the third exists, and why heirs are excluded
The one-third cap comes from the Prophet's instruction to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, who wished to bequeath his wealth away and was limited to a third, 'and a third is much,' with the reasoning that leaving heirs wealthy is better than leaving them dependent. The exclusion of heirs follows the principle that faraid already allocates their entitlements: a bequest topping up one heir would rearrange shares God fixed. Together the rules produce a clean division of the estate's logic: two thirds or more flows by fixed shares to family; up to one third flows by the deceased's choice to everyone else, charity first among them. Diyanet's Din Isleri Yuksek Kurulu applies both rules in its published guidance, and its fatwa channels will confirm the arithmetic for your configuration; our Diyanet guide covers how to ask.
The Turkish legal fit, precisely
Turkish reserved shares (TMK 506) protect each descendant at half their statutory share, each parent at a quarter, and the spouse at up to the full statutory share. What remains disposable varies by family shape, but for typical configurations (spouse and children) the disposable portion accommodates a one-third bequest to non-heirs without touching anyone's protection. Two cautions keep the fit honest. First, the third is a religious maximum, not a civil one: in some family shapes the civil disposable portion can be tighter than a third, and a bequest exceeding it is reducible by tenkis action within one year of a protected heir learning of the violation. Have the notary check the arithmetic for your configuration. Second, the Islamic bar on bequests to heirs is doing you a legal favor: the bequests fiqh permits (non-heirs, charity) are exactly the ones civil law cannot easily attack, because no reserved share belongs to a charity or a non-heir grandchild. The systems align because their conflicts were never in this zone; the conflicts live in the two-thirds, covered in Islamic inheritance under Turkish law.
What to do with the third: the honest menu
| Use | How it works in Turkey | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Charitable bequest (sadaqah jariyah) | Name the foundation or cause in the notary will | The classic use; ongoing-benefit charity (water, education, Quran teaching) is the traditional preference |
| Grandchildren whose parent predeceased or is alive | Bequest to named grandchildren as non-heirs | Orphaned grandchildren can otherwise be squeezed; a deliberate bequest fixes what neither faraid nor intestacy addresses automatically |
| Relatives outside the heir list | Bequest to the needy uncle, the caretaker niece | Fiqh commends bequests to poor relatives who do not inherit |
| People of service | Domestic workers, long-time caregivers | Legally clean, religiously commended, almost never done; be the exception |
| Debt-clearing instruction | Technically separate from wasiyya: debts come off before division | List debts and mahr in the will regardless; they precede both the third and the shares |
Drafting it into the notary will
The resmi vasiyetname (about 3,000 TL all-in at the 2026 tariff: 2,661.62 TL deed plus 80.68 TL per page) is the execution vehicle. Drafting habits that prevent later grief: express the bequest as a fraction or percentage of the net estate rather than a lira figure, so inflation cannot hollow it out; name beneficiaries precisely (full legal names, foundation registry details); state that the bequest is intended as the Islamic wasiyya and confined to the lawful limit, which both signals intent to the family and helps if arithmetic questions arise; and update at life events, since amendment costs only 887.21 TL. The notary will guide covers the full process and what else belongs in the deed.
Questions people actually ask
- Can I bequeath a third to my daughter to offset faraid's 2:1? Not as wasiyya: the Hanafi position bars bequests to heirs. Equalizing daughters is legitimately done by lifetime gift (hibe) instead, with its own rules; see our (hibe article) for the mechanics and the tenkis lookback.
- Is the third calculated before or after debts? After. Debts and funeral costs come off first; the third is of the net estate.
- Can heirs consent to a bequest above a third, or to an heir? Classically yes, if the heirs approve after death; practically, do not build a plan on hoped-for consent when the compliant structure works without it.
- What if I never write a will? The third simply goes unused: civil intestacy divides everything among heirs, and your zakat gaps, charitable intentions and the caretaker niece all get nothing. The third is use-it-or-lose-it.
The hibe mechanics referenced above are covered in our lifetime gifts article.
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Bottom line
The wasiyya third is the one Islamic estate planning tool that Turkish law executes exactly as fiqh intends, for about 3,000 TL, without anyone's consent. Most Turkish Muslims leave it unused, which means the most reliable part of the toolkit is the least deployed. Decide what a third of your estate should do for your akhirah, put it in a notary deed, and then turn to the harder two-thirds problem with our estate planning checklist. Tools and services on the estate planning hub and Islamic will overview.