Chapter on Bequests Made Through Writing and Gestures

It was narrated from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al-Hamadhani, who said: I wrote to Abu Al-Hasan Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib عليه السلام regarding a man who wrote something in his own handwriting but did not tell his heirs, "This is my will," nor did he say, "I have made a will." However, he wrote a document that contained what he intended to bequeath. I asked whether it was obligatory for his heirs to fulfill what was written in his handwriting, even though he did not command them to do so. Abu Al-Hasan عليه السلام replied: "If he had children, they must carry out everything they find written in their father's document, whether it pertains to acts of righteousness or anything else."