Can a Muslim leave his wealth by will to whomever he wishes?

No — the fixed shares of the heirs are set by Allah Himself in the Qur'an and are not open to preference or amendment; after detailing those shares Allah warns, "These are the limits of Allah… and whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, He will put him into the Fire" (Qur'an 4:13-14). A Muslim may bequeath only up to one third of his estate, and not in favour of someone who is already an heir — the Prophet ﷺ told Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, who wanted to give away two-thirds and then half, "A third, and a third is a lot," and he also said, "There is no bequest for an heir." (The majority of scholars hold that a bequest beyond a third, or one made to an heir, takes effect only if the remaining heirs willingly consent to it after his death.) So it is not permitted to disinherit a daughter or to leave everything to one child, and the rest of the estate must be distributed by the sharʿī shares; likewise favouring one child over the others in gifts during one's lifetime is prohibited. What a will should properly cover is debts, funeral instructions, guardianship of minor children, and permissible bequests within that one third — and contemporary scholars stress that in non-Muslim jurisdictions a Muslim should have such a will written, so that the estate is not divided by a law contrary to Allah's ruling; the Prophet ﷺ said, "It is not right for a Muslim who has something to bequeath to pass two nights without having his will written down with him."

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