A Legacy in the Making
When I first started looking for an Islamic will, I came up empty. I was fortunate to work alongside some colleagues who could help, so I consulted the Shariah department and we managed to put together an Islamic will. My job involved me having to move countries once every few years. And so, I had to draft different wills for each of those countries where I had assets, in the hope that the probate process would be simpler for my family. Wouldn’t it have been easier to have all my documents and wills in one online place, I thought? We’ll get to that part later.
This entire process, initiated a new habit. I began regularly writing out an updated piece of advice for my nearest and dearest – for my mother, my wife, my children and my younger brother. I still have these letters saved in a safe place, and (much like Waseeya’s Time Capsule feature) my wife and kids know that these can only be read once I pass.
As I continued to shape my legacy, I also considered whether I should leave my entire wealth for my loved ones, or set up a waqf for my poorer relatives who were in need, but not entitled to a share of my wealth. Alhamdulillah, my decision was made easy by the fact that
Allah promises that He will increase us in our wealth, our sustenance and our success, both in this life and the Hereafter, when we give to charity. (Surah Al Hadid 57:18)
Have a look at the Waseeya Islamic Inheritance Calculator to see how the distribution of your estate could look.
Where were we now?
I had come a long way from the first spreadsheet. The need to safeguard this information meant a migration had to take place. The information hijra began on my laptop, then moved to a backup device, before it reached its destination on the cloud. Very soon, my digital footprint was scattered throughout cloud based apps (Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox…), and it was time to streamline.
Alhamdulillah, I had an Islamic responsibility to meet – to leave my family in control, knowing what actions were needed next. So, I made a decision to transfer all of my personal digital data – both my investment records and my children’s records – to a single cloud platform. I bought encryption software to ensure privacy, just like the bank level security found on Waseeya’s app. I was well on my way to a bigger initiative, I just didn’t know it yet.