Khalil is in his late thirties and of middle eastern descent. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and accepts his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He has been on a rehabilitation ward in a high secure setting for a few years. Khalil is a Muslim, and his religion is a very important part of his life and a protective factor in his well-being, and recovery. 

Khalil approached Amy, a POhWER Independent Mental Health Advocate who has supported him previously, while she was doing a ward round. Khalil wanted to discuss making a Will with her and asked if she could help him with contacting solicitors that specialise in Sharia Law; a system of religious laws that are part of Islam and are based on the Qur'an, Hadith, and Sunnah. He also wanted to talk to her about how he felt, and how not having a Will was impacting him and his mental well-being. 

Khalil was able to communicate very well, and was very clear about the outcomes he would like. However, he had become very anxious about this situation so needed reassurance and help to navigate the systems and find the appropriate support to make a Will. Khalil experiences issues with his memory and needs to write everything down so that he doesn’t forget important information.

Khalil talked to Amy about his beliefs, and the need to have an adequate Will. He told her that the Qur'an states “It has been ordained upon you, when death is near one of you, leaving wealth behind, to make a will in favour of parents and close relatives, impartially. This is incumbent upon the pious” (2:180). He also told her that under Sharia Law, every Muslim must make a Will which arranges who will receive their property when they die. A Sharia-compliant Will is one that contains bequests that are in line with the principles of the Islamic law of succession. 

Previously, Amy supported Khalil to write a Statement of Wishes, which has been kept on file and distributed to the relevant departments, instructing all parties of what should be done in the event of his death. However, Khalil feels that he is not fulfilling the principle of Islamic Law by doing only this and would like to make a legally binding Will with a solicitor who is qualified in writing Sharia-compliant Wills.

Amy researched solicitors that will act in accordance with Sharia Law and found six in Khalil’s area. As legal aid is not available to write a Will, she contacted them to obtain approximate quotes and information about their practice so that Khalil could make an informed decision about who to instruct based on what he could afford, and who had the most experience in Sharia Law.

Amy passed on the information she had gathered from the solicitors to Khalil, so that he could decide what he wanted to do next. He asked Amy to contact one of the solicitors and set up a meeting via video call. He asked if she could attend with him to support him and to take notes for him so he could concentrate on speaking to the solicitor but still have a record of what was said. Amy set up the meeting and attended with Khalil. Khalil had a very successful meeting with the solicitor and feels he now has all the information he needs. 

Khalil thanked Amy for all her help and wanted her to know how important it was that she had listened to him and supported him with this issue as no one else had and it had been weighing on his mind and affecting his mental wellbeing a lot.