Report comment

Please fill in the form to report an unsuitable comment. Please state which comment is of concern and why. It will be sent to our moderator for review.

Comment

I wanted to suggest a way to think about this which would not, conceptually, necessarily involve advising a client on religious law, but would merely help the client craft a will which carries out his or her wishes, whatever those wishes are (within the boundaries of law and public policy).

If the client says he/she wants a will compliant with his or her understanding of Shariah law, and he/she is able to say what Shariah law seems to him to require (or is able to present published guidelines which the client wants to be followed), then the lawyer's job could be to merely carry out those requirements (as long as they don't violate the civil law), without judging or advising the client as to whether the will does meet requirements of Shariah law.

On the other hand, someone could be an authority on Shariah law within one or more of the several Islamic traditions, and also be a lawyer. If the client seeks advice on Shariah law itself from someone who is educated in religious law, and the adviser is also qualified to give advise on the civil law, I don't see anything unethical about someone serving both functions.

Your details

Cancel