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English translation
975. Sa'd bin Mālik said: "The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ came to visit me while I was sick. He said: 'Do you have a will?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'For how much?' I said: 'All of my wealth, for the cause of Allāh.' He said: 'What did you leave for your children?'" He (Sa'd) said: "They are rich in goodness." He said: 'Will a tenth.'" He (Sa'd) said: "He ﷺ continued decreasing it until he said: 'Will a third, and a third is too great.'" (One of the narrators:) 'Abdur-Raḥmān said: "We considered it recommended that it be less than a third, since the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: 'And a third is too great.'" (Sahih)
(He said:) There is something on this topic from Ibn 'Abbās.
Abu 'Eisā said: The Hadīth of Sa'd is a Ḥasan Ṣahih Hadīth. It has been reported from him through other routes, and it has been reported that he said: "too great" and it has been reported as: "too much."
This is acted upon according to the people of knowledge, they do not think that a man should will more than a third, and they consider it
recommended that it be less than a third. Sufyān Ath-Thawrī said: "They consider it recommended that a will be for a fifth rather than a fourth, and a fourth rather than a third. And that whoever willed a third, then he has not missed anything, and that no more than a third is allowed for him."
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Commentary
One can bequeath up to one third of his total property. If he bequeaths less than that, it is commendable. According to the Ahnāf, if the deceased has no heir, he can bequeath more than one third of his total property. (Rad 'Alal-Mukhtar v.6. p. 652) Most of the scholars hold that to bequeath more than one third is not approved or lawful. (Sahih Muslim v. 2. p. 39.)
