Does a bequest made to 'Mawali' apply to the freedmen of the testator's father if the testator has no direct freedmen upon making the bequest, but his direct freedmen subsequently die before his death?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
If the testator's direct freedmen exist at the time of the bequest but then become extinct before the testator's death, the freedmen of the father do not receive anything. This is because the initial bequest was designated for others, and it does not revert to the father's freedmen without a new contract, which was not established.
Supporting text
This situation is distinguished from a bequest made based on a quality, such as 'to those closest to me,' where if the closest person dies, the next closest inherits. In the case of 'Mawali,' the term applies literally to the testator's freedmen and figuratively to the father's freedmen; thus, when the literal recipients exist, the figurative ones are excluded. The validity of the figurative meaning only arises when the literal meaning is absent.