How are bequests calculated when the estate consists of debt, a slave, and a fraction of the total estate is bequeathed to different individuals?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
If a person bequeaths one-third of their total wealth, and the estate includes two hundred units in debt and a slave valued at one hundred units, and another person is bequeathed one-third of the slave, the two beneficiaries equally divide the one-third share of the slave. As portions of the debt are collected, the beneficiary of the one-third of the total wealth receives one-fourth of what is collected. Simultaneously, both beneficiaries receive shares of the remaining portion of the slave proportional to one-fourth of what was collected, divided equally between them. Once the entire debt is recovered, the remaining half of the slave is fully given to the two beneficiaries according to their original shares. The beneficiary of the total one-third wealth is entitled to one-fourth of the two hundred units of debt recovered, as this amount constitutes the one-third of the estate.
Supporting text
If the debt is collected entirely before any division, the distribution is adjusted such that the beneficiary of the total one-third wealth receives one-fourth of the two hundred debt units and one-fourth of the slave's value. The beneficiary of the one-third of the slave receives one-fourth of the slave. This method ensures the total bequests, which amount to four-ninths of the wealth, are limited to three-ninths (the permissible one-third of the estate). Each beneficiary's entitlement is reduced to three-fourths of their intended bequest, equating to one-fourth of the entire estate for the first beneficiary and one-fourth of the slave for the second. If the bequests are fully validated, each beneficiary takes what remains of their portion, completing the one-third of the estate for the first and the one-third of the slave for the second.