How are bequests resolved when four parties (uncle, maternal uncle, grandfather, brother) have bequests defined mutually by fixed amounts minus fractions of another's bequest?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
When four bequests are interdependent through subtraction (e.g., Ten minus a fraction of another's bequest), the total divisible base is found by multiplying all the denominators of the fractional exclusions together, and then subtracting one from the resulting product. The specific bequest for any legatee is calculated by taking the respective exclusion denominator, subtracting one unit from it, multiplying the result by the product of the remaining three exclusion denominators, multiplying that by the fixed sum (Ten), and finally dividing by the total divisible base.
Supporting text
The algebraic balancing method involves assigning initial units to all four legatees and sequentially equating the resulting expressions after applying the subtractions, leading to the final value of the shared unit (Fils, Dirham, Dinar).