How should an estate be distributed when bequests are defined relative to the shares of sons?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
When a testator bequeaths a share equivalent to the portion of one of his sons, and there are three sons, and another bequest of one-third of what remains of that portion, and a final bequest of one dirham, the estate must be divided such that the total amount is treated as nine dirhams initially. The first legatee receives one share, and the second and third legatees receive two dirhams each. After this initial distribution, seven remains, with two shares accounted for. Two shares are then distributed to two sons. The third son receives the remaining seven. Thus, one share is equivalent to seven, making the total estate thirty. If the third bequest was two dirhams, then one share is six, and the total estate is twenty-seven.