How should an estate be divided when there are specified shares (a third share, a quarter share, and a specified number of sons) exceeding the total estate?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
When a deceased leaves behind sons and has made specific bequests exceeding the estate total (such as bequests of one-third, one-fourth, and a bequest to a third party), calculation requires finding a common denominator for the fractional bequests (two, three, and four), yielding twenty-four. This number is then adjusted based on the number of sons plus one. If there are sons, one adds one to their number, multiplies the result by the common denominator (twenty-four), and subtracts half of the common denominator multiplied by the number of sons to determine the true total estate value (the *Māl*). The specific shares are then calculated proportionally from this adjusted total.
Supporting text
Alternative calculation methods exist, including: increasing the number of sons by half a share before multiplying by the common denominator; performing calculations similar to the first method until reaching the value corresponding to one-fourth, then multiplying by four; or using the method of assigning shares (*Ansibah*), where the estate is hypothetically divided into a number of primary shares (e.g., six shares), assigning portions to the legatees first, and then resolving the remainder based on the remaining portion allocated to the heirs, which is considered the shortest and best method.