What is the legal status of completed inter vivos transactions (like manumission, gifts, charity, endowments, debt forgiveness, or compensation for physical harm involving wealth) made during health versus during a fatal illness?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
Completed inter vivos transactions, such as manumission, favorable disposition (muhaba), accepted gifts, charity, endowments, debt forgiveness, and pardoning of injury requiring monetary compensation, when executed during sound health, are considered part of the principal estate assets (from the totality of wealth). There is no known dispute regarding this. If such acts occur during a fatal illness that leads directly to death, they are restricted to one-third of the estate, according to the opinion of the majority of scholars.
Supporting text
The Ahl al-Zahir held that an accepted gift made during a fatal illness should still be counted from the principal estate, but this view is deemed incorrect. The justification rests on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) statement indicating that God permits the deceased to dispose of one-third of their wealth as an addition to their deeds. This implies that disposal beyond the third is not permissible. Furthermore, the case of the Ansari man who manumitted six slaves during his fatal illness, resulting in the Prophet (peace be upon him) limiting the manumission to two slaves by lot, supports restricting such acts to the third, as the situation inherently implies impending death, making any grant that impacts the heirs limited like a bequest.