What is the ruling when a testator bequeaths a specific item to one person and then bequeaths the same item to another person?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
If a testator bequeaths a specific item of his wealth to one person, and then bequeaths it to another, or bequeaths one-third of it to one person and then one-third of it to another, or bequeaths his entire wealth to one person and then to another, the property is shared equally between the two beneficiaries. This situation is not considered a revocation of the first bequest. This view is held by Rabi'ah, Malik, Al-Thawri, Al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Ibn Al-Mundhir, and the Companions of the Opinion (Ahl al-Ra'y). The evidence for this shared ownership is that the testator willed it to both, making them equal, similar to saying, 'I bequeathed this slave to you both.'
Supporting text
Jaber bin Zayd, Al-Hasan, 'Ata', Tawus, and Dawud hold that the bequest goes entirely to the second beneficiary. They argue that bequeathing the same thing to a second person after bequeathing it to the first constitutes a revocation of the first bequest, analogous to saying, 'What I bequeathed to Bashar, I now give to Bakr,' because the second disposition contradicts the first.