Tadbir and a bequest of emancipation are equal, because both are types of emancipation after death. It is possible that tadbir is given priority, because freedom occurs through it at the moment of death, whereas a bequest is contingent upon the emancipation occurring after death.

Section: Tadbir is permissible both absolutely and conditionally. The absolute is attaching emancipation to death without any other condition, such as saying: "You are free after my death." The conditional is of two types. The first is specific, such as saying: "If I die from this illness of mine, or this journey of mine, or in this town of mine, or this year of mine, you are free." This is permissible as he stated; if he dies in the condition he stipulated, the slave is emancipated; otherwise, he is not. Muhanna said: I asked Ahmad about someone who said to his slave, "You are a mudabbar today?" He said: He becomes a mudabbar for that day, and if he dies on that day, he becomes free; meaning, if the master dies. The second type is to attach the tadbir to a condition, such as saying: "If you enter the house, or if Zayd arrives, or if Allah heals my sick one, then you are a mudabbar," or "then you are free after my death." He does not become a mudabbar immediately, because he attached the tadbir to a condition. So, if it occurs, he becomes a mudabbar and is emancipated upon the death of his master. If the condition is not met during the master's lifetime but is met after his death, he is not emancipated, because the unrestricted nature of the condition requires its existence during [the master's] lifetime, as evidenced by what happens if he attaches an immediate emancipation to it, saying: "If you enter the house, you are free." If he enters it after his death, he is not emancipated, just as if he said to his agent: "Sell my slave." If the principal dies before he sells it, the agency is voided. Also, a mudabbar is one whose emancipation is attached to death, and this person was not a mudabbar before death, and after death, it is impossible for tadbir to occur. If he said: "If you enter the house after my death, you are free," Abu al-Khattab mentioned two narrations regarding this. One of them is that he is not emancipated. This is the analogy of the text reported from him concerning his statement: "You are free one day or a month after my death." For he said: He is not emancipated, because he attached the emancipation to a condition that would occur in the ownership of another; thus he is not emancipated, just as if he said: "If you enter the house after I sell you, you are free." Furthermore, it is an emancipation of him after the stability of another's ownership over him, [so he is not emancipated], like an immediate [emancipation]. The second [narration] is that he is emancipated.