two of his slaves: "You are free after my death." And he said to the other: "You are free (17) if I die from (18) this illness of mine." If he dies from (18) his illness, the two slaves are equal regarding tadbir (post-mortem emancipation). If he recovers from that illness, the tadbir of the conditional one becomes void, and the tadbir of the absolute one remains as it is. If he bequeaths a third of his wealth to a man and says: "If you die before me, it is for 'Amr," his bequest is valid according to what he stipulated for him (19). The same applies to all other conditions, for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "The Muslims are bound by their conditions" (20).

961 - Issue: He said: (And if he bequeaths to him (1) a share of his wealth, he is given a sixth. And from Abu 'Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, there is another narration: he is given a share from that which the inheritance distribution [faridah] is completed with.)

The narrations from Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, differ regarding what happens if he bequeaths a "share" [sahm]. It is narrated from him that the legatee gets a sixth. This has also been narrated from 'Ali and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with them. Al-Hasan, Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah, and al-Thawri also held this view. The second narration is that he is given a share from that which the faridah is completed with. Thus, it is examined: how many shares the faridah is completed with, and he is added to it like one of its shares. This is the opinion of Shurayh, who said: "The shares are enumerated, and the legatee receives one share." Al-Qadi said: "This is provided it does not exceed a sixth; if the share exceeds a sixth, he receives a sixth, because that is certain." The basis for this is that his statement "a share" should be directed toward the shares of his faridah, because his bequest is from it; thus, the "share" is directed toward it, making it one of its shares, just as if he had said: "My faridah is such and such a number of shares, and you have one share of them." Al-Khallal and his companion said: He receives (3) the smallest share (4) of the heirs' shares, because Ahmad said, in the narration of Abu Talib and al-Athram: If he bequeaths...