he reaches puberty. The Qadi and Abu al-Khattab said: The will of a boy is valid if he is discerning. It was narrated from Umar, may God be pleased with him, that he permitted the will of a boy, and this is the opinion of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Shurayh, Ata, al-Zuhri, Iyas, Abdullah ibn Utbah, al-Sha'bi, al-Nakha'i, Malik, and Ishaq. Ishaq said: When he reaches twelve years old. Ibn al-Mundhir reported this from Ahmad. From Ibn Abbas: His will is not valid until he reaches puberty. This is also the opinion of al-Hasan, Mujahid, and the proponents of ra'y (independent reasoning). Shafi'i has two opinions, similar to the two schools of thought. They argued that it is a gratuitous disposition of wealth, so it is not valid from a boy, like gifting and emancipation. Also, because his legal acknowledgment (iqrar) is not accepted, his will is not valid, like that of a child. Our evidence is what was narrated, that a boy from Ghassan, ten years of age, bequeathed something to his maternal uncles, and the matter was referred to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, who permitted his will. Sa'id narrated it. Malik narrated in his "Muwatta" (2) from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, from his father, that Amr ibn Sulaym informed him that it was said to Umar ibn al-Khattab: "Here is a young boy who has not reached puberty; his heirs are in the Levant, he possesses wealth, and he has no one here except a female cousin of his." Umar said: "Let him bequeath to her." So he bequeathed to her property known as Bi'r Jusham. Amr ibn Sulaym said: "I sold that property for thirty thousand." The female cousin to whom he bequeathed is the mother of Amr ibn Sulaym. Abu Bakr said: "The boy was ten or twelve years old." This is a story that spread and was not disapproved. Furthermore, it is a disposition that is purely beneficial to the boy, so it is valid from him, like Islam and prayer. This is because a will is a charity whose reward accrues to him after he has no need for his property and wealth, so he suffers no harm in his immediate worldly life or his hereafter, unlike gifting or immediate emancipation, as that depletes his wealth which he might need. When [a gift] is returned, it reverts to him, whereas here [the bequeathed property] does not return to him upon retraction. A child lacks discernment, and neither his Islam nor his acts of worship are valid. His statement "if it conforms to the truth" means: