from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with both of them. This is the apparent view of the predecessors and the scholars of the people of Basra. It is narrated that 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was approached by an old man who said: "O Commander of the Faithful, I am an old man, my wealth is vast, and my heirs are distant relatives (kalalah) of unknown lineage. Should I bequeath all my wealth?" He replied: "No." He [the man] kept reducing [the amount] until he reached a tenth. Ishaq said: "The Sunnah is a quarter, unless he is a man who knows that his wealth contains doubtful matters or otherwise, in which case he may exhaust the third." Our argument is that Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, bequeathed a fifth and said: "I am content with that which Allah was content with for Himself," referring to His statement: "And know that anything of booty that you capture, to Allah belongs its fifth" (Surah al-Anfal: 41). It is reported that Abu Bakr and 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with both of them, bequeathed a fifth. From 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, it is said: "For me to bequeath a fifth is more beloved to me than a fourth." From Ibrahim, he said: "They used to say: The one who bequeaths a fourth is better than the one who bequeaths a third, and the one who bequeaths a fifth is better than the one who bequeaths a fourth." From al-Sha'bi, he said: "A fifth was more beloved to them than a third, for it is the limit for one who is eager [to increase]." From al-'Ala' ibn Ziyad, he said: "My father instructed me to ask the scholars: Which bequest is most just? And whatever they agreed upon, that should be his bequest; so they agreed upon the fifth."

Section: It is more excellent to make one's bequest to one's relatives who do not inherit, provided they are poor, according to the statement of the generality of scholars. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "I know of no disagreement among the scholars regarding this, provided they are in need." This is because Allah the Exalted prescribed the bequest for parents and relatives, and the heirs were excluded from this by the statement of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "There is no bequest for an heir." The rest of the relatives remained [entitled to] the bequest.