The third case is that there is a surplus. He says: “Discharge the obligation from one-third of my estate.” One-third is ten thousand, and when we calculate the obligation, we find it to be seven thousand. So we allocate the seven thousand to the obligation, and what remains is a voluntary bequest.

An example of this is when he says: “I bequeath one-third of my wealth to Zayd,” then says: “I bequeath that you pay my zakah from the one-third.” The man then dies, leaving one-third amounting to thirty thousand, while his zakah liability is twenty thousand. If we give Zayd the one-third, the zakah goes unpaid; but if we pay the zakah, only ten thousand remains for Zayd. So what should we do?

The author says: The zakah is paid from the one-third; if anything remains, the recipient of the voluntary bequest takes it. If the zakah equals one-third, we pay it, and the beneficiary receives nothing.

But if he were to say: “I bequeath one-third of my wealth to Zayd,” and the estate is nine thousand, then he dies owing three thousand in zakah, we pay three thousand for the zakah, leaving six thousand; Zayd receives two thousand. However, if he says: “Pay the zakah from one-third of my estate,” nothing remains for Zayd.

His statement, “otherwise, it lapses,” includes two cases:

The first is when one-third is equal to the debt.

The second is when the debt exceeds one-third.

What is better for the deceased? We say: This depends on the circumstances of the heirs. If they are wealthy, the obligation should be discharged from the estate; but if they are poor, he should say, “from one-third of my estate,” so that they are not placed under hardship.