Does this gift then remain valid or not? The author holds that it is valid, just like an acknowledgement.

The second view—and it is the established position of the school—is that a gift is like a bequest. What counts in the case of a bequest is the situation at the time of death, not at the time it is made. Accordingly, under the school’s position, his gift to his brother is not binding unless the heirs approve it, based on the view that what counts in the case of a gift is the situation at death, rather than the situation at the time of giving.

As for an acknowledgement: if he acknowledges something in favour of a non-heir, who then becomes an heir at the time of death, the ruling is that it is valid and binding, and he is given what the deceased acknowledged in his favour. A gift, however, is like an acknowledgement according to the view followed by the author. If it is like an acknowledgement, this entails that it is valid and that the recipient takes possession of it. The second view is that it is not binding unless the heirs approve it.

An example is that a man suffering from a terminal illness calls his brother and says: “My brother, I have heard that you are going to marry. Take these ten thousand riyals as assistance.” Then the sick man’s son dies, and the brother becomes the heir. According to the view followed by the author, the gift is valid and comes out of the estate as a whole, and the heirs have no say in it, just as in the case of an acknowledgement, because what counts is the situation at the time of giving. The school’s position, however, is that what counts is the situation at death. Thus, when the donor’s son dies and the brother becomes an heir, this gift is not binding unless the heirs approve it, just as with a bequest.

We therefore have three matters: an acknowledgement, a bequest, and a gift. In the case of an acknowledgement, what counts is the situation at the time of the acknowledgement, without disagreement, because an acknowledgement merely attributes the property to a prior matter, rather than to something that arose during his terminal illness. In the case of a bequest, what counts is the situation at death, without disagreement, because a bequest only takes effect after death. As for a gift, there is a difference of opinion: the school’s position is that it is treated like a bequest, while the author’s view