If, therefore, Zayd does arrive while the testator is still alive, the bequest passes to him, and the testator is considered to have revoked the bequest previously made to ʿAmr. Should Zayd arrive only after the testator’s death, the bequest remains with ʿAmr, for once the testator died before Zayd’s arrival the original bequest in favor of ʿAmr became firmly established.

Another rule of bequests is that whatever is due from the deceased’s estate—outstanding debts and obligatory religious liabilities such as zakat, the pilgrimage, vows (nudhur), and expiations (kaffarat)—must be paid first, even if the deceased made no explicit provision for them. Allah the Exalted says, “after any bequest he may have made or debt” (Quran 4:11). ʿAlī (d. 40 AH) reported that “the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ruled that debts be settled before bequests,” a narration recorded by al-Tirmidhī, Aḥmad, and others. Likewise, the authentic ḥadith states, “Settle what is due to Allah, for Allah is most deserving that His dues be fulfilled.” By unanimous agreement, then, the estate is distributed in the following order: first debts, then bequests, and finally inheritance.

The wisdom behind mentioning the bequest before the debt in the noble verse, although in practice the debt is discharged first, is that the bequest resembles inheritance in that it entails no compensation; meeting it therefore feels burdensome to the heirs. The verse thus gives it priority in wording to encourage its fulfillment and underscore its importance. The coordinating particle “or” places debt and bequest on an equal footing in terms of concern, even though debt enjoys practical precedence.

For this reason the matter of bequests is weighty: Allah has singled it out for special mention in His Book.