that is extensive and requires detailed distinctions and classification to clarify. The question falls into two categories, each admitting of two possibilities. The first is where the testator has called witnesses to attest a written will containing a bequest to one of the witnesses. The second is where he has called witnesses to attest his will orally, without a written document, saying, “Such-and-such is for so-and-so, such-and-such for so-and-so, and such-and-such for so-and-so,” naming one of the witnesses among the beneficiaries.

As for the first category—where the testator calls witnesses to attest a written will containing a bequest to one of them—the amount specified for that witness must be either small or large. If it is small, there are four opinions:

The first is that the beneficiary’s testimony is inadmissible both on his own behalf and on behalf of others, because he is suspected of bias even over a small amount, just as he would be over such an amount outside the context of a will. This is Ibn Wahb’s report from Mālik in al-Mudawwana.

The second is that his testimony is admissible both on his own behalf and on behalf of others. If he is the sole witness, the beneficiaries must supplement his testimony with oaths that the provisions of the will to which he has testified are true. He then receives his own bequest on the strength of his testimony together with their oaths, since his bequest is subsidiary to the will as a whole. If there is another witness with him who has likewise been left a small bequest in the will, the will is established by their testimony, and each receives his bequest without taking an oath. If the accompanying witness has been left nothing in the will, the will is likewise established by their testimony, and the beneficiary-witness receives his bequest without taking an oath. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position in al-Mudawwana and Mutarrif’s report from Mālik in al-Wādiha.

The third is that his testimony is admissible on behalf of others but not on his own behalf. If he is the sole witness, the beneficiaries supplement his testimony with their oaths and thereby become entitled to their bequests, while he receives nothing. If there is another witness with him who has likewise been left a small bequest in the will, the will is established by their testimony for the other beneficiaries