He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

“A man had two daughters and a pregnant former wife. He assigned two thousand dinars and four properties to his daughters in writing. His former wife subsequently gave birth to a son, but he assigned nothing to him. The father later died, leaving assets in addition to what he had assigned to his daughters. These remaining assets were divided among them according to the prescribed rules of Islamic inheritance. Should what he assigned to the daughters be revoked or not?”

He answered:

“Scholars disagree on this matter if he had fully transferred ownership to the daughters and possession had been taken.

“But if he merely recorded two thousand dinars as a liability owed by him to them, without delivering possession, or gave them something without taking possession of it on their behalf, then this transaction is revoked, and everything is divided among the son and the two daughters.

“If possession was taken, however, there is disagreement. It is reported that Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah divided his wealth among his children. After his death, a child conceived during his lifetime was born to him, and Abū Bakr and ʿUmar ordered that the child be given his share of the inheritance. The same should therefore be done in this case, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

‘Fear Allah and treat your children fairly.’

“He also said to someone who wished to single out some of his children for a gift:

‘I will not bear witness to injustice.’

“The daughters must fear Allah and give the son his due.”