the Muslims. None of the witnesses may give testimony that assists in this injustice. Such favoritism is among the major sins that incur punishment in the Fire. Indeed, the compilers of the Sunan have transmitted reports containing a severe warning against anyone who does this, for he sows resentment and disunity among his descendants, particularly in their dealings with him, causing them to be undutiful towards him and fail to treat him kindly.

He was asked:

Concerning a man who owned crops and date palms and said to his family as he was dying: “Spend from my two-thirds share on the poor and needy until my child has offspring, at which point it shall be theirs.” Is this bequest valid or not?

He replied:

Yes, this bequest is valid. A bequest to grandchildren who are not heirs is permissible, just as al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām made a bequest to the children of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr. A bequest may validly be made to a beneficiary not yet in existence and may comprise property not yet in existence. Thus, the revenue is to go to the poor until the grandchildren are born, at which point it shall be theirs. And Allah knows best.

He was asked:

Concerning a man who bequeathed a particular property exclusively to his sons, excluding his daughters, and had this formally registered before the judge before his death: is this permissible?

He replied:

It is not permissible for him to favor some of his children over others in his bequest or during his final illness, by agreement of the scholars. Nor, according to the sounder of the two scholarly opinions, may he favor some of them with gifts