He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was also asked about a man who, during the illness that ended in his death, directed in his will that a beverage kept in a perfumer’s shop, worth one hundred and fifty dirhams, be sold. Its proceeds were to be added to three hundred dirhams from his wealth, and the total used to purchase a property to be endowed for the needs of a mosque: its imam, its muezzin and its lamp oil. He had recorded these instructions in writing before his illness.

He answered:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

If someone directs in his will that a particular item of his property, whether immovable or movable, be sold, that a further sum he has specified from his wealth be added to its proceeds, and that the total be devoted to a lawful endowment, this is permissible.

If this can be covered by one-third of his estate, it must be set aside, even without the heirs’ consent. As for what he gives his heirs during his final illness, if he gives any of them more than their inheritance share, this is not permissible without the heirs’ approval. But if he gives each person a particular item equal in value to their entitlement, or part of it, the scholars have two views within the school of Ahmad and elsewhere:

“The first”: He may do so. This is the position of al-Shāfiʿī.

“The second”: He may not do so. This is the position of Abū Hanīfa.

If the view is adopted that he may do so in accordance with each heir’s inheritance share, then a gift made by a sick person during a life-threatening final illness is equivalent, in such a matter, to a bequest taking effect after his death, by agreement of the imams.

And Allah knows best.