Horses, camels, cattle, and sheep are subject to the same ruling.

If a man bequeaths to someone “one slave from among my slaves,” and he owns ten slaves but eight of them die so that only two remain, then:
• Should the estate contain other assets besides those two slaves, the beneficiary is entitled to one-half of the two slaves, provided that this half fits within the one-third portion allowed for bequests.
• If no property is left except those two slaves, the beneficiary receives only one-third of them.

If a person bequeaths “one-tenth of my slaves,” and he has ten slaves but eight die leaving two, the beneficiary receives one-tenth of the value of the surviving pair.

When a bequest states “one garment from among my garments,” the recipient takes a garment of average quality from the testator’s clothes. Likewise, if the testator says, “Clothe so-and-so with a garment,” that person is to be supplied—from the bequeathable one-third—with a garment of ordinary quality such as someone of his station would normally wear.

Should a man assign another’s maintenance for the rest of his life, the life-span is reckoned by adding the years already lived up to a total of seventy years—a figure I prefer, though some put it at eighty or ninety. An amount equal to the remaining years up to that age is taken from the one-third and spent on him. If he dies before the sum is exhausted, the balance reverts to the testator’s heirs—or to the other legatees if their own bequests have not yet been satisfied. If he lives long enough to use up the entire allotment, no further claim may be made against the heirs or the other legatees. Ashhab held, however, that in such a case the beneficiary may return to the legatees, who are then assessed a second time pro rata, and every effort is made to support him for the remainder of his life.

If a testator donates something lasting—such as a lamp for a mosque—alongside other bequests, the lamp competes for the whole one-third, while the other legatees receive their shares in proportion to the size of their respective bequests.

When a person leaves a bequest “to my freedmen,” the term embraces everyone he has emancipated: those freed outright, slaves designated for emancipation at the owner’s death (mudabbar), slaves with a manumission contract (mukatab), the mothers of his children (umm walad), and all whose freedom has been firmly established or whose emancipation has been set in motion either before or by the master’s death. It also includes the freedmen of his father and grandfather.