refpea to the heirs, it is alfo obferved in the payment of legacies—
As, moreover, the plural term [M raM mentioned in'inheritance
means two, fo likewife in bequeft ».-Betides, the objeft of the i f
tator, in his bequeft, is, to compenfate for his déficiences, during
life, with refpea to the ties o f kindred^, which affefts only his relations
within the prohibited degrees. T h e parents or children, moreover,
are not ftyled relations, [Akrabd,] infomuch that if a perfon
were to call his father “ h is r e l a t io n ,” [Kareeb,] he would be
confidered as denying his parentage. T h e reafon of this is that, in
common ufage, by the term relation [Kareeb] is underftood one related
to a perfon by means of another: but the relation of parent and
child is perfonal, and not by means of another.— In fhort, according
to Haneefa, the will in queftion is reftrifted, in its operation, to the
prohibited relations of the teftator ; whereas, according to the two
difciples, it extends to [all the defendants o f] the moft diftant progenitor
profeffing the faith whilft Shafei maintains that it is confined
folely to the teftator’ s father [and his offspring.]
I f a perfon, having two paternal and two maternal uncles, make
a will in favour of 46 his relations, [Akraba,] it is in favour of the
paternal uncles only, according to Haneefa, he holding that regard is
to be paid to the order of relationfhip ;— whereas, according to the
two difciples, all the four uncles are included, they holding that no
regard is to be paid to the order of relationfhip. If, on the other
hand, the teftator have only one paternal and two maternal uncles,
the half of the legacy, in that cafe, goes to the paternal uncle, and
the other half to the two maternal uncles, out of attention to the
* Here is fomething like a contradiaion ; for it was before faid that « the will includes
“ two or more." T h is , however, is not to be taken as excluding anynumher above two,
hut merely as comprehending the dual as well as any higher number.
+ Arab. Sillâ Ribm.— I t is a technical term, comprehending, in its application, the
kindred within the prohibited degrees only.
C hap. IV . W I L L S.
plural number, which, in bequefts, comprehends two, (as before
obferved ;) for as, if there were two paternal uncles, the whole legacy
would go to them, it follows that where there is one only,
he gets no more than an half, and the other half goes to the two maternal
uncles. It would be otherwife if the perfon had expreffed his
bequeft for his ktrfinan : for in this cafe the whole legacy would
go to the paternal uncle, and nothing whatever to the two maternal
uncles; becaufe, as the term kinfman expreffes a fingular, not a plural
number, the paternal uncle therefore takes the whole, he being next
of kin.— I f (in the cafe of a bequeft to “ relations'’ ) the teftator have
a paternal uncle only, [and no- maternal uncles,] he is entitled to no
more than a moiety of the third of the eftate; for as, if there had
been two paternal uncles, they would have had the whole between
them, one confequently gets only an half.— If, on the contrary, he
have a paternal uncle and aunt, and a maternal uncle and aunt, the
legacy goes in equal fhares between the paternal uncle and aunt, both
being related to the teftator within an equal degree of affinity,_and
their connexion being o f a ftronger nature than that o f the maternal
uncle or aunt.— A paternal aunt, moreover, although fhe be not entitled
to inherit, is neverthelefs capable of fucceeding to a legacy,—
in the fame manner as holds with refpeft to a relation who is a Jlave
or an infidel.— It is to be obferved that, in all thefe cafes, i f the teftator
have no prohibited relation, the bequeft is null, becaufe it is re-
ftrifted, in its operation, to thofe within the prohibited decrees, as
before noticed.
521
O
!$
I f a perfon make a bequeft “ to the A h l-j- of fuch an one,” it is or to dot AH
a bequeft to the wife of the perfon mentioned, according to Haneefa, h/pcrfo™'
* Arab. Zee-Kirrabit•
t T h e word Ahl, in its moft common acceptation,
Iran, “ the people o f Perfta,"— A h l-n e e fi my family.
amples turn entirely upon the meaning o f the terms ufed
V o l . IV. X X X
denotes a people or family, as Ahl
—(T h is and feveral fucceedin
g ex-
by the teftator.)
The