A man who makes a bequest and then wants to change it

Abdullah bin al-Harith bin Abi Rabi'ah or al-Harith bin Abdullah bin Abi Rabi'ah said: I said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): The people of Yemen do this: a man makes a bequest and then changes his bequest. He said: A man has the right to make changes in his bequest.

Mujahid narrated that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whatever slave a man frees during his final illness falls under the ruling of a bequest; if he wishes, he may also retract it.

Ibn Jurayj narrated that Ata said: A man may change whatever he wishes in his will, except for the freeing of slaves.

Al-Shaybani narrated that al-Sha'bi said: A man may change whatever he wishes in his will, except for the freeing of slaves.

Al-Hakam narrated that Ibrahim said: If a man makes many bequests and also frees his slave on the condition that he is free if death comes to him, he cannot retract the freeing of the slave, because the freeing of a slave is not like other bequests.

Hisham narrated that al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When a man makes a will, he may change whatever he wishes in his will. He was asked: Does the same ruling apply to a bequest of freeing slaves? He said: The same ruling applies to the freeing of slaves and to other bequests; only that man's last will is to be carried out.

Amr bin Dinar narrated that Tawus saw no harm in a man retracting the freeing of slaves he had freed during his final illness.

Asim said: Abu al-Aliyah fell ill and freed a slave. People told him that the slave had gone beyond the river. He said: If he is alive, I do not free him, and if he has died, he is free. Then he recited this verse: "And he has weak offspring."

Hisham narrated that Muhammad said: People used to make their wills in this way: a man would write in his will, "If death comes to me before I change this will of mine." If he then felt the need to change it, he could change it, whether it was a bequest of freeing a slave or anything else. And if he had not set any such condition in the will, he could still change the will, except for the freeing of a slave.

Ibn Abi Najih narrated that Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) used to swear an oath that the freeing of a slave who is to be freed after the master's death falls under the ruling of a bequest, and that a man has the right to change his will if he wishes.

Hanzalah narrated that Tawus said: The master of a mudabbar slave may retract the slave's freedom whenever he wishes.