Sunan ad-Darimi

It is narrated from Alaa bin Ziyad that Ziyad bin Matar made a will stating, "My will is according to whatever the jurists of Basra agree upon." I asked them, and those jurists agreed upon making a will for one-fifth (of the wealth).

It is narrated from Alaa bin Ziyad that a man asked Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): My heir is a kalalah (one who has no children), can I make a bequest of half (of my wealth)? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No. He said: Of one third? He replied: No. He said: Of one fourth? He replied: No. He said: Of one fifth? He replied: No, until he reached one tenth, then he said: Yes, you can make a bequest of one tenth.

‘Amir (Sha‘bi), may Allah have mercy on him, said: People used to make bequests of one-fifth and one-fourth, and one-third was the limit of abstention. Imam Darimi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Jamih” means a disobedient, unruly horse.

Bakr (Ibn Abdullah Muzani) said: I made a bequest for Humaid bin Abdur Rahman, so he said: I cannot accept the bequest of a man who has children and makes a bequest of a third (i.e., a bequest of less than a third can be accepted).

Qadi Shurayh said: One-third is hardship, but it is permissible.

It is narrated from Mansur (ibn al-Mu'tamir): Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Among the people, one-sixth (for bequest) was more beloved than one-third.