How is the estate calculated when a sick woman frees a slave with a deferred payment obligation that the husband assumes, and she subsequently dies leaving assets?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Bequests
Primary text
The ruling of the companions dictates that the deferred debt assumed by the husband for the freed slave's value (ten) must be added to the estate (one hundred), making the total estate one hundred and ten. The husband inherits half of this total, leaving fifty-five for the other heirs. This is the position of Abu Hanifa.
Supporting text
The two companions (Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani) hold that the value of the slave (ten) must also be counted against the husband, and this amount is then added to the estate, resulting in sixty remaining for the heirs after the husband receives his share. Al-Shafi'i holds that the husband inherits nothing, but he must pay the ten owed for the freedom of the slave, lest the freeing of the slave be deemed a bequest (*wasiyya*) to an heir. This latter ruling is consistent with the view attributed to Al-Khiraqi.