What is the determining factor for the amount of compensation the master owes after emancipating the offending slave?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Blood-Money (Diyyāt)
Primary text
The amount of the compensation depends upon two narrations (*riwāyāt*) concerning the master's choice to retain the slave after the offense occurred. This is because emancipating the slave amounts to refusing to hand him over, which is equivalent to refusing to hand him over by opting for his ransom (*fidā’*).
Supporting text
One narration attributed to Ibn Manṣūr from Ahmad states that if the master emancipates the slave while aware of the offense, the master owes the full blood money (*diyah*), meaning the blood money of a killed person. If the master was unaware of the offense upon emancipation, then the master owes only the monetary value (*qīmah*) of the slave. This distinction arises because emancipation with knowledge is considered an election for ransom, whereas emancipation without knowledge means the master did not elect for the ransom, thus he is not obligated to pay more than the value of what he prevented from being forfeited.