Is a conditional statement of manumission valid?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Expiations
Primary text
The conditional statement, 'If I possess so-and-so, he is free,' is valid. If a person purchases a slave with the intention of freeing him for his expiation (kaffarah), the slave is freed, but this manumission does not suffice for the expiation. This case is subject to the same scholarly dispute as purchasing a relative.
Supporting text
The opinion that such an act suffices for the expiation is held by Al-Awza'i, Malik, Al-Shafi'i, Abu 'Ubayd, and the Ahl al-Ra'y. A secondary narration from Ahmad, attributed also to Al-Hasan, Tawus, Al-Nakha'i, and 'Uthman al-Batti, states that it does suffice, based on the verse: 'Then the freeing of a neck' [Quran 4:92], arguing that the one who frees has indeed freed a neck.