Does freeing a slave on behalf of another person without their prior command validate the freeing for the person intended?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Expiations
Primary text
If a person frees a slave belonging to another individual without that individual's prior order, the act of manumission does not count for the intended beneficiary, provided that individual is alive, and the rights of *Walaa* (loyalty/inheritance right) go to the emancipator. This act does not fulfill any required expiation (*Kaffarah*) even if the emancipator intended it as such. This view is held by Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
It is related from Malik that if one frees a slave on behalf of another person to discharge an obligation incumbent upon that person without their order, it is valid, analogizing it to discharging a debt for another person. The basis for the primary ruling is that manumission, being an act of worship requiring specific intention (*Niyyah*), cannot be validly performed on behalf of another person without their order, similar to Hajj. Furthermore, since manumission is one of the components of *Kaffarah*, it cannot be performed for the person liable without their order, similar to fasting.