Validity of manumission by a buyer intending it for expiation (kaffarah) when the slave has a non-disqualifying defect.
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Expiations
Primary text
If a person purchases a slave intending to free him for their expiation (kaffarah) and discovers a defect that does not prevent the slave from fulfilling the expiation requirement, and the buyer takes the price difference (Arsh) for the defect, then frees the slave for the expiation, the expiation is valid. The Arsh belongs to the buyer because the act of manumission pertains only to the slave, not the Arsh.
Supporting text
If the buyer frees the slave before knowing about the defect and subsequently takes the Arsh, the Arsh remains his, similar to taking the Arsh before manumission. Another opinion holds that the Arsh must be spent on freeing slaves (fi riqab) because the freeing was performed while believing the slave was sound, thus rendering it a substitute for a right owed to God, similar to the Arsh due in a sale where the Arsh goes to the buyer.