What is the ruling if two witnesses testify to the manumission writing (*kitabah*) of a slave, and then retract their testimony?

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If the slave is unable to pay the stipulated amount for his freedom and is returned to servitude (*riq*), the two witnesses bear no liability. However, if the slave fulfills the required payment and consequently gains freedom, the two witnesses are liable for the full value of the slave because their testimony caused the loss of his servitude to the master. The preferred view is that the witnesses must compensate the full value, not merely the difference between the slave's unencumbered value and the amount he paid through his earnings, as the earnings belong to the slave, not the master. Alternatively, they might be liable for the difference between the slave's value when free and his value as a manumitted slave (*mukatab*).