Does a conditional manumission (A'taq) reactivate upon a slave being reacquired after the condition was met during a previous period of ownership?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Khul' (Redemption Divorce)
Primary text
There are two narrations concerning manumission. One supports that manumission is like marriage, meaning the condition does not dissolve upon its existence after the sale, thus allowing reactivation upon reacquisition, similar to the primary view on divorce. The second narration holds that the obligation dissolves because the second ownership is not built upon the first in any of its rulings, differentiating it from marriage where divorce counts might carry over. The latter view is favored because allowing reactivation in manumission would be a stratagem to circumvent the ruling on suspended divorce, and such stratagems involving the limits of Allah are prohibited. Evidence suggests the Prophet—peace be upon him—criticized those who play with the limits of God through maneuvers like saying, 'I divorced you, I reconciled with you,' and warned against imitating the Jews who permitted the unlawful through subtle stratagems.