If 'istisca'' (working for manumission) is adopted, what are the implications regarding the slave's eventual freedom and estate?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If 'istisca'' is adopted, it is possible that the slave is not fully manumitted until the debt is paid, meaning his status before payment is like one whose portion is enslaved. If he dies, his master (the partner who did not manumit) inherits what belongs to him from the slave's estate, and the rest is inheritance for the two manumitting partners based on loyalty. This is because the insolvent parties only manumitted their respective shares, leaving the third share enslaved to the third partner. If the slave dies possessing wealth, one-third goes to the partner whose share remained enslaved, as he owned that third, and two-thirds are inheritance because they were acquired through the free portion. If the deceased slave has a consanguine heir, that heir takes all his wealth as they have precedence over the manumitting parties. If there is no such heir, the wealth goes to the manumitting parties via loyalty. If a fixed-share heir exists, they take their portion, and the remainder goes to the manumitting parties.
Supporting text
The above ruling applies if the owner of the one-third share did not share in the slave's earnings during his life or arrange for his partial manumission ('muqasamah' or 'muhaya'ah'). If he did so, he has no claim on the estate because it was acquired through the free portion, making the entire estate inheritance for his heirs, not the owner of the one-third share, as he has no right to the free portion, thus no right to what was earned through it or acquired by it. Alternatively, it is considered that the debt remains upon the slave's conscience, and his rulings are those of a free person; if he dies with wealth, his master has a claim for the remaining 'istisca'' debt, and the rest of his wealth is inheritance, with no recourse for the slave against anyone.