What is the legal status of slaves designated for manumission in a will or *tadbir* (post-death freeing) when the deceased's estate is later found to be larger than initially believed?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If a person frees three slaves in their terminal illness, or arranges for their freedom posthumously (*tadbir*), or bequeaths their freedom, only one-third of them are actually freed if the heirs do not approve of freeing the remaining two-thirds. However, if subsequent wealth appears equivalent to double the value of the slaves, it is established that they were fully freed from the time of the initial declaration or death (in the case of *tadbir*). This is because the disposition of the sick person within their third share of the estate is valid and effective. Their status is that of free individuals from that moment, meaning their earnings belong to them, and any subsequent dealings involving them (sale, gift, mortgage, or marriage without permission) are nullified.
Supporting text
If the slaves undertook actions themselves, their actions are judged as those of free persons. For example, if one married without his master's permission, the marriage is valid and the *mahr* (dower) is obligatory upon him. If the estate later shows wealth equal to the full value of the three slaves, two-thirds of the remaining two slaves are freed by drawing lots between them, with one being freed and the other remaining enslaved if their values are equal. As more wealth appears, a proportion equivalent to one-third of that new wealth results in the freeing of one of the two previously retained slaves.