What is the liability of two witnesses who falsely testified that a man manumitted his share in a slave, leading to the manumission of the partner's share as well, if they later retract their testimony?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If two witnesses testify that a man manumitted his share in a slave, causing the entire slave to become free (thereby obligating the man to compensate his partner for the partner's share), and the witnesses then retract their testimony, they are liable to compensate the man for the entire value of the slave. This is because the witnesses caused the loss of the man's share as well as the value of the partner's share. Their liability mirrors the situation where they caused the loss through their own action or when they falsely testified to an injury that spread, resulting in death, where they would be liable for the full blood money (diya).
Supporting text
Some followers of Al-Shafi'i hold that the witnesses are only liable for compensating the partner's share which was directly involved in the initial testimony regarding manumission, excluding the share of the original owner (the man they testified against), because their testimony only covered the manumission of his specific share.