How is manumission handled if two partners jointly own a slave and one partner seeks to manumit their share?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If partners jointly own a slave and one partner claims to have manumitted their share, and both owners are indigent (mu'sir), the claim of one against the other regarding the manumission of his share is not accepted regarding the partner's share. If both partners are trustworthy (Adil), the slave has the right to swear an oath alongside each one, resulting in complete freedom, or swear alongside one, resulting in half freedom, based on the narration that manumission is established by testimony and an oath. If the slave does not swear alongside either partner, nothing is freed, as manumission is not established by testimony alone without an oath. If only one partner is trustworthy, the slave swears the oath with the trustworthy one's testimony, and half becomes free while the other half remains enslaved.
Supporting text
If the partners are indigent, the claim by one partner of manumitting their share is not an admission of their own share's freedom, nor a claim for the value of the partner's share, because the manumission of an indigent person is contingent upon their share only and does not spread. If they are not trustworthy (ghayr Adil), their statements have no effect currently, as testimony from the untrustworthy is not accepted.