What is the ruling on manumission when an owner possesses only a fraction of a jointly owned slave, such as a share from spoils of war (maghnam)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
There is no distinction regarding the amount of ownership, whether it is large or small, even if it is only one share out of many in a spoil of war. If the owner is solvent, the manumission extends to the entire slave, and he owes his partner the value of the partner's share because he destroyed it. If the owner is insolvent, only the portion he owns becomes free, and the remainder stays enslaved. If ownership was acquired through inheritance, only the owned portion becomes free, regardless of solvency, because he did not actively cause the manumission.
Supporting text
If ownership was acquired through choice (not inheritance) and the owner is solvent, the manumission extends to the whole slave, and he owes the partner the value of the remaining share. A differing view holds that only the owned portion becomes free, whether acquired by choice or not, because the manumission occurred by decree of Sharia without the owner's active intention or volition, similar to acquisition through inheritance. The preferred view is that since he actively initiated the cause of manumission, it extends, similar to injury causing subsequent death.