What is the ruling when a master sells a slave jointly owned with a relative and a non-relative in a single transaction?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Manumission

Book 66 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If a master sells a slave co-owned with a relative (dhū rahim) and a non-relative in one single transaction, the entire slave is manumitted if the relative is insolvent (mu'sir). The buyer who is the relative must compensate his partner for the value of his share. This ruling is based on the principle that the manumission of the relative's portion occurred upon the buyer's ownership through his own choice, thus obligating him to compensate for the remainder, similar to if he had purchased the entire slave alone. The argument that the partner's acceptance is necessary for the transaction to be valid is rejected.

Supporting text

The Qadi holds that the relative buyer is not obligated to compensate his partner for anything, because his ownership was not fully realized except through the partner's acceptance; therefore, it is treated as if the partner consented to the manumission of his own share.