What is the ruling if a master tells his slave, 'You are free, and one thousand is due from you,' without the slave's acceptance?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Manumission

Book 66 · Issue 1 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The slave is manumitted, and the thousand dirhams do not become obligatory upon him. This is the view held by later scholars of our school. The reason is that the manumission was executed without a condition and an exchange price was stipulated but not accepted, thus the manumission takes effect without liability for the payment.

Supporting text

Ja'far ibn Muhammad narrated that Imam Abu Abdullah (Ahmad ibn Hanbal) stated that if the slave does not consent, he is not manumitted, because the statement implied the manumission was conditional upon the payment of one thousand dirhams, and without payment, there is no manumission.