What is the ruling if one partner is solvent and the other is insolvent when claims of manumission arise regarding their joint slave?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If one partner is solvent (mūsir) and the other is insolvent (mu'sir), only the insolvent partner's share is freed, due to the admission that his share became free through the manumission of the solvent partner, whose manumission overrides. The solvent partner's share does not become free because he claims the insolvent partner, whose manumission does not supersede, freed only his own share. The testimony of the insolvent partner is not accepted against the solvent one because it benefits the insolvent by potentially obligating the solvent partner to pay half the value. In this case, if the slave has no other evidence, the solvent partner swears an oath and is absolved from both the value and the manumission.
Supporting text
No Wala' is established for the insolvent partner because he does not claim it, nor for the solvent partner for the same reason. However, if the insolvent partner later acknowledges the manumission and claims it, the Wala' is established for him. If the solvent partner admits to manumitting his share and the insolvent partner confirms this, the insolvent's share is also freed, and the solvent partner owes the value of the insolvent's share, establishing Wala' for the solvent partner. If the slave has external definitive evidence from two trustworthy witnesses attesting to the solvent partner's manumission, the manumission is established, and the value is due to the insolvent partner. If the evidence is from a single man, the slave swears an oath with him, and the manumission is established in one narration; in another narration, it is not established. The insolvent partner can swear with the single witness and claim the value of his share, whether the slave swears or not, because a claim for monetary value accepts one witness plus an oath.