What is the ruling regarding the execution of manumission decreed by a terminally ill person when debts subsequently emerge that consume part of the estate?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
If a sick person frees three slaves, having no other wealth, and the heirs draw lots, freeing one and retaining two, and subsequently a debt appears that consumes half the estate, there are two views. The primary view holds that the lot drawing (Qur'a) is invalidated because the debt is a partner in the manumission proportion, rendering a division made without accounting for it void, similar to two partners dividing an estate without including a third partner. If the division stands, the heirs must pay two-thirds of the debt, which equates to the value of the two remaining slaves, either from the slaves themselves or other property. The half of the freed slave must be returned. If the freed slave represented one-third of the estate and the debt covers half the entire estate, the process is adjusted by drawing lots between the two remaining slaves to satisfy the debt proportion.
Supporting text
The secondary view maintains that the lot drawing stands because it is impossible to enforce the division while segregating the debt's share from each of the two retained portions, as the lot drawing was specifically for the act of manumission, not the debt. Thus, the heirs are required to settle two-thirds of the debt based on the value of the remaining slaves.