Which slaves should be recommended for manumission?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Manumission
Primary text
It is recommended to free a slave who possesses debt and earning capacity from which benefit can be derived following emancipation. The evidence for preference lies in the benefit derived from their subsequent status.
Supporting text
It is not recommended to free a slave who will suffer harm upon emancipation, such as one who has no means of earning, whose sustenance will thus fall away from their former master, causing them to become destitute or a burden on the people, requiring them to beg. Furthermore, if it is feared that the slave will migrate to the land of war (Dar al-Harb) and revert from Islam, or if corruption is feared from them—such as a male slave who might resort to theft, transgression, or banditry upon gaining freedom, or a female slave from whom fornication and corruption are feared—then manumission is disliked (makruh). If it is strongly presumed that such negative outcomes will result, the act becomes forbidden (haram) because resorting to the forbidden is forbidden. However, if the manumission occurs, it is valid because it is an act of manumission properly issued by the rightful owner in its proper context, similar to any other valid manumission.