What parts of a female slave (Amah) may her male manumitted slave (Muktāb) look upon?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Marriage
Primary text
The male manumitted slave has permission to look upon the face and hands of his former mistress. This is established by the Divine Saying: {or those whom your right hands possess} [Quran 24:31]. Furthermore, Umm Salamah narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "If one of you has a manumitted slave who is paying off his freedom, she must observe veiling from him." Al-Tirmidhi reported this Hadith as Hassan Sahih. Anas also narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, visited Fatimah with a slave gifted to her, and Fatimah was wearing a garment that did not cover her feet when covering her head, nor her head when covering her feet. When the Messenger of Allah saw her distress, he said: "There is no harm upon you; he is only your father and your slave."
Supporting text
Abu Abdullah disliked the manumitted slave looking at the hair of his former mistress; this is the view of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Tawus, Mujahid, and Al-Hasan. Ibn Abbas permitted it based on the mentioned verses and narrations, and because Allah Almighty stated: {Let those whom your right hands possess and those who have not yet attained puberty among you ask permission of you three times} [Quran 24:58] up to His saying: {There is no blame upon you nor upon them after these [times] for going around among you, some of you [being] with others} [Quran 24:58], and because strict avoidance is difficult, hence it is permitted, similar to close relatives (Mahram).