To whom does compensation for injury below the level of life belong when inflicted upon a Mukatab (indentured slave)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
The compensation (*arsh*) for an injury inflicted upon a *mukatab* that is less than homicide belongs to the *mukatab* himself, not his master, for three reasons. First, his earnings belong to him, and this compensation substitutes for what his earning capacity is lost due to the injury. Second, the *mukataba* (female *mukatab*) is entitled to the *mahr* (dowry) in marriage because it relates to one of her body parts, similarly, the compensation for a body part is hers. Third, the master receives the payment for manumission (*mal al-kitaba*) in exchange for the *mukatab's* very person, so it is not permissible for him to receive another form of compensation for him. If the injury leads to death before healing, the manumission contract is voided, and the ruling is as if the master killed him.