Is a condition in the *kitabah* contract making each slave a guarantor for the shares of the others valid?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
The condition stipulating that each slave is responsible for the others is void, but the contract itself remains valid. The justification for invalidating the guarantee is that the *kitabah* amount is not a perpetually obligatory debt, nor does it necessarily lead to obligation, thus the guarantee for it is void. Furthermore, a guarantor cannot be bound for more than what is incumbent upon the guaranteed party, and the *kitabah* amount is not obligatory upon the contracted slave unless he pays.
Supporting text
Abu Al-Khattab holds an alternative narration where the stipulation itself is valid, an opinion supported by Ibn Hamid based on differing narrations regarding a free person guaranteeing the *kitabah* amount. Al-Shafi'i deems both the contract and the condition void because the master only consented to the contract due to the inclusion of the guarantee. Malik and Abu Hanifa hold both the contract and the condition to be valid, considering the guarantee the natural consequence of the contract.