Is the contract of manumission valid if the payment is immediate (halan)?

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The immediate enforcement of the kitabah is not valid; it must be deferred and structured into installments (munajjaman). This is the apparent view of the Madhhab and the position of Al-Shafi'i. The evidence is that a group of Companions concluded contracts of kitabah, and none of them were reported to have concluded it immediately. If it were permissible, they would not have all agreed to omit it. Furthermore, the kitabah is a contract of exchange where the obligor is incapable of paying the consideration immediately, necessitating deferment, similar to *salam* according to the view of Abu Hanifa. It is also an exchange contract subject to rescission, which requires specification of the consideration; thus, if it occurs in a manner where inability to pay is established, it is invalid.