Is it obligatory for a master to grant a request for manumission through payment (Mukataba) by a slave if the slave is deemed trustworthy?

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It is recommended, not obligatory, for a master to grant a slave's request for manumission through payment (Mukataba) if the master perceives good in the slave. This view is held by the majority of scholars, including Al-Hasan, Al-Sha'bi, Malik, Al-Thawri, Al-Shafi'i, and the Ashab al-Ra'i (followers of opinion/Hanafi school). The primary evidence cited is the Quranic injunction: {And those who seek a writing [of freedom] from among those whom your right hands possess—then seek a writing from them if you know there is any good in them} (Quran 17:33). However, based on the principle that manumission with compensation is a voluntary act (like facilitating the search for a contract, Isti'a), it is not obligatory. Furthermore, the action of Anas ibn Malik, who initially refused his slave Sayrin's request until advised by Umar ibn al-Khattab, suggests that while the command is present, the act itself is one of recommendation.