Is it permissible for a *Mukatab* (indentured servant) to use the wealth received from the contract of writing (*mal al-kitabah*) to fulfill the required payment?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
It is permissible for the *Mukatab* to utilize the wealth received from the contract of writing if he then gives it toward the fulfillment of his obligation. This ruling is based on the divine command to give (*ita'*) from it. Furthermore, if the *Mukatab* discharges his debt by having the payment cancelled (*wada'a* anhu), this is also permissible. The Companions (may God be pleased with them) interpreted the command to give as encompassing cancellation. Moreover, cancellation is considered more beneficial and more helpful in achieving emancipation, thus making it superior to direct giving, and the relevant verse indicates this principle by implication.
Supporting text
If the *Mukatab* pays from the same category of wealth (*jins*) as the contracted wealth but uses something other than the specific item stipulated, it is permissible. However, there is a view, consistent with the apparent position of Al-Shafi'i, suggesting that the *Mukatab* is not obligated to accept such a substitution because the command was specifically to give *from* it.