What is the legal status upon the death of a *mukatab* who had acquired assets to pay the ransom but had not yet paid them?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
The soundest position is that the contract of manumission is dissolved upon his death, and he dies a slave. The assets in his possession belong to his master. This view is supported by narrations from Umar, Zayd, and Al-Zuhri, and is held by Ibrahim, Umar ibn Abd Al-Aziz, Qatadah, and Al-Shafi'i. The reasoning is that since he died before paying the ransom amount, the contract is dissolved, just as if he had no assets, and emancipation conditioned upon an absolute requirement is cut off by death, analogous to saying, "If you pay me a thousand, you are free."
Supporting text
A second narration, attributed to Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, Mu'awiyah, and held by Malik, Abu Hanifa, and others, states that he is emancipated and dies a free man. His master retains the remaining ransom amount as a debt owed to him, and the remainder of his estate goes to his heirs. The argument here is that the contract is an exchange that is not dissolved by the death of one contracting party, and since the slave is the subject of the contract, the contract is not dissolved by his death as it would not be by the master's death, unlike a sale where the subject matter perishes before possession.