What is the legal status of a Mukatab's contract (Kitabah) if he dies owing debts and penal compensations (arsh) without sufficient wealth to cover his installment payments?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
If the Mukatab dies owing debts and penal compensations, and he did not possess wealth sufficient to pay for his installments, his contract is nullified, and the penal compensations (arsh) are dropped because they were tied to his person which has perished. His remaining wealth is used to satisfy his debts, and any remaining balance is dropped. Ahmad states that his master is not obliged to pay his debts, as the Mukatab was working for his own emancipation. If he possessed enough wealth to cover his installments, the ruling then depends on two narrations regarding the emancipation of the Mukatab upon acquiring the means to pay. The apparent view holds that he is not emancipated by merely possessing the wealth, thus the contract is also nullified, and his debt repayment begins first, as detailed above. This is the view of Zayd ibn Thabit, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab, Al-Hasan, Shurayh, 'Ata', 'Amr ibn Dinar, Abu al-Zinad, Yahya al-Ansari, Rabi'ah, Al-Awza'i, Abu Hanifah, and Al-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
The second narration posits that upon acquiring the means to pay, he becomes free. In this case, the master shares pro-rata with the creditors concerning the due installments. This view is narrated from Shurayh, Al-Nakha'i, Al-Sha'bi, Al-Hakam, Hammad, Ibn Abi Layla, Al-Thawri, and Al-Hasan ibn Salih, based on the premise that it is a debt that has become due, thus allowing him to compete with other creditors. According to those who hold that debt becomes immediately due upon death, he competes with all the wealth designated for his Kitabah, as it all becomes immediately payable.