Is the master permitted to dissolve the contract of manumission (kitabah) if the contracted slave misses payment for a single installment (najm)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
The apparent position according to Al-Khiraqi, and one narration from Ahmad, is that the master does not have the right to dissolve the contract until two installments are due and unpaid. This view is attributed to Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and is the position of Al-Hakam, Ibn Abi Layla, Abu Yusuf, and Al-Hasan ibn Salih. The evidence for this is the narration from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, stating that the manumitted person does not return to slavery until two installments have consecutively passed without payment. Furthermore, the period between the two installments serves as the time allotted for the payment of the first installment; thus, the inability to pay is not truly confirmed until the time for the first payment has passed due to the arrival of the second installment.
Supporting text
A second narration from Ahmad suggests that the slave does not revert to slavery until he explicitly states his inability to pay. Another opinion attributed to him states that if the slave pays the majority of the manumission price, he does not revert to slavery but is pursued only for the remaining balance. The opposing view, held by Al-Harith Al-'Ukkali, Abu Hanifa, Al-Shafi'i, is that if the slave misses a single installment, the master has the right to dissolve the contract. Their reasoning is that the master entered the contract expecting to receive the full manumission price according to the agreed installment schedule, and if this condition is not met, the obligation of manumission is not binding upon him. This is analogous to the case of missing the final installment.