How must the Mukatab settle the liability for an injury he caused?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)
Primary text
The Mukatab must redeem himself by paying the lesser of two amounts: his monetary value or the Arsh of the injury. If the Arsh is the lesser amount, he is not obligated to pay more than what his injury warrants. If the Arsh is greater, he is not obligated to pay more than his monetary value, as that is the limit of the object to which the liability is attached. If he begins by paying the money to the victim's representative and fulfills the required Arsh, or else the judge sells parts of him for the remaining Arsh, and the rest of his manumission debt remains. If he chooses annulment, he reverts to being an uncontracted slave, shared between the master and the buyer. If he remains under the Kitabah contract and pays the full amount, he is freed by the Kitabah, and the manumission extends to the remainder. If the Mukatab is affluent, the value is assessed against him; if he is indigent, whatever portion of manumission was fulfilled remains free, and the rest remains enslaved. If he has no money and pays only his full monetary value to satisfy the injury, he is sold entirely for that amount, and his Kitabah contract is voided.
Supporting text
If he first pays the money to his master, the situation depends on whether the victim's representative petitioned the judge to restrict the Mukatab's dealings (Hajr). If a restriction was established, the judge takes control, and the payment to the master is invalid; the judge retrieves it and gives it to the victim's representative. If the payment was made to the master without the judge imposing restriction, the payment is valid, as he is settling a due right, similar to settling a debt for one creditor before restriction is imposed. If the payment to the master constitutes the entire Kitabah consideration, the slave is freed, and the Arsh of the injury remains his liability, which he must pay by the lesser of his value or the Arsh of the injury. If the master emancipates him (after the injury), the master must redeem him for his value because he destroyed the object to which the claim was attached. Concerning the redemption when the master redeems him, there are two differing reports: one states he redeems him for the lesser of his value or the Arsh, and the second states he redeems him for the Arsh of the injury, no matter how large that amount reaches.