Is sexual intercourse permissible with a male slave who has an agreement for manumission (mukātib)?

General Chapter

Al-Mughni

Book of Mukātaba (Contractual Manumission)

Book 68 · Issue 2 · Bab 1

Open in Qurani

Primary text

Sexual intercourse with a male slave who is under a contract of manumission (mukātib) is prohibited for his master by scholarly consensus. If the master engages in intercourse, he incurs sin and is subject to disciplinary punishment (ta'zīr), but no fixed legal punishment (hadd) is applied due to the semblance of ownership (shubhat al-milk).

Supporting text

The child born from this union is considered free, and paternity is legally established, because the fixed punishment was waived due to the semblance of ownership. The master is liable to pay the slave woman's value to her original owner because his act of intercourse removed her from the original owner's full possession.