Does a slave possess property if his master has not granted him ownership?
Chapter on Selling the Musarrah (Animal with milk retained in udder)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
A slave does not possess any property if his master has not specifically granted him ownership. This is the position held by the general body of scholars. The primary evidence for this ruling is the verse stating that Allah sets forth an example of a slave, owned, unable to do anything (Quran 18:75). Furthermore, since the master owns the slave's body and usufruct, whatever accrues from these must belong to the master, similar to his livestock.
Supporting text
The people of Zahir (literalists) maintain that the slave possesses property based on the generality of the verse "He created for you all that is in the earth" (Quran 2:29) and the Prophet's saying, 'Whoever sells a slave who has wealth,' which implies ownership by the slave through the possessive structure (the 'li' particle). A second legal view holds that if the master grants the slave property, the slave still does not own it, which is the apparent view of Al-Khiraqi, Abu Bakr, Abu Hanifa, Al-Thawri, Ishaq, and Shafi'i's later opinion, arguing that as a slave, ownership is negated, like a beast of burden. The sounder opinion allows the slave to own property, as held by Malik and Shafi'i's early opinion, citing the Quranic verse, the Hadith, the slave being a living human being, and the validity of his marriage contract.