What is the effect of the stipulation: 'I intend that the enslaved person is free after the last of us dies'?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Tadbir (Deferred Emancipation)
Primary text
This hinges on the permissibility of conditioning freedom upon a future occurrence after death. If such a condition is deemed permissible, freedom is effected after the death of the last surviving owner for both shares. If it is deemed impermissible, the share of the surviving partner is freed by his Tadbir, and there are two narrations regarding whether this manumission extends to the rest of the share, depending on whether the deceased's one-third allowance can accommodate it.
Supporting text
If each owner states, 'If I die before my partner, my share belongs to him [to be freed upon his death], and if I die after him, my share is free,' then each has bequeathed to the other. Upon the death of the first, the enslaved person entirely belongs to the survivor, and upon the survivor's death, the entire person is freed by his bequest, transferring all allegiance (Wala') to him, if conditioning manumission on a post-mortem event is invalid. If it is valid, freedom occurs upon both deaths, and the allegiance is shared.