From which portion of the estate is a Mudabbar (a slave willed to be manumitted after the master's death) freed?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Tadbir (Deferred Emancipation)
Primary text
The Mudabbar is freed from the one-third portion (Thuluth) of the estate. This is the position held by the majority of scholars (Akthar Ahl al-Ilm). This view is narrated from Ali and Ibn Umar, and held by Sharih, Ibn Sirin, Al-Hasan, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Makhul, Al-Zuhri, Qatadah, Hammad, Malik, the people of Medina, Al-Thawri, the people of Iraq, Al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, and the Ashab al-Ra'y (proponents of legal reasoning). The evidence supporting this view is that manumission after death is a voluntary disposition taking effect post-mortem, akin to a bequest (Wasiyyah), which must come from the disposable one-third of the estate.
Supporting text
A dissenting opinion holds that the Mudabbar is freed from the capital (Asl al-Mal, the entirety of the estate before distribution to heirs). This view is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, Masruq, Mujahid, Al-Nakha'i, and Sa'id ibn Jubayr. The reasoning is that manumission, once established, should take effect from the capital, similar to manumission performed while healthy or the freeing of an Umm Walad. Regarding a report that Ahmad ibn Hanbal held this view, it is stated that it was an old opinion from which he retracted to the position held by the majority.