What is the ruling regarding manumission when co-owners of an enslaved person agree to conditional manumission (Tadbir) for their respective shares?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Tadbir (Deferred Emancipation)
Primary text
If each co-owner stipulates that upon their death, their share of the enslaved person shall be freed (Tadbir), and one owner dies, his share is freed, and the other share remains under the Tadbir agreement. This is contingent on whether the deceased's estate (one-third bequest allowance) covers the value of the surviving partner's share. If it does, there are two established narrations (Riwāyāt) regarding whether the manumission extends to the entire enslaved person.
Supporting text
If both owners state, 'When we both die, you are free,' Imam Ahmad interprets this as each person stipulating Tadbir for his own share, meaning 'When each one of us dies, his share is free,' treating the general statement as a partial one. Al-Qadi views this as conditioning freedom upon the death of both jointly, meaning nothing is freed until both die. Al-Qadi's view is refuted because if partial fulfillment were enough, the entire enslaved person would be freed upon the fulfillment of part of the condition pertaining to each owner.