What is the requirement if one vows to free a specific, named slave, and that slave dies before manumission?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Vows
Primary text
If one specifies a particular slave in the vow, freeing that specific slave fulfills the vow, regardless of their description, because the utterance specified what it inherently included. If one vows that which the name 'slave' applies to, the vow is fulfilled by what was intended in the heart, as the general statement is qualified by the intention, just as it is qualified by the verbal context.
Supporting text
Imam Ahmad ruled that if someone vows to free a specific slave who then dies before manumission, the person incurs the expiation of an oath (Kaffarat Yamin), and is not obligated to free a slave, based on the Hadith of Uqbah ibn Amir. This opinion is followed for anything that is missed or for which one is rendered incapable.