To whom does the Walaa' belong when a master manumits another man's slave without the owner's permission, either while the owner is alive or after the owner's death?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Walā' (Patronage)
Primary text
The Walaa' belongs to the one who executed the manumission. This is the position held by Al-Thawri, Al-Awza'i, Al-Shafi'i, Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf, and Dawud. Evidence supporting this is the Prophet's saying: 'The Walaa' belongs to the manumitter' (Al-Walaa' lil-Mu'tiq). Furthermore, since he manumitted his slave without seeking permission from another party, the Walaa' remains with him, just as if he had no specific intention regarding the Walaa'.
Supporting text
A dissenting view, attributed to Ibn Abbas and held by Al-Hasan, Malik, and Abu Ubayd, maintains that the Walaa' belongs to the owner on whose behalf the manumission occurred, reasoning that he manumitted the slave for another, similar to if the owner had permitted it. Regarding manumission for compensation, Abu Hanifa, Abu Yusuf, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, and Dawud hold that the Walaa' belongs to the manumitter unless compensation was involved, in which case the Walaa' belongs to the owner, the compensation is binding, and the situation is treated as if the manumitter first bought the slave and was then delegated to free them. If there is no compensation, the concept of sale cannot be presumed, and the Walaa' remains with the manumitter due to the generality of the Hadith, 'The Walaa' belongs to the manumitter.' Ahmad has a similar position. Another view suggests that the manumitter acts as an agent for manumission, making the Walaa' belong to the owner, analogous to cases involving compensation; if sale can be presumed with compensation, gift can be presumed without compensation, as gift concerning slaves is permissible like sale, and the Hadith is specific to cases involving compensation, thus this disputed matter is subjected to analogy with other agents.