Is the obligation to free a slave waived if the only available slave is necessary for the owner's needs?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Zihar
Primary text
There is consensus that if one possesses a slave in excess of his basic needs, he is not permitted to transition to fasting (as expiation). If the slave is needed for service due to age, infirmity, illness, physical deformity, or other incapacity preventing self-service, or if the owner is one who customarily does not serve himself and has no surplus slave, then freeing the slave is not incumbent upon him. This is the position held by Al-Shafi'i.
Supporting text
Abu Hanifa, Malik, and Al-Awza'i hold that if a slave is found, freeing that slave becomes obligatory, and transitioning to fasting is not permitted, whether the owner needs the slave or not, because Allah stipulated the condition for transition to fasting as 'whoever does not find' (Quran 58:4), implying the person who finds a slave must free them. However, if one finds the money to purchase a slave but needs that money for necessities, freeing or buying a slave is not incumbent upon him according to Abu Hanifa. Malik holds that purchasing the slave is obligatory because finding the price is equivalent to finding the slave.