ITQ (MANUMISSION) SECTION · 1 – THE STATUS OF A SLAVE WHO MAKES A KITĀBAT (MANUMISSION) CONTRACT BUT FAILS TO PAY PART OF THE PROMISED MONEY OR DIES BEFORE PAYING IT
3926 – It is narrated from the grandfather of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A mukātab (a slave with a manumission contract), as long as there remains even one dirham of the money he is obliged to pay, is still considered a slave.”
EXPLANATION
Who is a mukātab? He is someone who, though originally a slave, makes an agreement with his master for a certain sum, saying: ‘If I pay you this amount, can I attain my freedom?’ and the master replies: ‘Yes, if you pay me such-and-such an amount, I will set you free.’ Such a person is called a mukātab. Unless the mukātab pays the entire sum he is obliged to pay down to the last dirham, he cannot be freed from slavery.
3927 – It is narrated from the grandfather of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If a slave makes an agreement to be freed for two hundred uqiyyas, pays his debt, and only ten awāq remain, he is not freed from slavery. If a slave makes an agreement for one hundred dinars, pays it, and only ten dirhams remain, then until he pays the remaining ten dirhams, he is still a slave.”
3928 – It is narrated from Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: “If any of you has a mukātab, and the mukātab has enough money with him to pay his debt, (then that person has exited slavery and become a free and unrelated man). The female owner should then veil herself from him and cover her face.” [519]