Muwatta Malik

Malik related to me from Umar ibn Abd ar-Rahman ibn Dalaf al- Muzani from his father that a man from the Juhayna tribe used to buy camels before people set out for hajj and sell them at a higher price. Then he travelled quickly and used to arrive in Makka before the others who set out for hajj. He went bankrupt and his situation was put before Umar ibn al-Khattab, who said, "O People! al-Usayfi, al- Usayfi of the Juhayna, was satisfied with his deen and his trust because it was said of him that he arrived before the others on hajj. He used to incur debts which he was not careful to repay, so all of his property has been eaten up by it. Whoever has a debt against him, let him come to us tomorrow and we will divide his property between his creditors. Beware of debts! Their beginning is a worry and their end is destitution. "

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "The sunna with us about the crime of slaves is that the hand is not cut off for any harm that a slave causes a man, or something he pilfers, or something guarded which he steals, or hanging dates he cuts down or ruins, or steals. That is against the slave's person and does not exceed the price of the slave whether it is little or much. If his master wishes to give the value of what the slave took or ruined, or pay the blood-price for the injury, he pays it and keeps his slave. If he wishes to surrender him, he surrenders him, and none of that is against him. The master has the option in that."

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al-Musayyab that Uthman ibn Affan said, "If someone gives something to his small child who is not old enough to look after it himself, and in order that his gift might be permitted he makes the gift public and has it witnessed, the gift is permitted, even if the father keeps charge of it." Malik said, "What is done in our community is that if a man gives his small child some gold or silver and then dies and he has it in his own keeping, the child has none of it unless the father set it aside in coin or placed it with a man to keep for the son. If he does that, it is permitted for the son."

Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,said, "If a man frees his share of a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave justly evaluated for him, he must buy out his partners so that the slave is completely freed. If he doesn't have the money, he partially frees him.

Malik said, "The generally agreed-on way of doing things among us in the case of slave whose master makes a bequest to free part of him - a third, a fourth, a half, or any share after his death, is that only the portion of him is freed that his master has named. This is because the freeing of that portion is only obliged to take place after the death of the master because the master has the option to withdraw the bequest as long as he lives. When the slave is freed from his master, the master is a testator and the testator only has access to free what he can take from his property, being the third of the property he is allowed to bequeath, and the rest of the slave is not free because the man's property has gone out of his hands. How can the rest of the slave which belongs to other people be free when they did not initiate the setting free and did not confirm it and they do not have the wala' established for them? Only the deceased could do that. He was the one who freed him and the one for whom the wala' was confirmed. That is not to be borne by another's property unless he bequeaths within the third of his property what remains of a lave to be freed. That is a request against his partners and inheritors and the partners must not refuse the slave that when it is within the third of the dead man's property because there is no harm in that to the inheritors." Malik said, "If a man frees a third of his slave while he is critically ill, he must complete the emancipation so all of him is free from him, if it is within the third of his property that he has access to, because he is not treated in the same way as a man who frees a third of a slave after his death, because had the one who freed a third of his slave after his death lived, he could have cancelled it and the slave's being set free would be of no effect. The master who made the freeing of the third of the slave irrevocable in his illness, would still have to free all of him if he lived. If he died, the slave would be set free within the third of the bequest. That is because the command of the deceased is permissible in his third as the command of the healthy is permissible in all his property."

Malik said, "A master who frees a slave of his and settles his emancipation so that his testimony is permitted, his inviolability complete, and his right to inherit confirmed, cannot impose stipulations on him like what he imposes on a slave about property or service, nor get him to do anything of slavery, because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "If a man frees his share of a slave and has enough money to cover the full price of the slave justly evaluated for him, he must give his partners their shares so the slave is completely free." Malik commented, "If he owns the slave completely, it is more proper to free him completely and not mingle any slavery with it."

Malik related to me from Yahya ibn Said and somebody else from al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri and from Muhammad ibn Sirin that a man in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, freed six of his slaves while he was dying. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew lots between them and freed a third of those slaves. Malik added that he had heard that the man did not have any property other than them.

Malik related to me from Rabia ibn Abi Abd ar-Rahman that a man in the time of Aban ibn Uthman's amirate freed all of his slaves and did not have other property than them. Aban ibn Uthman took charge of the slaves and they were divided into three groups. Then he drew lots on the basis that which ever group drew the dead man's arrow would be free. The arrow fell to one of the thirds, and that third was freed.

Malik related to me that he heard Ibn Shihab say, "The precedent of the sunna is that when a slave is freed, his property follows him." Malik said, "One thing which makes clear that the property of a slave follows him when he is freed is that when the contract (mukatab) is written for his freedom, his property follows him even if he did not stipulate it. That is because the bond of kitaba is the bond of wala' when it is complete. The property of a slave and a mukatab is not treated in the same way as any children they may have. Their children are only treated in the same way as their own slaves, not in the same way as their property. This is because the sunna, in which there is no dispute, is that when a slave is freed, his property follows him and his children do not follow him, and when a mukatab writes the contract for his freedom, his property follows him and his children do not follow him." Malik said, "One thing which makes that clear is that when a slave or a mukatab are bankrupt, their property is taken but the mothers of their children and their children are not taken because they are not their property." Malik said, "Another thing which makes it clear is that when a slave is sold and the person who buys him stipulates the inclusions of his property, his children are not included in his property." Malik said, "Another thing which makes it clear is that when a slave does injure some one, he and his property are taken, and his children are not taken."

Malik related to me from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "If a slave-girl gives birth to a child by her master, he must not sell her, give her away, or bequeath her. He enjoys her and when he dies she is free ."

Malik related to me that he had heard that a slave-girl came to Umar ibn al-Khattab (who had been beaten by her master with a red hot iron) and he set her free. Malik said, "The generally agreed- on way of doing things among us is that a man is not permitted to be freed while he has a debt against him which exceeds his property. A boy is not allowed to be set free until he has reached puberty. The young person whose affairs are managed cannot set free in his property, even when he reaches puberty, until he manages his property."

Malik related to me from Hilal ibn Usama from Ata ibn Yasar that Umar ibn al-Hakam said, "I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, a slave girl of mine was tending my sheep. I came to her and one of the sheep was lost. I asked her about it and she said that a wolf had eaten it, so I became angry and I am one of the children of Adam, so I struck her on the face. As it happens, I have to set a slave free, shall I free her?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, 'Where is Allah?' She said, 'In heaven.' He said, 'Who am I?' She said, 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Free her.' "

Malik related to me from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud that one of the Ansar came to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a black slave- girl of his. He said, "Messenger of Allah, I must set a slave free who is a mumina. If you think that she is mumina, I will free her." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, questioned her, "Do you testify that there is no god but Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Do you testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" She said, "Yes." "Are you certain about the rising after death?" She said, "Yes." The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Free her."

Malik related to me that he had heard that al-Maqburi said that Abu Hurayra was asked whether a man who had to free a slave, could free an illegitimate child to fulfil that obligation. Abu Hurayra said, "Yes. That will give satisfaction for him."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Fadala ibn Ubayd al- Ansari who was one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked whether it was permissible for a man who had to free a slave to free an illegitimate child. He said, "Yes, That will give satisfaction for him."

Malik related to me that he had heard that Abdullah ibn Umar was asked whether a slave could be bought on the specific condition that it was to be used to fulfil the obligation of freeing a slave, and he said, "No." Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard on the obligation of freeing slaves. Someone who has to set a slave free because of an obligation on him, may not buy one on the condition that he sets it free because if he does that, whatever he buys is not completely a slave because he has reduced its price by the condition he has made of setting it free." Malik added, "There is no harm, however, in someone buying a person expressly to set him free." Malik said, "The best of what I have heard on the obligation of freeing slaves is that it is not permitted to free a christian or a jew to fulfil it, and one does not free a mukatab or a mudabbar or an umm walad or a slave to be freed after a certain number of years, or a blind person. There is no harm in freeing a christian, jew, or magian voluntarily, because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'either as a favour then or by ransom,' (Sura 47 ayat 4) The favour is setting free." Malik said, "As for obligations of freeing slaves which Allah has mentioned in the Book, one only frees a mumin slave for them." Malik said, "It is like that in feeding poor people for kaffara. One must only feed muslims and one does not feed anyone outside of the deen of Islam."

Malik related to me from Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Amra al-Ansari that his mother had wanted to make a bequest, but she delayed until morning and died. She had intended to set someone free, so Abd ar- Rahman said, 'I said to al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, 'Will it help her if I free a slave for her?' Al-Qasim replied, 'Sad ibn Ubada said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, 'My mother died, will it help her if I set a slave free for her?' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said "Yes." "'

Malik related to me that Yahya ibn Said said, ''Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr died in his sleep, and A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set free many slaves for him." Malik said, "This is what I like best of what I have heard on the subject."

Malik related to me from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked what was the most excellent kind of slave to free. The Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, answered, "The most expensive and the most valuable to his master."

Malik related to me from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar freed an illegitimate child and its mother.