“It is recommended to emancipate one who has the ability to earn, and the opposite ruling applies in the opposite case.” Thus, it is not recommended to emancipate one who has no ability to earn, because we would be making him dependent upon himself and upon others. More so if this slave is known for evil and corruption: we say, “Do not emancipate him,” because if you free him, he will go about spreading corruption in the land. Likewise, if, upon being freed, he would flee to the disbelievers and turn against us, then we do not emancipate him. In short, the fact that emancipation is among the most excellent acts of devotion is conditional upon its not leading to harm. If it does lead to harm, then it is not an act of devotion at all, let alone one of the most excellent.

His statement, “It is valid to make emancipation contingent upon death; this is tadbir”: tadbīr is derived from what comes after one’s life; it is making emancipation contingent upon death. It is called tadbīr because it takes effect after the end of one’s life. There is no doubt that it is valid, since it is established by the sunnah: a man emancipated a slave of his to take effect after his death, while he possessed no other property and was in debt; so the Prophet ﷺ sold the slave and paid off his debt (1).

Emancipation through tadbīr is not like emancipation during one’s lifetime, because emancipation through tadbīr takes place after death, after a person has departed this world. Hence, the Prophet ﷺ said: “The best charity is that which you give while you are healthy and miserly, hoping to live and fearing poverty. Do not delay—meaning, postpone—until the soul reaches the throat, and then say, ‘Such-and-such is for so-and-so, and such-and-such is for so-and-so’—that is, you make a bequest—when it already belongs to so-and-so (2),” meaning the heir. Thus, emancipation through tadbīr carries less reward than emancipation during one’s lifetime, and emancipation during