Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/264)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

—from a rational perspective, if he frees a slave who is a disbeliever, there is no assurance that he will join the disbelievers, since he is a disbeliever who has become free and no one has any authority over him. While he remains enslaved, he is unable to leave his master. Thus, if this harm is feared, a disbeliever should not be freed; rather, he should remain enslaved. The stronger view is that this position carries considerable weight.

As for those who say that Allah left the matter unrestricted in two places, restricted it in the third, and that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, left it unrestricted in the fourth, they say: We leave unrestricted what Allah has left unrestricted, and restrict what Allah has restricted. [Maryam: 64] Moreover, the causes differ: breaking an oath and zihār involving one’s wife are not like killing. Killing is more serious, and for this reason Allah stipulated that the slave freed as its expiation must be a believer. Since killing is more serious, the less serious case cannot be analogized to the more serious one. Their argument is sound were it not for the evidence that opposes it. Hence, the scholars differed as to whether faith is a condition in expiations other than that for killing. The preponderant view is that it is a condition, due to the strength of its evidence and reasoning, and because it is the more prudent course and more certain in discharging one’s liability.

Free from a defect that clearly impairs the ability to work, such as blindness; paralysis of a hand or foot; the loss of both hands or both feet; the loss of the middle finger, index finger, or thumb; the loss of a joint of the thumb; or the loss of the little finger and ring finger of one hand. Nor does a person suffering from an incurable illness, or the like, suffice. ..............................

The second condition is his statement: “Free from a defect that clearly impairs the ability to work.” This condition was not mentioned by Allah or His Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. The evidence offered for stipulating it is that, if one frees someone with a defect that clearly impairs his ability to work, the freed person will become a burden upon people. This differs from his remaining with his master, for his master is required to provide for him. Thus, they inferred from this consideration that the person freed must be sound and free of disabilities and defects that clearly impair the ability to work. According to the author, such defects fall into three categories:

The first: that which does not impair work at all.

The second: that which impairs work, but only slightly.

The third: that which clearly impairs work.

من جهة النظر: إنه إذا أعتق الرقبة وهي كافرة، فإننا لا نأمن أن يلحق بالكفار؛ لأنه كافر، وتحرر، ولا لأحد عليه قول، وإذا كان مملوكاً فلا يقدر أن يذهب عن سيده فإذا كان يخشى من هذه المفسدة فإنه لا يُعتق الكافر، بل يبقى، وهذا القول رجحانه قوي. أما الذين قالوا: إن الله تعالى أطلق في موضعين، وقيد في الثالث، والرسول ﵊ أطلق في الموضع الرابع فقالوا: نطلق ما أطلقه الله، ونقيد ما قيده الله ﴿﴾ [مريم: ٦٤] والأسباب مختلفة، فليس الحنث في اليمين ولا الظهار من الزوجة كالقتل، فالقتل أعظم؛ فلهذا اشترط الله في كفارته أن تكون الرقبة مؤمنة، وإذا كان القتل أشد فلا يمكن أن نقيس الأخف على الأشد، فكلامهم جيد لولا ما يعارضه، ومن ثم اختلف العلماء في غير كفارة القتل هل يشترط الإيمان أو لا يشترط؟ والراجح الاشتراط؛ لقوة دليله وتعليله، ولأنه أحوط وأبرأ للذمة. سَلِيمَةٌ مِنْ عَيْبٍ يَضُرُّ بِالْعَمَلِ ضَرَراً بَيِّناً، كَالعَمَى وَالشَّلَلِ لِيَدٍ أَوْ رِجْلٍ، أَوْ أَقْطَعِهِمَا، أَوْ أَقْطَعِ الإِصْبعِ الْوُسْطَى، أَوِ السَّبَّابَةِ، أَوِ الإِبْهَامِ، أَو الأَنْمُلَةِ مِنَ الإِبْهَامِ، أَوْ أَقْطَعِ الخِنْصَرِ وَالبِنْصَرِ مِنْ يَدٍ وَاحِدَةٍ، وَلَا يُجْزِئُ مَرِيضٌ مَيْؤُوسٌ مِنْهُ وَنَحْوُهُ، .............................. الشرط الثاني: قوله: «سليمة من عيب يضر بالعمل ضرراً بيناً» وهذا الشرط لم يذكره الله ولا رسوله ﷺ، والدليل على اشتراطه قالوا: لأنه إذا أعتق من كان فيه عيب يضر بالعمل ضرراً بيناً صار هذا العتيق كلاًّ على الناس، بخلاف ما إذا بقي عند سيده، فإن سيده مأمور أن ينفق عليه، فكأنهم استنتجوا من المعنى اشتراط أن يكون المعتق سليماً من الآفات والعيوب الضارة بالعمل ضرراً بيناً، والعيوب على حسب ما قال المؤلف تنقسم إلى ثلاثة أقسام: الأول: لا يضر بالعمل أبداً. الثاني: يضر بالعمل لكن ضرراً خفيفاً. الثالث: يضر بالعمل ضرراً بيناً.