For example, this slave earns five riyals by the end of the day, and his master says, “Give them to me; they belong to me.” If the slave refuses, the position of the madhhab is that the slave does not own them and that the master may take them.

The sounder view is that he does own them, and that whatever he earns beyond the amount agreed upon belongs to him. This is not contradicted by the fact that a slave cannot own property, because his ownership belongs to his master. Thus, if his master agrees that what he acquires is to belong to him, then the master has waived his right. But if the master later wishes to revoke the manumission contract, may he do so? Yes, because it is a non-binding contract, not a binding one, and the slave remains owned.

His statement: “and give him rest at the time of the midday nap.” The midday nap is taken in the middle of the day, before noon. It appears, however, that they mean this in the long days rather than in winter, since winter days are short, rest has already been obtained through sleeping at night, and there is neither fatigue nor hardship. During the summer days, however, there is a pressing need to give him rest at the time of the midday nap, even if working then would not be difficult for him. For example, even if he is able to work at that time without much hardship, he must still be given rest.

His statement: “and sleep.” Does this mean sleep at night or during the day, when Allah says, “And among His signs is your sleep by night and by day” [al-Rum 30:23]? But it has already been mentioned that the main time for sleep is undoubtedly the night; so he is to give him rest at the time of sleep.

His statement: “and prayer.” That is, he must also give him rest at the time of prayer—meaning the obligatory prayer—for voluntary prayers are subject to the master’s right. Thus, if he says, “I will pray Tarawih—the night prayer of Ramadan,” the master may prevent him and instruct him to work.