8 – Book of Legal Interdiction (al-ḥajr)
The causes that necessitate interdiction are three: minority, slavery, and insanity. A minor may not dispose of property except with his guardian’s permission; a slave may not dispose of property except with his master’s leave; and a person whose mind is overwhelmed by madness may not transact at all.
If any one of these persons sells or buys something while he is aware of the transaction and intends it, the governor has a choice: if he wishes, he may ratify it when it is to the person’s benefit, and if he wishes, he may annul it.
These three states entail interdiction with respect to verbal acts but not physical ones. Thus the contracts and admissions of a minor or an insane person are invalid; their divorces and acts of manumission do not take effect, yet if they destroy another’s property they must make restitution.
As for the slave, his statements are operative with regard to himself but not his master: if he acknowledges a financial liability it binds him only after emancipation, not immediately; if he confesses to a ḥadd offense or to retaliation, it binds him at once; and his divorce is effective.
Abu Ḥanīfa maintained that a spendthrift who is adult, sane, and free is not to be placed under interdiction; his disposal of his own property is valid even though he wastes it on things that yield neither purpose nor benefit. He did, however, say that when a boy reaches majority without sound judgment, his property is not delivered to him until he turns twenty-five years of age.
Should he transact before that, the transaction stands; and once he reaches twenty-five, his property is handed over to him even if no maturity of judgment is discerned.
Abu Yūsuf and Muḥammad held that the spendthrift is to be interdicted and prevented from transacting with his wealth: if he sells, the sale is ineffective, though the judge may approve it if it is in his interest; if he frees a slave, the manumission is valid and the slave must work to pay his value; if he marries a woman, the marriage is valid, and if he stipulates a dower for her, an amount thereof is permissible.