she emancipated, if the emancipated person was a woman and the child was born of fornication, was disavowed through sworn imprecation, or had a father who was a slave or an unbeliever. This follows our earlier explanation that there are three kinds of patron: a man’s emancipator, his father’s patron, and his mother’s patron.
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The Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Patronage belongs to the one who emancipates,” applies even when the emancipated person is a Jew or a Christian, for emancipating an unbeliever is permissible and earns a reward. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
“Then either release them graciously or hold them to ransom, until the war lays down its burdens.” [Muhammad: 4]
Gracious release means emancipation, so this establishes the permissibility of emancipating an unbeliever. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The best slaves to emancipate are those most valuable in price and most prized by their owners.” He made no distinction between an unbeliever and a Muslim. However, the emancipator cannot inherit from the freed person unless the latter embraces Islam, because their religions differ.
Likewise, if a non-Muslim under Muslim protection emancipates his slave who is also under Muslim protection, patronage is established for him through that emancipation, and he may inherit from the freed person if both embrace Islam. Someone might ask: How can patronage be established for him when you previously said that patronage belongs to the one who receives the reward for emancipation, whereas a Christian receives no reward for emancipating a slave?
The answer is that this is a matter of consensus, and consensus is an independent basis of law; it cannot therefore be challenged by analogy. Moreover, a Christian does receive the reward for emancipation if he embraces Islam, as related in the report: “Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, said to the Prophet, peace be upon him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what of the things we used to practise in the pre-Islamic period?’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied: ‘You have embraced Islam with the good you previously did credited to you.’”
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But if a Christian emancipates a Muslim, patronage over him is not established for the Christian, because he has emancipated someone whom he is not entitled to