or unbelievers, or whether it applies only when both are alike in being believers or unbelievers. Ziyād related that Mālik said: “The best slaves to free are those who command the highest price and are most prized by their owners. I do not mind whether the person is Jewish, Christian, or born outside marriage; there is a reward in every case. The reward earned in doing so for Allah’s sake is proportionate to the slave’s monetary value and usefulness.”

Asbagh said: “Freeing a Muslim is better than freeing an unbeliever, even if the Muslim’s price is lower. The higher-priced slave is preferable only when both are alike in being believers or unbelievers. If both slaves are Muslims, the higher-priced one is preferable, even if the other is better in other respects.” This concerns voluntary manumission. As for obligatory manumission, according to the school of Mālik, may Allah have mercy on him, only a believing slave suffices.

In Asbagh’s transmitted reports in the Book of Wills, concerning someone who directs that the best of his slaves be freed, it is stated that those commanding the highest prices are to be freed until the third of his estate is exhausted. Abū Zayd also related this from Ibn al-Qāsim. Asbagh said: “Unless there is evidence that he meant the best in religious commitment, in which case those best in religious commitment are to be freed.”

Section

Manumission is of two kinds: voluntary and obligatory.

Voluntary manumission is that which a person initiates by an utterance that effects emancipation, without any preceding cause.

Obligatory manumission is that which a person carries out, or which takes effect, because of a cause that made it binding. It is of two kinds: a general obligation and an obligation concerning a specified slave.

According to Mālik and his companions, the general obligation arises from three things:

The first is a vow, such as saying: “I owe it to Allah to free a slave,” or “such-and-such a number of slaves,” or “every slave I own in such-and-such a place, or by such-and-such a date, or of such-and-such a kind,” in gratitude for what Allah has bestowed upon him, or in connection with something he hopes for.

The second is an oath, such as saying: “If I do such-and-such, or such-and-such, or if I do not do it, then I am bound to free a slave,” or “such-and-such a number of slaves,” or “every slave I own in such-and-such a place, or by such-and-such a date, or of such-and-such a kind.”

The third is an act for which Allah Most High has made manumission obligatory, namely accidental killing and intercourse