nor may he have intercourse with her if the slave is female. Any child born to him by his female slave, or to her if the slave is female, is included in the oath. There is no disagreement among them concerning this category. Success comes through Allah.
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As for a specified term—for example, saying, “You are free in a month,” or “in a year,” or “in two years,” or something similar—there are three possibilities:
First: neither of them is expected to live until that time, or the slave is not expected to do so.
Second: both are expected to live until that time.
Third: the slave is expected to live until that time, but the master is not.
If neither is expected to live until that time, or the slave is not expected to do so, the slave is not entitled to freedom, since this is equivalent to saying to him, “You are free after your death.” If both are expected to live until that time, the slave’s emancipation takes effect at the appointed time and is charged to the estate as a whole. The master may not sell him, nor have intercourse with her if the slave is female.
If the slave is expected to live until that time but the master is not, the slave is treated like one whose emancipation is stipulated to take effect upon his master’s death: he becomes free at the appointed time, with his emancipation charged to one third of the estate. Later-incurred debt does not defeat that emancipation until after the master’s death.
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If immediate or deferred emancipation is made conditional upon the breach of an oath, then, when the oath is broken, the person who swore it incurs the same obligation as someone who declares immediate emancipation or emancipation at a future date without an oath. There is only one exception concerning which differing opinions are reported from Mālik: a man swears, making his slave’s freedom conditional upon the slave’s committing a particular act, and the slave causes him to break his oath by committing that act.
Differing opinions are also reported from ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz on this matter. Two judgments are related from him: he first ruled that the slave was emancipated, then ruled that he remained enslaved, saying, “I fear that this may become a means for slaves to disobey their masters.” Some scholars adopted the same position regarding divorce. A similar view is reported from Ashhab in al-Mabsūta. Other passages in that work include the statement of Mālik and his companions that the divorce is binding.