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An oath concerning another person’s conduct likewise takes one of two forms:
First: a person swears, on pain of emancipating his slave, that someone else will not perform an act.
Second: he swears, on pain of emancipating his slave, that someone else will perform an act.
If he swears that the other person will not perform an act—for example, saying, “My slave is free if so-and-so enters the house,” or “if my father arrives,” or something similar—his case is like that of someone who swears, on pain of emancipating his slave, not to perform an act himself.
If he swears, on pain of emancipating his slave, that someone else will perform an act—for example, saying, “My slave is free if my father does not perform Hajj,” “if so-and-so does not arrive,” or “if he does not give me a dinar,” or something similar—then, if he specifies a deadline, his case is like that of someone who swears concerning his own conduct in every respect.
If he specifies no deadline, Ibn al-Qāsim expressed differing opinions. On one occasion, he said that his case is like that of someone who swears concerning his own conduct in every respect. On another, he distinguished between the two, saying that he is allowed such time as is judged to accord with his intention in taking the oath.
There is disagreement over whether he may have intercourse with the slave, if female, during this period. Ibn al-Qāsim said that he may not, and that if he dies, she is emancipated from one-third of his estate, because he died in breach of his oath. Ashhab said in the book of Ibn al-Mawwāz that he may have intercourse with her during the period allowed. This accords with his statement in al-Mudawwana that the slave is not emancipated if the owner dies during that period.
On another occasion, Ibn al-Qāsim distinguished between saying, “My slave is free if so-and-so does not perform Hajj,” and saying, “My slave is free if so-and-so does not give me a dinar.” A period is allowed when he says, “My slave is free if so-and-so does not give me a dinar,” but no such period is allowed when he says, “My slave is free if so-and-so does not perform Hajj.” Rather, he is prohibited from selling the slave or, if the slave is female, having intercourse with her. This is ‘Īsā’s transmission from Ibn al-Qāsim in the Book of Oaths Involving Divorce in al-‘Utbiyya.
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If a man vows emancipation, saying, “I am bound before Allah to emancipate this slave of mine,” or “I am bound by a vow to Allah to emancipate this slave of mine,” or “I am bound before Allah to emancipate a slave,” or “I vow to emancipate a slave,” this is binding upon him, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him; and whoever vows to disobey Allah, let him not disobey Him.”
However, according to Mālik’s school, he is not judicially compelled to emancipate the slave. The reason he is not judicially compelled