They then differed regarding its amount. Some said: He should remit one quarter of the contracted sum; this was the view of Ali, and some related it from Ali in a report traced back to the Prophet (1). It is reported from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he should remit one third. Others said: It has no fixed amount; rather, he must remit whatever he wishes (2). This was the view of al-Shafii.
Nafi said: Abdullah ibn Umar entered into a manumission contract with one of his slaves for thirty-five thousand dirhams, then remitted five thousand dirhams from the final payment of his contract (3). Said ibn Jubayr said: When Ibn Umar entered into a manumission contract with his slave, he would not remit anything from the first installments, lest the slave be unable to pay and his charitable concession return to him. Rather, he would remit whatever he wished from the final payment of the contract (4). Some said that this is a recommendation. However, the view that it is obligatory is more apparent.
Others said that His saying, “And give them from the wealth of Allah,” means their allotted share from the obligatory alms which Allah has assigned to them, as He, Exalted is He, says: “and for freeing captives” [9:60]. This was the view of al-Hasan and Zayd ibn Aslam (5). Ibrahim said: It is an exhortation to all people to assist them (6).
If a slave under a manumission contract dies before paying the installments, the scholars differed concerning him. Many held that he dies as a slave and that the manumission contract is dissolved, whether he leaves behind wealth or not—just as a sale is dissolved when the item sold perishes before possession is taken. This was the view of Umar, Ibn Umar, and Zayd ibn Thabit. It was also held by Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, al-Zuhri, and Qatadah, and was adopted by al-Shafii and Ahmad.
Others said: If he leaves sufficient wealth to cover what remains due from his manumission contract, he is free; and if there is a surplus, the excess belongs to his free children. This was the view of Ata, Tawus, al-Nakhai, and al-Hasan, and was also held by Malik, al-Thawri, and the scholars of legal reasoning.
If a master enters into an invalid manumission contract with his slave, the slave becomes free upon payment of the sum, because his emancipation is contingent upon payment, and this has occurred. His children and earnings follow the same ruling as in a valid manumission contract. However, the two differ in certain rulings: in a valid manumission contract, the master has no right to rescind it so long as the slave under contract is not unable to pay the installments; nor is it nullified by the master’s death, and he is emancipated by remission