He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

A man presented a slave to a dignitary. The established custom was that anyone making such a presentation would receive the slave’s price or its equivalent, but he received nothing. The slave married, had children, and died. Are his children free or not? Are the original owner’s children entitled to inherit from the person concerned under the guarantee?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah.

If the established custom was to give compensation, and he gave the slave on that condition, he is entitled to one of two things: either compensation or the recovery of his gift. As for the slave, if the recipient has not emancipated him, he remains his property. His children follow their mother’s status: if she is free, they are free; if she is enslaved, they belong to her owner, not their father’s owner. According to the four schools of law and others, children follow their mother in freedom or slavery, and their father in lineage and the bond of patronage arising from emancipation.

If the donor did not reclaim the gift before its recovery became impossible, he may demand compensation from the recipient if he is alive, or claim it against his estate if he is dead, like any other debt. If the slave had been emancipated and had children by a free woman, they are free.