a slave for one thousand dinars, and he paid nine hundred dinars but was unable to pay one hundred dinars, so Ibn Umar returned him to servitude. Abu Bakr, the Qadi, and Abu al-Khattab stated that if he has paid three-quarters of the kitaba amount and is unable to pay the [remaining] quarter, he becomes free; because he is entitled to have that [sum] returned to him, so he should not be returned to servitude due to his inability to pay what is rightfully his, not a right of the master, so there is no meaning in declaring him unable [to fulfill the contract] regarding something that must be returned to him. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: He becomes free from him in proportion to what he has paid, based on what Ibn Abbas narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he said: "If a mukatab incurs a legal punishment (hadd) or receives an inheritance, he inherits in proportion to what has been manumitted of him, and the mukatab is to be paid [the blood money] according to the portion he has paid as the diyah (blood money) of a free person, and what remains as the diyah of a slave." Al-Tirmidhi recorded it and said: It is a hasan (good) hadith. It is narrated from Umar and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, that if he pays half, no servitude remains upon him. This is also narrated from al-Nakha'i. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: If he has paid the amount of his value, he is a debtor. Shurayh issued a ruling based on this. Al-Hasan said regarding the mukatab: If he is unable [to pay], he is to be tasked with earning (yustas'a) for two years after the inability. Our argument is what Sa'id narrated, citing Hushaym, from Hajjaj, from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Any man who enters into a kitaba contract with his slave for one hundred uqiyas, and he is unable to pay ten uqiyas, then he is a slave." And from Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The mukatab is a slave as long as a dirham remains owed by him." It was recorded by
(24) Omitted from B. (25) In B: "to". (26) Al-Bayhaqi recorded it in: The Chapter of 'The Inability of the Mukatab,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Sunan al-Kubra 10/341. (27) Previously cited in 9/126. Al-Bayhaqi recorded it in: The Chapter of 'What has been narrated regarding a mukatab who incurs a hadd, receives an inheritance, or is killed,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Sunan al-Kubra 10/326. Abd al-Razzaq recorded it in: The Chapter of 'The Inability of the Mukatab and other matters,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Musannaf 8/412. Ibn Abi Shayba recorded it in: The Chapter of 'Whoever said: If he pays his kitaba, he is not to be returned to servitude,' from the Book of Sales and Judgments, Al-Musannaf 6/152. (28) Previously cited in 9/126. (29) Al-Bayhaqi recorded it in: The Chapter of 'The Mukatab is a slave as long as a dirham remains owed by him,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Sunan al-Kubra 10/325. Abd al-Razzaq recorded it in: The Chapter of 'The Inability of the Mukatab and other matters,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Musannaf 8/410, 411. Ibn Abi Shayba recorded it in: The Chapter of 'Whoever said: If he pays his kitaba, he is not to be returned to servitude,' from the Book of Sales and Judgments, Al-Musannaf 6/150. (30) Abd al-Razzaq recorded it in: The Chapter of 'The Inability of the Mukatab and other matters,' from the Book of the Mukatab, Al-Musannaf 8/411. (31) In M: "upon". (32) Previously cited in 9/124, 125.
