Al-Qadi said: The school of thought (madhhab) holds that he may claim back the dowry, because Ahmad stated: 'I used to lean toward the hadith of Ali, then I felt hesitant about it, and it is as if I am inclining toward the hadith of Umar.' He means regarding the right to claim back. This is also because the one who contracted the marriage guaranteed the safety of the intercourse for him, just as he guaranteed the safety of the child. Therefore, just as he may claim back the value of the child from him, he may also claim back the dowry. He said: Based on this principle, he may also claim back the wages for service if he had paid them, just as he claims back the dowry; I know of no difference of opinion among our scholars regarding the two.

When this is established, if the deception was committed by the master, who said, 'She is a free woman,' she becomes free. If it was through a different wording, freedom is not established by it, and he has no claim; for there is no benefit in him having a right to claim back something [from her] which he would then have to pursue against her. If the deception was by his agent, he claims it back from him immediately. If it was from an outsider, he claims it back from him as well. If it was from her, she has no wealth currently; thus, two perspectives are derived regarding this, based on whether the debt of a slave without the permission of his master attaches to his person (raqabah) or to his liability (dhimmah) to be pursued after emancipation. Al-Qadi stated: The analogy of Al-Khiraqi's opinion is that it attaches to her liability, because he said concerning a slave woman who obtained khul' from her husband without her master's permission: 'He pursues her for it once she is free.' It is the same here, and he pursues her for the entirety of it. However, the apparent view in Ahmad's statements is that if the deception is from the slave woman herself, he does not claim it back from anyone; for he said: 'If a slave woman comes and says, "I am a free woman," and she appoints a man to act on her behalf, and he marries her to a man, then her master appears, he said: The ransom for her child is upon the father, because no one deceived him.' As for when a man deceives him and marries her off as being a free woman, the ransom is upon the one who deceived him. This is narrated from Ali, Ibrahim, and Hammad. Al-Sha'bi said the same. If we say it attaches to her person, the master is given the choice between ransoming her with her value—if it is less than what he would claim back from her—or surrendering her. If he chooses to ransom her with her value, that amount is dropped for the husband, as there is no benefit in making him owe it only to have it returned to him. If he chooses to surrender her, he does so and takes what he is entitled to. Al-Qadi mentioned that the deception which necessitates the right to claim back is that the stipulation of freedom must be contemporaneous with the contract, by saying: 'I have married her to you on the condition that she is'