Section: If a slave belongs to two men and they enter into a mukataba (contract of manumission) with him together, it is permissible, regardless of whether they are equal or unequal regarding the compensation, and regardless of whether their respective shares in him are equivalent or differ, and whether it is done in one contract or two contracts. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifa. Al-Shafi'i said: It is not permissible for them to differ in the wealth while being equal in ownership, nor to be equal in wealth while differing in ownership; because that leads to one of them benefiting from the wealth of the other, as if he gives one of them more than the amount of his ownership, then he becomes incapacitated, the other will have recourse against him for that. Our evidence is that each of them is contracting for his own share as a commutative contract, so it is permissible for them to differ in the compensation, just as in a sale. What they have mentioned is not necessary, because one of them benefiting from the wealth of the other only occurs in the event of incapacity, and this is not a requirement of the contract, rather it occurs upon its dissolution, so it does not cause harm. Furthermore, he pays to both of them equally, and if he becomes incapacitated, what he earned is divided between them according to the proportion of the two ownerships, so neither of them will be benefiting except from what corresponds to his ownership, and the matter returns after the dissolution of the mukataba to the rule of servitude, as if it had not been dissolved. If it is said: Equivalence in ownership requires equivalence in paying to both of them, and this necessitates the fulfillment of the mukataba of one of them before the other, so his share would become free and spread to the share of his partner, and the other would have recourse against him for half of his value. We say: It is possible to pay his mukataba to both of them at one time, so he becomes free through them, and it is possible to contract with one of them for one hundred in two installments, fifty in each installment, [and contract with the other for two hundred in two installments, fifty in the first installment and one hundred and fifty in the second], and their timing being the same, so he pays to each one of them his right. Moreover, our companions said: The manumission does not spread to the share of the other as long as he is a mukatab. According to this view, it does not lead to what they mentioned. Furthermore, even if its leading to that were assumed, there is no impediment to the validity of the mukataba in it, as it does not