قَالَ مَالِكٌ فِي رَجُلٍ دَبَّرَ عَبْدًا لَهُ. فَمَاتَ السَّيِّدُ. وَلَهُ مَالٌ حَاضِرٌ وَمَالٌ غَائِبٌ. فَلَمْ يَكُنْ فِي مَالِهِ الْحَاضِرِ مَا يَخْرُجُ فِيهِ الْمُدَبَّرُ. قَالَ : يُوقَفُ الْمُدَبَّرُ بِمَالِهِ. وَيُجْمَعُ خَرَاجُهُ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ مِنَ الْمَالِ الْغَائِبِ. فَإِنْ كَانَ فِيمَا تَرَكَ سَيِّدُهُ، مِمَّا يَحْمِلُهُ الثُّلُثُ، عَتَقَ بِمَالِهِ. وَبِمَا جُمِعَ مِنْ خَرَاجِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِيمَا تَرَكَ سَيِّدُهُ مَا يَحْمِلُهُ، عَتَقَ مِنْهُ قَدْرُ الثُّلُثِ، وَتُرِكَ مَالُهُ فِي يَدَيْهِ.
Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a person declares his slave as Mudabbar, then dies, and some of his wealth is present while some is absent, and the Mudabbar cannot be freed from the one-third of the wealth that is present, then the Mudabbar will be held back, and his earnings will also be collected, until the absent wealth also appears. Then, if the Mudabbar can be freed from the one-third of the total wealth of the master, he will be freed, and the wealth and earnings of the Mudabbar will belong to him. And if he cannot be completely freed from the one-third, then only the portion equivalent to the one-third will be freed, and his wealth will remain with him.