Muwatta Imam Malik (Riwayat Yahya)

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a mukatab (a slave with a contract for freedom) also makes his own slave a mukatab, and then the mukatab of the mukatab is freed before the original mukatab, then his wala’ (right of allegiance) will go to the mawla (master) of the original mukatab until the original mukatab is freed. When the original mukatab is freed, the wala’ of his mukatab will return to him. If the mukatab dies or becomes incapable before paying off the contract, then his free children will not receive the wala’ of their father’s mukatab, because their father did not have the right to wala’, as he was not freed.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that if a mukatab (contracted slave) is jointly owned by two men, and then one of them waives his right but the other does not, and then the mukatab dies and leaves wealth, then the one who did not waive his right will take his due, and whatever wealth remains will be divided between both of them as if he had died in the state of slavery, because the one who waived his right did not set him free, rather he only forgave his own right.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The evidence for this is: A man died and left behind a mukatab and also left behind sons and daughters. Then one of the daughters freed her share, so the wala’ would not be established for her. If this had been emancipation, then the wala’ would necessarily be established for her.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that this is also evidence that if a person frees his share and then the mukatab becomes free, the one who freed his share will not have to pay the price of the remaining shares. If this was considered emancipation, then according to the hadith, he would have to pay the price of the shares of the others.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that another proof of this is that the practice of the Muslims, about which there is no difference, is that if a person frees a share from a mukatab, then he will not be freed from his wealth, because if it were so, the wala’ would go to him and not to his partners.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said that another proof of this is that the practice of the Muslims is also that the person who enters into a contract of kitabah, the wala’ will go to him, and among the heirs of the master of the mukatab, the women will not receive the wala’, even if they free a portion themselves. Rather, the wala’ will go to the sons of the master of the mukatab or to other male agnates.