Tirmidhi

Hadith Commentary:
From these ahadith, it is understood that partnership in a slave is permissible, because emancipating one's share of a slave is based on valid ownership; if one is not the owner, one cannot emancipate.
To emancipate one's share means that there will be other partners in the slave as well.
Other issues related to emancipation (ʿitq) will be discussed later.

Hadith Commentary: That is, do not impose upon him a burden he cannot bear; when he pays the price for the remaining shares, he will become free.

Ibn Battal rahimahullah said: When dividing among partners, drawing lots (qur‘ah) to resolve disputes is Sunnah, and all jurists (fuqaha) are in agreement on this. Only some jurists from Kufa have denied this and have said that drawing lots is like azlam (divining arrows), which is prohibited in the Qur’an.

Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah has also deemed it permissible.

In another authentic hadith, it is mentioned that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when setting out on a journey, would draw lots among his wives; whichever name was drawn, he would take her along.

Nowadays, drawing lots has become so common that even for the journey of Hajj, the names of pilgrims are selected by drawing lots.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah’s objective here is not to discuss the rulings and issues related to the emancipation of a slave, but rather to clarify at this point that if something is jointly owned by two or more people, and one of them, due to some necessity, wishes to separate, then one should not take undue advantage of his necessity. Instead, the value of that item should be determined justly and fairly, and his share should be separated accordingly. This is as these ahadith encourage the fair valuation of a jointly owned slave.

(2)
The meaning of these ahadith is that if a person emancipates his share in a jointly owned slave, then it is necessary that he, from his own wealth, ensures the complete emancipation of the slave. If he does not possess sufficient wealth, then the slave himself should strive to assist in paying the remaining share, but in this matter, no harshness should be shown towards the slave.

Hadith Commentary:
The purpose of this chapter is that a slave should not be subjected to unnecessary compulsion.
If he is unable to perform labor or work, then the portion that has been freed will remain free, and in the remaining portion, slavery will persist as before.
In reality, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wishes to reconcile two different narrations in this chapter.
The apparently conflicting narrations are as follows:
➊ If the one who emancipates (the slave) is not wealthy, then the slave will remain free to the extent that he has been emancipated.
➋ If the emancipator is not of means, then the slave should be made to work, but he should not be subjected to hardship.
The reconciliation is that when the slave is not capable of labor or work, and the emancipator is also destitute, then the slave will retain only the amount of freedom that he has received. And when the emancipator is not of means, but the slave is capable of labor and work, then he should be made to work, and the remaining partners should be paid the price of their shares accordingly.
Since slavery is not related to our practical lives, we suffice with this much.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Shiqs:
A share; it is also called shaqīs.
(2)
Ustus‘iya:
It means that labor and work will be taken from him, so that the amount for the other partner’s share can be paid to him.
(3)
Ghayri mashqūq ‘alayh:
Without putting him into hardship and difficulty, he should earn and pay with ease and facilitation.

Benefits and Issues:
If a slave has more than one owner and one of them frees his share, what will happen regarding the remaining share? There are three well-known opinions about this.

➊ According to Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah, if the one who frees his share in the jointly owned slave is wealthy, then his share is freed. The partner has the choice: if he wishes, he may free his share, or he may have the slave work and labor to receive the fair price of his share, and the slave will be in the ruling of a mukatab (contracted for manumission). In both cases, the wala’ (affiliation) will be shared among the partners. Or, the one who freed his share may be made responsible for the remaining share, and the fair price will be taken from him, and the wala’ will be exclusively for the one who freed (the slave). If the one who freed is not wealthy, then the aforementioned five scenarios will be acted upon. According to Imam Abu Yusuf rahimahullah and Imam Muhammad rahimahullah, if the one who freed is wealthy, then the entire slave will be freed, and he will be responsible for paying the fair price to the other partner. If he is poor, then the amount will be paid by having the slave work and labor. In both cases, the right of wala’ will belong to him.

➋ According to Imam Shafi‘i rahimahullah and Imam Ahmad rahimahullah, if the one who frees his share is wealthy, then the entire slave will be freed, and he will pay his partner the fair price of his share. If he is poor, then only the portion of the slave that he freed will be free, and the rest remains a slave, and the partner may take service and work from his share. Imam Malik rahimahullah holds the same position, with the only difference being that in his view, when the wealthy person pays his partner the amount, only then will the slave be completely freed; mere guarantee does not free him.

Benefits and Issues:
In this hadith, there is encouragement that the one who has freed his share should also free the remainder, so that he may attain complete virtue.

Benefits and Issues:
➊
A slave can be owned by more than one person, for example:
A person had a slave, and when he passed away, his two sons inherited him; both of them are equal partners in his ownership.
Or, if several people pooled their money and bought him, then he will be their joint property.

➋
If one owner of a jointly owned slave frees his share, the remaining share does not automatically become free.

➌
In this case, the one who frees his share should pay his partners their share of the slave’s legitimate price, purchase the remaining share, and then free it as well, so that the slave’s freedom is complete.

➍
The second scenario is that this half-free slave should be given the opportunity to earn and pay half of his price to the owner who did not free his share.

➎
It is forbidden to subject this slave to undue hardship for prompt payment; rather, just as a debtor is given respite, he too should be granted appropriate time.