Contracting with a Slave for Freedom in Exchange for Payment
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
A Mukātab is a slave with whom an agreement is made for freedom in exchange for a specified sum of money. Upon full payment, the slave becomes free; as he pays, he becomes free to the extent of the payment made.
[Subul al-Salām 4/1964, Qafw al-Athar 5/1785]
Allah عز وجل says:
﴿فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا ۖ وَآتُوهُم مِّن مَّالِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي آتَاكُمْ﴾ (al-Nūr: 33)
“If any of your slaves seek a contract (for freedom) with you, execute the contract if you know there is good in them, and give them something from the wealth Allah has given you.”
① Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يودى المكاتب بقدر ما عتق منه دية الحر، وبقدر ما رق منه دية العبد
“A Mukātab pays blood money for the free portion of him according to how much is free, and for the slave portion according to how much remains enslaved.”
[Sahih: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1726, Abu Dawud 4581, Nasāʾī 4809, Ahmad 1/260]
② Another Hadith:
أيما عبد كوتب بمائة أوقية فأداها إلا عشر أواقٍ فهو رقيق
“If a slave’s contract is set at 100 uqiyyah and he pays all except 10 uqiyyah, he remains a slave.”
[Hasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1674, Abu Dawud 3928, Ibn Majah 2519]
③ The Prophet ﷺ said:
المكاتب عبد ما بقي عليه من مكاتبته درهم
“The Mukātab remains a slave as long as a dirham of his contract remains unpaid.”
[Hasan: Sahih Abu Dawud 3323, Abu Dawud 3926]
The narrations are not contradictory:
The most correct opinion is:
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Definition of a Mukātab
A Mukātab is a slave with whom an agreement is made for freedom in exchange for a specified sum of money. Upon full payment, the slave becomes free; as he pays, he becomes free to the extent of the payment made.
[Subul al-Salām 4/1964, Qafw al-Athar 5/1785]
Qur’anic Basis
Allah عز وجل says:
﴿فَكَاتِبُوهُمْ إِنْ عَلِمْتُمْ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا ۖ وَآتُوهُم مِّن مَّالِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي آتَاكُمْ﴾ (al-Nūr: 33)
“If any of your slaves seek a contract (for freedom) with you, execute the contract if you know there is good in them, and give them something from the wealth Allah has given you.”
Hadith Evidences
① Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يودى المكاتب بقدر ما عتق منه دية الحر، وبقدر ما رق منه دية العبد
“A Mukātab pays blood money for the free portion of him according to how much is free, and for the slave portion according to how much remains enslaved.”
[Sahih: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1726, Abu Dawud 4581, Nasāʾī 4809, Ahmad 1/260]
② Another Hadith:
أيما عبد كوتب بمائة أوقية فأداها إلا عشر أواقٍ فهو رقيق
“If a slave’s contract is set at 100 uqiyyah and he pays all except 10 uqiyyah, he remains a slave.”
[Hasan: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1674, Abu Dawud 3928, Ibn Majah 2519]
③ The Prophet ﷺ said:
المكاتب عبد ما بقي عليه من مكاتبته درهم
“The Mukātab remains a slave as long as a dirham of his contract remains unpaid.”
[Hasan: Sahih Abu Dawud 3323, Abu Dawud 3926]
Reconciling the Ahadith
The narrations are not contradictory:
- For the portion unpaid, he remains a slave.
- For the portion paid, he is free.
Even if only one dirham remains, that proportion is still considered in bondage.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 4/165, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/331]
Scholarly Opinions
- Full payment required for any freedom
- Nothing is considered free until full payment is made.
- Reported from: ʿUmar, Zayd, Ibn ʿUmar, ʿĀʾishah, Umm Salamah رضي الله عنهم, Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and Imām Isḥāq.
- Freedom proportionate to payment
- As he pays, that proportion is free.
- Attributed to ʿAlī رضي الله عنه.
- Freedom after half payment
- After paying half, he is not a slave, but must pay the remainder.
- Attributed to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿAlī, and Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī.
- Freedom after paying three-quarters
- If he pays three-fourths and is unable to pay the rest, he is free.
- Attributed to Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and Abū al-Khaṭṭāb.
- Freedom upon ownership of full sum
- If the Mukātab possesses the full amount (even before payment), he is free.
- Attributed to one narration from Imām Aḥmad, based on the Hadith:
“If any of you has a Mukātab and he possesses the amount to pay, then observe hijab from him.”
[Daʿif: Abu Dawud 3928, Tirmidhi 1261]
Preferred View (Rājiḥ)
The most correct opinion is:
- He is free in proportion to what he has paid.
- For the remaining unpaid amount, he remains a slave.
[Qafw al-Athar 5/1788–1789, ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd 10/427–435, Nayl al-Awṭār 4/164–165]
