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In sharia, a mukataba ( مكاتبة) is a contract of manumission between a master and a slave according to which the slave is required to pay a certain sum of money during a specific time period in exchange for freedom. In the legal literature, slaves who enter this contract are known as mukatab.Brunschvig, Encyclopedia of Islam, Abd The Ẓāhirī school of fiqh view it to be compulsory,Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid, Ibn Rushd, volume 2, page 453 Excerpt from 'Discover the Truth' Talfheem ul Quran while the Shafa'is, and perceive it to be merely recommended, and mustahabb (praiseworthy) to do so.Gordon 41 Mukataba is one of the four procedures provided in Islam for manumission of slaves.Ahmad A. Sikainga(1995), p.7
A slave identified as Subay referred to his master, Sayyidina Huwaytib bin Abdul Izza, for Kitaba, or a letter of manumission, and was promptly refused. The verse in question was thus revealed, and Huwaytib agreed to grant him emancipation if the slave offered him hundred dinars, twenty of which the former later remitted. Asbab Al Nuzul Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas
Bukhari makes mention of a slave known as Sirin, who owned some wealth, requesting emancipation from Musa bin Anas; who supposedly refused granting the contract. Umar, after being consulted by the slave, ordered that Musa was to be lashed, verbalizing the expression, "Give them such a contract if ye find any good in them." Muhammad Shibli Nomani, Umar, the makers of Civilization, pg 26 Choki Al Hamef, Black Morocco: A history of slavery, race and Islam, pg 41
Ibn Kathir believes Bukhari's narration is disconnected, but Abdur Razzaq's one to be Saheeh. The following changes were added in the latter one: "Ibn Jarir recorded that Sirin wanted Anas bin Malik to write a contract of emancipation and he delayed, then `Umar said to him, 'You should certainly write him a contract of emancipation.'"
Maududi highlights the affirmation regarding the obligation by citing the Ahadith recounted by Abdur Razzaq and Bukhari in reference to a slave mentioned as Sirin, who owned some wealth, requesting emancipation from Musa bin Anas; who supposedly refused granting the contract. Umar, after being consulted by the slave, ordered that Musa was to be lashed, verbalizing the expression, "Give them such a contract if ye find any good in them." Tafseer Ibn Kathir, 'The Command to Grant Slaves a Contract of Emancipation' Maududi states that the argument against this proposes that only one incident was insufficient to be declared as evidence for such a claim. He retorts that, "All that can be said is that Umar, apart from his position of a judge, was like a father to the Muslims and might have used his paternal authority in a matter where he could not intervene as a judge.
Maududi claims that the phrase, "if ye know any good in them:" renders this as upon the master to decide due to its subjectivity, and a lack of fix standard as to what qualifies as "good." Ashiq Ilahi cites Umar bin Dinar and Sayiddana Ali as being proponents for the first part of the verse,"give them such a deed," as using imperative tone, hence making it compulsory. He states that Dur al-Manthur credited the hadith mentioned in Abu Dawud and Bayhaqi, which included Muhammad defining "good" as reference to one's skill and qualifications for labour and also hinting there being an implication of it simply forbidding the slave be compelled to beg. He claims that the hadith also mentions that Allah will aid the slave in paying his debt, henceforth the former must focus on earning halal income.Illuminating Discourses on the Noble Quran – Tafseer Anwarul Bayan – by Shaykh Ashiq Ilahi Madni, volume 3, page 590 – 592 Excerpt from 'Discover the Truth' Ibn Kathir summarizes this up like this: This is a command from Allah to slave-owners: if their servants ask them for a contract of emancipation, they should write for them, provided that the servant has some skill and means of earning so that he can pay his master the money that is stipulated in the contract.
According to the opinion of a majority of Muslim jurists, the slave must pay the agreed-upon amount in instalments. The followers of Hanafi madhhab of fiqh accept one immediate payment; scholars of the Maliki school require one instalment, while and Shafi'is insist on at least two instalments. The slaves were allowed to either work independently and apply their earnings for their ransom, or to work for the master.Dursteler 76 Having given his consent the owner was not permitted to change his mind, although the slave had such an option. In the event the slave became delinquent in meeting the payments, he was obliged to return to unqualified servitude, with the master keeping the money already paid him. At the end of the payments, a rebate is usually given to the slave in compliance with . The amount of the rebate depending on the authorities can be "fixed or discretionary, obligatory or merely recommended".
The emancipation of a mukatab occurs only when he has paid to the master the agreed amount in full. The contract may be revoked when the slave defaults on one of the payments. The mukatab may receive the proceeds from the Islamic charity ( zakat), but he is not entitled to them.Schacht 130 When the mukatab makes the final payment, he is entitled to a rebate, in compliance with the Qur'anic text. Islamic authorities disagree as to whether the rebate is obligatory or merely recommended and whether its sum is fixed or discretionary. After manumission, the slave liberated through mukataba remains a client ( mawali) of his former master.
Most Muslim scholars forbid selling the slave after concluding the mukataba; the Hanbalis, who disagree with this view, maintain that the purchaser inherits the obligation to liberate the mukatab under the terms of the contract of enfranchisement. The owner cannot marry a mukatab without his or her consent.Schacht 131 Islamic law prohibits concubinage with a female slave who has concluded a mukataba.
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