Mukataba
Encyclopedia
In Islamic law
, a mukataba 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. Although the owner did not have to comply with the request, it was considered mustahabb
(praiseworthy) to do so. Mukataba is one of the four procedures provided in Islam for manumission of slaves.
:
According to Joseph Schacht
, those who were hearing Muhammad
pronouncing this verse "were supposed to know the details of the transaction referred to, and the strictest interpretation of the passage suggests that it was not identical with the contract of manumission by mukataba such as was elaborated later by the ancient lawyers in the second century of Islam
." The earliest interpretation of the verse suggested that the mukatab became free after paying one-half of the agreed amount. Another early decision attributed to the Mecca
n scholar Ata ibn Rabi Rabah was that the slave acquired liberty having paid three-quarters. The doctrine of an early school of Islamic jurisprudence
based in Kufa
held that the mukatab became free as soon as he paid off his value; other contemporaneous opinions were that the mukatab became free pro rata with the payments or that he became free immediately after concluding the contract, the payments to his master being ordinary debts. Finally the view of the Kufan scholars prevailed, and according to Schacht, the hadith
supporting this position were put into circulation; first they were projected to Muhammad's companions
and later to Muhammad himself.
, an early opinion that Qur'an 24:33 implied a strict obligation did not prevail; the consensus reading of the verse is that the verse makes only a recommendation, and accepting a request for a mukataba from slaves is thus not obligatory for masters. There are two different views of mukataba among scholars causing a divergence in the details: some call mukataba as a "conditional enfranchisement", while others see it as "ransom by the slave of his own person". Jurists usually disapprove of entering a mukataba with a female slave with no honest source of income. The majority of Sunni authorities approved the manumission of all the "People of the Book
", that is, Christians and Jews, but according to some jurists, especially among the Shi’a, only Muslim slaves should be liberated.
Although the owner did not have to comply with the request for mukataba, it was considered praiseworthy to do so. According to the opinion of a majority of Muslim jurists, the slave must pay the agreed-upon amount in instalments. The followers of Hanafi
school
of Islamic jurisprudence
accept one immediate payment; scholars of the Maliki
school require one instalment, while Hanbali
s and Shafi'i
s 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. 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. 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. Islamic law prohibits concubinage with a female slave who has concluded a mukataba.
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
, a mukataba is a contract of manumission
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
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. Although the owner did not have to comply with the request, it was considered mustahabb
Mustahabb
Mustahabb is an Islamic term referring to recommended, favored or virtuous actions.-Definition:Mustahabb actions are those whose status of approval in Islamic law falls between mubah and wajib...
(praiseworthy) to do so. Mukataba is one of the four procedures provided in Islam for manumission of slaves.
Mukataba in the Qur'an and early Islam
The institution of mukataba is based on Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
:
Those your right hands ownMa malakat aymanukumMa malakat aymanukum is a reference in the Qur'an to slaves.-Overview:The term itself is normally considered to refer to prisoners of war, or more broadly to slaves in general, according to the classic tafsirs...
who seek emancipation, contract with them accordingly, if you know some good in them; and give them of the wealth of God that He has given you.
According to Joseph Schacht
Joseph Schacht
Joseph Schacht, born in Ratibor, 15 March 1902, died in Englewood, 1 August 1969, was a British-German professor of Arabic and Islam at Columbia University in New York. He was the leading Western scholar on Islamic law, whose Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence is still considered a centrally...
, those who were hearing Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
pronouncing this verse "were supposed to know the details of the transaction referred to, and the strictest interpretation of the passage suggests that it was not identical with the contract of manumission by mukataba such as was elaborated later by the ancient lawyers in the second century of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
." The earliest interpretation of the verse suggested that the mukatab became free after paying one-half of the agreed amount. Another early decision attributed to the Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
n scholar Ata ibn Rabi Rabah was that the slave acquired liberty having paid three-quarters. The doctrine of an early school of Islamic jurisprudence
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
based in Kufa
Kufa
Kufa is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000....
held that the mukatab became free as soon as he paid off his value; other contemporaneous opinions were that the mukatab became free pro rata with the payments or that he became free immediately after concluding the contract, the payments to his master being ordinary debts. Finally the view of the Kufan scholars prevailed, and according to Schacht, the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
supporting this position were put into circulation; first they were projected to Muhammad's companions
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
and later to Muhammad himself.
Islamic law
Among later Muslim scholarsUlema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, an early opinion that Qur'an 24:33 implied a strict obligation did not prevail; the consensus reading of the verse is that the verse makes only a recommendation, and accepting a request for a mukataba from slaves is thus not obligatory for masters. There are two different views of mukataba among scholars causing a divergence in the details: some call mukataba as a "conditional enfranchisement", while others see it as "ransom by the slave of his own person". Jurists usually disapprove of entering a mukataba with a female slave with no honest source of income. The majority of Sunni authorities approved the manumission of all the "People of the Book
People of the Book
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
", that is, Christians and Jews, but according to some jurists, especially among the Shi’a, only Muslim slaves should be liberated.
Although the owner did not have to comply with the request for mukataba, it was considered praiseworthy to do so. According to the opinion of a majority of Muslim jurists, the slave must pay the agreed-upon amount in instalments. The followers of Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school
Madhhab
is a Muslim school of law or fiqh . In the first 150 years of Islam, there were many such "schools". In fact, several of the Sahābah, or contemporary "companions" of Muhammad, are credited with founding their own...
of Islamic jurisprudence
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
accept one immediate payment; scholars of the Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school require one instalment, while Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
s and Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
s 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. 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
Zakat
Zakāt , one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy.-History:Zakat, a practice initiated by Muhammed himself, has played an important role throughout Islamic history...
), but he is not entitled to them. 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
Mawali
Mawali or mawālá is a term in Classical Arabic used to address non-Arab Muslims.The term gained prominence in the centuries following the early Arab Muslim conquests in the 7th century, as many non-Arabs such as Persians, Egyptians, and Turks converted to Islam...
) 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. Islamic law prohibits concubinage with a female slave who has concluded a mukataba.