The Completion of the Conditions for Restricting the Absolute with the Qualified

The Shaykh : We were in the process of discussing the absolute and the qualified. We mentioned that if the cause and the ruling are the same, the absolute is restricted by the qualified, and if the cause and the ruling differ, it is not restricted. These two are clear. If the cause is the same but the ruling differs, the correct view is that it is not restricted, because a difference in the essence of the ruling must be a difference in the description of the ruling. For example, washing the hands in wudu' and wiping them in tayammum: the cause is one, which is the state of ritual impurity, but the ruling is different. For this reason, we did not restrict the hands in tayammum with what was mentioned in wudu'. And what remains is the fourth case: if the cause differs but the ruling is the same, such as freeing a slave, which is mentioned in zihar and in the expiation for killing. Allah the Exalted said regarding the expiation for killing: And He made the expiation for zihar: Likewise, it came in the expiation for an oath: Is this restricted by that or not? This is a matter for consideration. However, the hadith of Mu'adh ibn al-Hakim (may Allah be pleased with him), when he brought the slave girl and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her, "Where is Allah?" She said, "In the sky." He said, "Free her, for she is a believer," indicates that it is not prescribed to free a non-believer. This is clear because a non-believer may join the disbelievers, especially if he is a captive from among them, as if one of the disbelievers is captured and enslaved by the Muslims and remains in his disbelief. If we free him, he is likely to go to his people and remain in his disbelief. But if he is with us and is a slave, that may lead to his Islam.