Agency in the freeing of a slave
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Question: His Eminence the Shaykh / Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, may Allah grant him understanding.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I inform your esteemed Eminence that I accidentally caused the death of my younger brother when I was reversing my car. I have an expiation for accidental killing in my debt. I tried to fast for two consecutive months, but I failed and am unable to do so. Therefore, I searched for a slave to free, and finally found a slave in an Islamic country in Africa through some trustworthy shaykhs in that country. I asked them to purchase a slave with the intention of freeing him. They informed me that there is one available for ten thousand Saudi riyals in their country, and it is known to them. His master has the right to sell him, but he cannot send him to the Kingdom due to the laws of that country. However, he can inform his slave that he has been sold to me and that he has been freed on my behalf. Is it permissible for me to purchase the slave and appoint an agent to free him in that country on my behalf? I ask for your guidance, and may Allah preserve and protect you. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
If the intermediary is trustworthy and you feel secure in him, there is no harm in appointing him as an agent to purchase the slave and free him on your behalf. By doing so, your obligation is discharged, if Allah wills. This is based on the saying of Allah, the Exalted: [Surat al-Taghabun: 16], and His saying, the Exalted: [Surat al-Baqarah: 286]. May Allah guide them all. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I inform your esteemed Eminence that I accidentally caused the death of my younger brother when I was reversing my car. I have an expiation for accidental killing in my debt. I tried to fast for two consecutive months, but I failed and am unable to do so. Therefore, I searched for a slave to free, and finally found a slave in an Islamic country in Africa through some trustworthy shaykhs in that country. I asked them to purchase a slave with the intention of freeing him. They informed me that there is one available for ten thousand Saudi riyals in their country, and it is known to them. His master has the right to sell him, but he cannot send him to the Kingdom due to the laws of that country. However, he can inform his slave that he has been sold to me and that he has been freed on my behalf. Is it permissible for me to purchase the slave and appoint an agent to free him in that country on my behalf? I ask for your guidance, and may Allah preserve and protect you. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
If the intermediary is trustworthy and you feel secure in him, there is no harm in appointing him as an agent to purchase the slave and free him on your behalf. By doing so, your obligation is discharged, if Allah wills. This is based on the saying of Allah, the Exalted:
So fear Allah as much as you are able
فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْAllah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.