Is the freeing of a slave obligatory in the case of intentional killing?
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Question: His Eminence, the father, Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him).
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I present this question to your Eminence, and I ask Allah, then you, to answer it—may Allah preserve you—and it is as follows:
My father, who worked more than a hundred years ago, was involved in an incident where a Bedouin killed his cousin. Then my father and another cousin of his lay in wait for him, and my father killed this Bedouin who had killed his cousin.
When my father was on his deathbed, more than sixty years ago, he confessed to us and my brothers about this incident and ordered his sons to pay one hundred French riyals to free a slave on his behalf. However, the matter was lost among my brothers, and I do not know whether they paid that amount or not. After that, one of them claimed that the amount was not sufficient to free a slave. I ask Allah, then you, for guidance so that nothing remains upon my father’s estate—may Allah preserve you and protect you.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the facts are as stated in the question, the killing mentioned is considered intentional, and the freeing of a slave is not obligatory in it. That is only in the case of accidental killing or quasi-intentional killing.
If you see fit to free a slave on his behalf as a voluntary act, there is great reward for you and for your father. We advise you to make much du'a (supplication) for your father and to give charity on his behalf, because the crime is grave. We ask Allah to forgive him and every Muslim.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
The General President of the Departments of Scientific Research and Ifta
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, and after that:
I present this question to your Eminence, and I ask Allah, then you, to answer it—may Allah preserve you—and it is as follows:
My father, who worked more than a hundred years ago, was involved in an incident where a Bedouin killed his cousin. Then my father and another cousin of his lay in wait for him, and my father killed this Bedouin who had killed his cousin.
When my father was on his deathbed, more than sixty years ago, he confessed to us and my brothers about this incident and ordered his sons to pay one hundred French riyals to free a slave on his behalf. However, the matter was lost among my brothers, and I do not know whether they paid that amount or not. After that, one of them claimed that the amount was not sufficient to free a slave. I ask Allah, then you, for guidance so that nothing remains upon my father’s estate—may Allah preserve you and protect you.
Answer: And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, after that:
If the facts are as stated in the question, the killing mentioned is considered intentional, and the freeing of a slave is not obligatory in it. That is only in the case of accidental killing or quasi-intentional killing.
If you see fit to free a slave on his behalf as a voluntary act, there is great reward for you and for your father. We advise you to make much du'a (supplication) for your father and to give charity on his behalf, because the crime is grave. We ask Allah to forgive him and every Muslim.
And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
The General President of the Departments of Scientific Research and Ifta
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.