Misconception Surah 90 · Ayah 13
Is paying the bond to free a convict equivalent to freeing a slave
Is paying the bond to free a convict equivalent to freeing a slave
Question
Is paying the bond to free someone from jail included in the meaning of freeing a slave?
Answer
Praise be to Allah.
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
Paying the bond to free a jailed person is not included in the meaning of freeing a slave that is stated in the Sharee‘ah texts.
However, if a person is a Muslim who is imprisoned by the disbelievers, Muslim jurists hold that the Zakah channel allocated to freeing slaves can be applied in the case of freeing him according to the opinion of the Hanbali school of Fiqh.
Al-Buhooti, a Hanbali scholar said: "It is permissible to ransom by it (i.e. Zakah) a Muslim prisoner who is in the hands of the disbelievers. He (i.e. the author) explicitly stated this since it is like freeing a slave."
Allah Knows best.
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