Chapter on Emancipation and Its Rulings
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 1|Chapter 46
وَ رُوِيَ عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ قَالَ لِثَلاَثَةِ مَمَالِيكَ لَهُ أَنْتُمْ أَحْرَارٌ وَ كَانَ لَهُ أَرْبَعَةٌ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنَ اَلنَّاسِ أَعْتَقْتَ مَمَالِيكَكَ قَالَ نَعَمْ أَ يَجِبُ عِتْقُ اَلْأَرْبَعَةِ حِينَ أَجْمَلَهُمْ أَوْ هُوَ لِلثَّلاَثَةِ اَلَّذِينَ أَعْتَقَ قَالَ "إِنَّمَا يَجِبُ اَلْعِتْقُ لِمَنْ أَعْتَقَ".
It is narrated from Sama'ah, who said: I asked him about a man who said to three of his slaves, "You are free," while he actually had four slaves. Then someone said to him: "You have freed all your slaves." He replied: "Yes." I asked: "Is the emancipation binding for all four because he generalized them, or is it limited to the three whom he specifically mentioned?" Imam عليه السلام said: "Emancipation is binding only for those he specifically freed."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh, p. 200