Chapter on a Muslim Killing a Dhimmi, a Slave, a Mudabbar, or a Mukatab, or Them Killing a Muslim

Ibn Mahbub narrated from Hisham bin Salim from Abu Basir who said: I asked Abu Jafar Imam Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Baqir عليه السلام about a mudabbar (a slave promised freedom after the owner's death) who intentionally killed a man. Imam عليه السلام said: "He is to be killed in retaliation." I asked: "What if he killed him by mistake?" Imam عليه السلام replied: "He is handed over to the heirs of the murdered person, and he becomes their slave. If they wish, they can enslave him, and if they wish, they can sell him, but they have no right to kill him." Then Imam عليه السلام said: "O' Abu Muhammad, indeed the mudabbar is still a slave."