Between slavery and freedom: The legal consequences of manumission according Maliki law

The right of a slave to be emancipated confers upon him/her a juridical sta tus distinct from that of the free person or the actual slave. Both before the manumission is carried out as well as after, the liberated slave has ce rtain rights and obligations, regulated by Islamic Law, that accord with hi s/her new juridical status: umm walad, mukatab, mudabbar, mawla, etc. These rights and obligations inform and delimit one's way of relating to other i ndividuals, of forming groups, and, especially, of integrating oneself into society. Using medieval Maliki legal texts, this article analyzes some of the consequences of manumission concerning the liberated slave's capacity t o act and work. It argues that liberated slaves acquire diverse intermediat e statuses between outright slavery and absolute freedom.