17. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn abu Nasr from Ahmad ibn Ziyad who has narrated the following: “I once asked abu al-Hassan , about the case of a man who is about to die and sets free all of his slaves. He owns certain slaves and certain others with a partner and about the condition of the ones that he owns with a partner. He (the Imam) said, ‘His slaves of the partnership must be evaluated; if his share covers them, they are all free.’”