المعنى الاصطلاحي

A slave, male or female, who is in pure slavery and does not have any means whereby he can obtain emancipation, neither sooner nor later.

الشرح المختصر

"Qinn" (full slave) is one of two categories of slaves: 1. A slave who is in full slavery. Such a slave is called "qinn", whether he is possessed by one master or is jointly possessed by a number of masters. 2. A slave who is not in full slavery, such as the slave of whom part, like a half or a fourth, has been emancipated while the rest remains in slavery; or the slave who has means of emancipation. Such a slave is of three types: 1. "Umm al-walad" (a child's mother): this is a slave girl who gives birth to a child from her master. Thereby, she becomes entitled to freedom upon the death of her master. 2. "Mukātab": a slave who has bought himself from his master in return for a price to be paid in installments. Freedom becomes due to such a slave once he has paid the full price. 3. "Mudabbar": a slave whose master has decided that he shall be free once he dies. In other words, the "mudabbar" is a slave whose emancipation is determined in a will or is conditional on a certain state or date. In these preceding types, possession is complete. In case of a bondwoman, for example, her master may still have sexual intercourse with her, however, it is the slavery that has become partial, given the existence of a cause of freedom.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر

"Qinn": a slave, male or female, when he and his parents are owned by way of slavery. It is also said to mean an utter slave, enjoying no freedom whatsoever, or the slave born into the possession of his master. It is derived from "qinyah", which means possession.