The Book of Manumission of Slaves

كتاب العتق

Chapter 1: If A Mukathib Pays Part Of His Contract Of Manumission Then Becomes Incapacitated Or Dies

Narrated 'Amr b. Shu'aib

on his father's authority, told that his grandfather reported the Prophet (ﷺ) said: A slave who has entered into an agreement to purchase his freedom is a slave as long as a dirham of the agreed price remains to be paid.

Narrated 'Amr b. Shu'aib

On his father's authority, told that his grandfather reported the Prophet (ﷺ) said: If any slave entered into an agreement to buy his freedom for one hundred uqiyahs and he pays them all but ten, he remains a slave (until he pays the remaining ten); and if a slave entered into an agreement to purchase his freedom for one hundred dinars, and he pays them all but ten dinars, he remains a slave (until he pays the remaining ten).

Abu Dawud said: This narrator 'Abbas al-Jariri is not the same person. They said: It is misunderstanding. He is some other narrator.

Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to us: If one of you has a slave, and he enters into an agreement to purchase his freedom, and can pay the full price, she must veil herself from him.

Chapter 2: Selling A Mukathib If His Contract Of Manumission Is Annulled

'Urwah quoting from 'Aishah said that Barirah came to her seeking her help to purchase her freedom, and she did not pay anything for her freedom. 'Aishah said to her

Return to your people ; if you like that I make payment for the purchase of your freedom on your behalf and I shall have the right to inherit from you, I shall do so. Barirah mentioned it to her people, but they refused and said: If she wants to purchase your freedom for reward from Allah, she may do so, but the right to inherit from her shall be ours. She mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Purchase her (freedom) and set her free, for the right of inheritance belongs to only to the one who set a person free. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then stood up and said: If anyone makes a condition which is not in Allah's Book, he has no right to it, even if he stipulates it hundred times. Allah's condition is more valid and binding.

'Aishah said

Barirah came seeking my help to purchase her freedom. She said: I have arranged with my people to buy my freedom for nine 'uqiyahs: one to be paid annually. So help me. She ('Aishah) said: If your people are willing that I should count them ('uqiyahs) out to them all at one time and set you free and that I shall have the right to inherit from you, I shall do so. She then went to her people. The narrator then transmitted the rest of the tradition like the version of al-Zuhri. He added to the wordings of the Prophet (ﷺ) in the last: What is the matter with people that one of you says: Set free, O so-and-so, and the right of inheritance belongs to me. The right of inheritance belongs to the one who has set a person free.

Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin

Juwayriyyah, daughter of al-Harith ibn al-Mustaliq, fell to the lot of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, or to her cousin. She entered into an agreement to purchase her freedom. She was a very beautiful woman, most attractive to the eye.

Aisha said: She then came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asking him for the purchase of her freedom. When she was standing at the door, I looked at her with disapproval. I realised that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would look at her in the same way that I had looked.

She said: Messenger of Allah, I am Juwayriyyah, daughter of al-Harith, and something has happened to me, which is not hidden from you. I have fallen to the lot of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, and I have entered into an agreement to purchase of my freedom. I have come to you to seek assistance for the purchase of my freedom.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Are you inclined to that which is better? She asked: What is that, Messenger of Allah? He replied: I shall pay the price of your freedom on your behalf, and I shall marry you.

She said: I shall do this. She (Aisha) said: The people then heard that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had married Juwayriyyah. They released the captives in their possession and set them free, and said: They are the relatives of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) by marriage. We did not see any woman greater than Juwayriyyah who brought blessings to her people. One hundred families of Banu al-Mustaliq were set free on account of her.

Abu dawud said: This evidence shows that a Muslim ruler may marry a slave woman himself.

Chapter 3: Manumitting A Slave Subject To A Certain Condition

Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin

Safinah said: I was a slave of Umm Salamah, and she said: I shall emancipate you, but I stipulate that you must serve the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as long as you live. I said: Even if you do not make a stipulation, I shall not leave the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She then emancipated me and made the stipulation with me.

Chapter 4: One Who Manumits His Share Of A Slave

Narrated Abu al-Malih

On his father's authority (this is AbulWalid's version): A man emancipated a share in a slave and the matter was mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: Allah has no partner.

Ibn Kathir added in his version: The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed his emancipation.

Narrated AbuHurayrah

A man emancipated his share in a slave. The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed his (full) emancipation, and required him to pay the rest of his price.

Qatadah narrated with his chain of narrators

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If a man emancipates a slave shared by him with another man, his emancipation rests with him (who emancipated his share). This is the version of Ibn Suwaid.

Qatadah narrated with his chain of narrators. The Prophet (ﷺ) said

If anyone emancipates his share in a slave, he emancipates him (completely) by his property if he has property. The narrator Ibn al-Muthanna did not mention al-Nadr b. Anas. This is the version of Ibn Suwaid.

Chapter 5: Whoever Mentioned Working In Order To Pay Off The Remaining Portion, In This Hadith

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying

If anyone emancipates a share in his slave, he should completely emancipate him if he has money; but if he has none, then slave will be required to work (to pay for his freedom), but he must not be overburdened.

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying

Abu Dawud said: In the version of both the narrators the words are "he will be required to work and must not be overburdened". This is the version of 'Ali.

The tradition mentioned above by Rawh b. 'Ubadah from Sa'id b. Abu 'Arubah. In this version he did not mention the words "the slave should be required to work." If has also been transmitted by Jarir b. Hazim and Musa b. Khalaf from Qatadah through the chain of Yazid b. Zurai' and to the same effect. In this version they mentioned the words "the slave should be required to work"

Chapter 6: Regarding Whoever Reported That He Is Not Asked To Work

'Abd Allah b. 'Umar reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying

If anyone emancipates his share in slave, a fair price for the slave should be fixed, give his partners their shares, and the slave be thus emancipated. Otherwise he is emancipated to the extent of the share which he emancipated.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Ibn 'Umar to the same effect through a different chain of narrators. Nafi' sometimes said

He will be emancipated to the extent of the share which he emancipated, and sometimes he did not say these words.

The tradition mentioned above has also been narrated by Ibn 'Umar from the Prophet (ﷺ). The narrator Ayyub said

I do not know whether the following words are part of the tradition of the Prophet (ﷺ) or Nafi' told them himself: "Otherwise he will be emancipated to the extent of the first man's share."

Ibn 'Umar reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying

If anyone emancipates his share in a slave, he should emancipate him completely if he has enough money to pay the full price ; but if he has none, he will be emancipated to the extent of his share.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Ibn 'Umar from the Prophet (ﷺ) to the same effect as mentioned by Ibrahim b. Musa through a different chain.