Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 203
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا الْمُحَارِبِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا صَالِحُ بْنُ حَيٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِعَامِرٍ الشَّعْبِيِّ: يَا أَبَا عَمْرٍو، إِنَّا نَتَحَدَّثُ عِنْدَنَا أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ إِذَا أَعْتَقَ أُمَّ وَلَدِهِ ثُمَّ تَزَوَّجَهَا كَانَ كَالرَّاكِبِ بَدَنَتَهُ، فَقَالَ عَامِرٌ: حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو بُرْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: قَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ثَلاَثَةٌ لَهُمْ أَجْرَانِ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ آمَنَ بِنَبِيِّهِ، وَآمَنَ بِمُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ. وَالْعَبْدُ الْمَمْلُوكُ إِذَا أَدَّى حَقَّ اللهِ وَحَقَّ مَوَالِيهِ. وَرَجُلٌ كَانَتْ عِنْدَهُ أَمَةٌ يَطَأهَا، فَأَدَّبَهَا فَأَحْسَنَ تَأْدِيبَهَا، وَعَلَّمَهَا فَأَحْسَنَ تَعْلِيمَهَا، ثُمَّ أَعْتَقَهَا فَتَزَوَّجَهَا، فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ قَالَ عَامِرٌ: أَعْطَيْنَاكَهَا بِغَيْرِ شَيْءٍ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَرْكَبُ فِيمَا دُونَهَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Salam narrated to us. He said: al-Muharibi informed us. He said: Salih ibn Hayy narrated to us that a man said to Amir al-Sha‘bi: ‘Abu Amr, people among us say that when a man frees the mother of his child and then marries her, he is like someone riding his own camel.’ Amir said: ‘Abu Burda narrated to me, from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to them: “There are three who receive a double reward: a man from the People of the Book who believed in his prophet and then believed in Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—will have two rewards; an enslaved person who fulfills Allah’s due and the due of his masters; and a man who has an enslaved woman with whom he has sexual relations, then disciplines her and does so well, and teaches her and does so well, then frees her and marries her—he will have two rewards.”’ Amir said: ‘We have given this to you for nothing, though a man would travel to Medina for less than this.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Umm walad is rendered ‘the mother of his child’: the Arabic refers to an enslaved woman who has borne a child to her owner. The source presents the initial statement as something people say; Amir responds by citing a report about the double reward for freeing and marrying an enslaved woman.
The closing remark says the report is being given without charge, though someone might travel to Medina to obtain something of lesser value. The precise comparison is not spelled out.
كَانَ كَالرَّاكِبِ بَدَنَتَهُ،
The comparison is brief and its point is not explained in the source passage.
Should a later editor retain the literal image or add a separate contextual note?
أَعْطَيْنَاكَهَا بِغَيْرِ شَيْءٍ، وَقَدْ كَانَ يَرْكَبُ فِيمَا دُونَهَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ.
The final remark contrasts receiving this report freely with undertaking travel for something of lesser value, but the comparison is elliptical.
Should a later editor clarify what is meant by ‘less than this’ in a separate note?