Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 163
حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ، هُوَ ابْنُ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو غَالِبٍ، عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ، قَالَ: أَقْبَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَعَهُ غُلامَانِ، فَوَهَبَ أَحَدُهُمَا لِعَلِيٍّ صَلَوَاتُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ: لاَ تَضْرِبْهُ، فَإِنِّي نُهِيتُ عَنْ ضَرْبِ أَهْلِ الصَّلاَةِ، وَإِنِّي رَأَيْتُهُ يُصَلِّي مُنْذُ أَقْبَلْنَا، وَأَعْطَى أَبَا ذَرٍّ غُلاَمًا، وَقَالَ: اسْتَوْصِ بِهِ مَعْرُوفًا فَأَعْتَقَهُ، فَقَالَ: مَا فَعَلَ؟ قَالَ: أَمَرْتَنِي أَنْ أَسْتَوْصِي بِهِ خَيْرًا فَأَعْتَقْتُهُ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Hajjaj narrated to us. He said: Hammad—meaning Ibn Salama—narrated to us. He said: Abu Ghalib informed us, from Abu Umama, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came accompanied by two boys and gave one of them to Ali, may Allah bless him. He said, 'Do not strike him, for I have been forbidden to strike those who pray, and I have seen him praying ever since we set out.' He gave a boy to Abu Dharr and said, 'Treat him well.' Abu Dharr freed him. The Prophet asked, 'What did you do?' Abu Dharr replied, 'You instructed me to treat him well, so I freed him.'
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَقَالَ: اسْتَوْصِ بِهِ مَعْرُوفًا
Istawṣi bihi maʿrūfan is an injunction to treat him with recognized goodness/kindness; the social status of the boy is implicit.
Should the translation preserve the concise wording or clarify the manumission context?