Manumission of Slaves

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever frees a Muslim slave, Allah will save all the parts of his body from the (Hell) Fire as he has freed the body-parts of the slave." Sa`id bin Marjana said that he narrated that Hadith to `Ali bin Al-Husain and he freed his slave for whom `Abdullah bin Ja`far had offered him ten thousand Dirhams or one-thousand Dinars.

I asked the Prophet, "What is the best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and to fight for His Cause." I then asked, "What is the best kind of manumission (of slaves)?" He replied, "The manumission of the most expensive slave and the most beloved by his master." I said, "If I cannot afford to do that?" He said, "Help the weak or do good for a person who cannot work for himself." I said, "If I cannot do that?" He said, "Refrain from harming others for this will be regarded as a charitable deed for your own good."

The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered us to free slaves at the time of solar eclipses.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever frees his portion of a common slave should free the slave completely by paying the rest of his price from his money if he has enough money; otherwise the price of the slave is to be estimated and the slave is to be helped to work without hardship till he pays the rest of his price."

Some men of the Ansar asked for the permission of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "Allow us to give up the ransom from our nephew Al-`Abbas. The Prophet (ﷺ) said (to them), "Do not leave (even) a Dirham (of his ransom).

When the delegates of the tribe of Hawazin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and they requested him to return their properties and captives. The Prophet (ﷺ) stood up and said to them, "I have other people with me in this matter (as you see) and the most beloved statement to me is the true one; you may choose either the properties or the prisoners as I have delayed their distribution." The Prophet (ﷺ) had waited for them for more than ten days since his arrival from Ta'if. So, when it became evident to them that the Prophet (ﷺ) was not going to return them except one of the two, they said, "We choose our prisoners." The Prophet got up amongst the people and glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and said, "Then after, these brethren of yours have come to us with repentance, and I see it logical to return them the captives. So, whoever amongst you likes to do that as a favor, then he can do it, and whoever of you likes to stick to his share till we recompense him from the very first war booty which Allah will give us, then he can do so (i.e. give up the present captives)." The people unanimously said, "We do that (return the captives) willingly." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "We do not know which of you has agreed to it and which have not, so go back and let your leaders forward us your decision." So, all the people then went back and discussed the matter with their leaders who returned and informed the Prophet (ﷺ) that all the people had willingly given their consent to return the captives. This is what has reached us about the captives of Hawazin. Narrated Anas that `Abbas said to the Prophet, "I paid for my ransom and `Aqil's ransom."

I wrote a letter to Nafi` and Nafi` wrote in reply to my letter that the Prophet (ﷺ) had suddenly attacked Bani Mustaliq without warning while they were heedless and their cattle were being watered at the places of water. Their fighting men were killed and their women and children were taken as captives; the Prophet (ﷺ) got Juwairiya on that day. Nafi` said that Ibn `Umar had told him the above narration and that Ibn `Umar was in that army.

I saw Abu Sa`id and asked him about coitus interruptus. Abu Sa`id said, "We went with Allah's Apostle, in the Ghazwa of Bani Al-Mustaliq and we captured some of the 'Arabs as captives, and the long separation from our wives was pressing us hard and we wanted to practice coitus interruptus. We asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) (whether it was permissible). He said, "It is better for you not to do so. No soul, (that which Allah has) destined to exist, up to the Day of Resurrection, but will definitely come, into existence."

I saw Abu Dhar Al-Ghifari wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him about that (i.e. how both were wearing similar cloaks). He replied, "Once I abused a man and he complained of me to the Prophet (ﷺ) . The Prophet (ﷺ) asked me, 'Did you abuse him by slighting his mother?' He added, 'Your slaves are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So, if one has one's brethren under one's control, one should feed them with the like of what one eats and clothe them with the like of what one wears. You should not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If a slave serves his Saiyid (i.e. master) sincerely and worships his Lord (Allah) perfectly, he will get a double reward."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When your servant brings your meals to you then if he does not let him sit and share the meals, then he should at least give him a mouthful or two mouthfuls of that meal or a meal or two meals, as he has prepared it."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever manumits a slave owned by two masters, should manumit him completely (not partially) if he is rich after having its price evaluated."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever frees his share of a common slave and he has sufficient money to free him completely, should let its price be estimated by a just man and give his partners the price of their shares and manumit the slave; otherwise (i.e. if he has not sufficient money) he manumits the slave partially."

`Utba bin Abi Waqqas authorized his brother Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas to take the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a into his custody, telling him that the boy was his own (illegal) son. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went (to Mecca) at the time of the Conquest, Sa`d took the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and also brought 'Abu bin Zam`a with him and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! This is the son of my brother `Utba who authorized me to take him into my custody." 'Abu bin Zam`a said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! He is my brother, the son of Zam`a's slave-girl and he was born on his bed." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) looked at the son of the slave-girl of Zam`a and noticed much resemblance (to `Utba). Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "It is for you, O 'Abu bin Zam`a as he was born on the bed of your father." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) then told Sauda bint Zam`a to observe veil in the presence of the boy as he noticed the boy's resemblance to `Utba and Sauda was the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ) .

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If a slave is honest and faithful to his master and worships his Lord (Allah) in a perfect manner, he will get a double reward."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes Allah's right and his master's right will get a double reward."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Goodness and comfort are for him who worships his Lord in a perfect manner and serves his master sincerely."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The Mamluk (slave) who worships his Lord in a perfect manner, and is dutiful, sincere and obedient to his Saiyid (master), will get a double reward."

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Everyone of you is a guardian and is responsible for his charges. The ruler who has authority over people, is a guardian and is responsible for them, a man is a guardian of his family and is responsible for them; a woman is a guardian of her husband's house and children and is responsible for them; a slave ('Abu) is a guardian of his master's property and is responsible for it; so all of you are guardians and are responsible for your charges."

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If somebody fights (or beats somebody) then he should avoid the face."