Al-Adab al-Mufrad

It is narrated from Salih bin Hayy that a man from (Khorasan) asked Imam Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy on him): Abu Amr! We used to say among ourselves that if a person frees his umm walad (slave woman) and then marries her, it is as if someone rides a sacrificial animal. Imam Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Abu Burdah told me from his father (Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: “There are three types of people who will have a double reward: First, a person from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) who believed in his prophet and then also believed in Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), for him there is a double reward. Second, a slave who is owned by someone, when he fulfills the right of Allah Almighty and also fulfills the rights of his masters. And third, a person who has a slave woman with whom he has intercourse, he teaches her good manners and gives her a good education, then he frees her and marries her, for him also there is a double reward.” Imam Sha’bi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We have given you this hadith without any worldly compensation, even though for asking about something less than this, people used to travel to Madinah Tayyibah.