Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
This lengthy hadith has been cited by Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah in several places, and from it he has derived many rulings.
The Imam has quoted, under the relevant chapter, the Qur’anic verse , from which he has established the chapter’s purpose as follows: the verse does not specify that the slave should not be an Arab but rather a non-Arab; rather, it includes both Arabs and non-Arabs.
In the hadith, there is mention of the captives from the Arab tribe of Hawazin, who fell into the hands of the Muslims after the victory in the Battle of Hawazin.
This also establishes the objective of the chapter: that slave women and men, when appropriate, can also be made from among the Arabs.
When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam returned after this battle, he had just arrived back when the delegation of Hawazin came with such demands.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam accepted only their demand for the return of the captives, but with the condition that all the other Muslims also agree to it.
Accordingly, all the Muslims agreed to return these slaves.
However, they were very numerous.
Therefore, it was necessary to ascertain the consent of each individual, one by one.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam ordered: “Go and state to your respective chiefs whatever you wish; we will ask them.”
Thus, this was done, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam returned all their men and women to them.
When the wealth from Bahrain arrived, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made a public announcement for its distribution. At that time, Sayyiduna Abbas radi Allahu anhu, along with his request for this wealth, said that he was most deserving of it, because at the time of Badr, he had paid not only his own ransom but also that of Aqil radi Allahu anhu, and thus had been left empty-handed.
Upon this, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam permitted him to take as much money as he could carry himself.
This is what is being alluded to here, and also that Arabs, too, can be made slaves under specified circumstances, as even the noblemen of Quraysh such as Abbas radi Allahu anhu and Aqil radi Allahu anhu had to pass through the stage of slavery in the Battle of Badr.
If only these honored individuals had embraced Islam from the very beginning!
But it is true: ﴿إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ﴾ (al-Qasas: 56)
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 2540
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
(1)
This hadith mentions the captives from the tribe of Hawazin who fell into the hands of the Muslims after the victory in the Battle of Hunayn.
From this, it is understood that, when necessary, the descendants of Isma'il (alayhis salam), that is, the Arabs, can be enslaved and can also be given as gifts, as happened with the Banu Hawazin.
The evidence for gifting is that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) returned all those captives who had become slaves to their heirs as a gift, that is, he returned those who had been made slave men and women.
Similarly, even nobles of Quraysh such as Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) and Aqil (radi Allahu anhu) had to pass through the period of slavery.
They obtained their release by paying ransom.
(2)
At the end of this hadith, there is a suspended (mu'allaq) narration which Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) himself has narrated with a connected chain in Kitab al-Salat, Hadith: 421.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 2540