Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 1535 — One who gives something in charity

It is narrated from Abu al-Dahma (may Allah have mercy on him) that he had given his mother, as charity, a slave woman of his with whom he had made a contract of manumission (mukatabah). Then his mother passed away while some of the contract amount was still due from that slave woman. He said: I asked Sayyiduna Imran bin Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) about this matter, and he said: "You will be your mother's heir, but if you distribute this wealth among her relatives, that deed is more beloved to me." This narration is sahih (authentic) as mawquf (a Companion's statement).