hadith 1511-1527

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Freeing (anyone) before ownership is acquired is not valid."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that a woman freed a slave of hers, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said to her: "Now that you have freed him and did not set any condition regarding his wealth, his wealth is now his own property."

It is narrated from Abu Mijlaz (may Allah have mercy on him): "A slave was jointly owned by two men, and one of them freed his share, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) detained him (in order to pay the other partner's share) until he had sold his goats."

It is narrated from Muhammad (bin Sirin) that a slave was jointly owned by two persons, and one of them freed his half share. His partner went to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) (to refer the matter to him), whereupon he (may Allah be pleased with him) issued a written order: "The value of this slave should be assessed according to the highest price he could fetch."

It is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i and Imam al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on them both) concerning a slave who is jointly owned by two men and one of them frees his share; they both said: "He (the one who freed him) is liable to his partner for one third of his price, according to the fair value on the day he freed him."

It is reported from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he addressed a slave of his, saying: "O so-and-so! Were it not that you are the child of fornication, I would certainly have freed you."

It is narrated from a mawla (freed slave) of Banu Hashim that he said: It reached us that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The worst of your slaves are the Sudanese; if they are hungry they steal, and when they are full they commit fornication." Also, the hadith of Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the virtue of freeing slaves has already passed, and the narration of Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning freeing slaves has been mentioned at the beginning of the hadiths of the Prophets (peace be upon them).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she was asked: Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Giving the strap of my sandal in charity is dearer to me than freeing a child of fornication (a child born of an unlawful relationship)." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said (clarifying it): "He erred in hearing it, and so he also gave the wrong answer (in reporting it); in fact the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'Giving the strap of my sandal in charity is dearer to me than that I should order my slave girl to commit fornication and then free her child (born as a result).'"

It is narrated from Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "I myself saw the mudabbar slave (whose freedom was tied to his master's death) whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had sold."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Whatever slave a man frees during his illness falls under the ruling of a bequest; if he wishes, he may go back on it (that decision)."

It is narrated from Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him): "He did not see any harm in a man going back on his (word or decision) concerning the freedom (of a slave)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When a mukatab (a slave who has made a contract to pay the price of his freedom) becomes bankrupt and insolvent, the debt shall be paid first (from his wealth)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "A mukatab of his (a slave who had made a contract to pay a sum for his freedom) became unable to pay his sum, so he (may Allah be pleased with him) took him back into his slavery and kept with himself the wealth he had received from him until then."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said (regarding a mukatab slave): "The wealth they (the owners) have received from him is lawful for them; that is, when the slave (having become mukatab) cannot fully pay the contract price and is returned to the state of slavery, whatever sum has already been taken from him is the property of those owners."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "When two consecutive instalments (of the contract money) of a mukatab pass and he is unable to pay his instalments, he shall be returned to slavery."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he gave this ruling concerning the umm al-walad (a slave woman who has borne a child to her master): "She shall not be sold, nor given away as a gift, nor divided as inheritance; her master may benefit from her as long as he lives, and when he dies she becomes free."

It is narrated from Sayyidah (name unknown) (may Allah be pleased with her), who was a freed maid of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her a slave girl, and that slave girl bore a child as a result of fornication. She intended to free her child and asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for his ruling on this, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your giving charity is better for you than freeing her; rather, keep her in your service."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: The narrators of this report are trustworthy, except for that one unnamed man, and the case of his teacher is likewise unnamed.