Separating a father from his child

It is narrated from Fatimah bint Husayn that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) came, meaning from Aylah, and he needed mounts, so he sold some of them. When he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he saw a woman from among them weeping and asked: "What is the matter with her?" He was told that Zayd had sold her child. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Take him back or buy him."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent two captive children with me so that I could sell them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "Did you sell them together or separately?" I said: "Separately." He said: "Catch them (meaning bring them back)."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote: "Do not separate two brothers; sell them together, or keep them together with you."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do not separate a mother and her child."

Sayyiduna Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Iqal: "Buy one hundred households of slaves and take them to Madinah, but do not buy any slave among them in whose case separation between him and his parents would result."

It is narrated from Habib bin Shihab, from his father, that he took part in a campaign with Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him). When Tustar was conquered, he would not separate women from their children when selling.

It is narrated from Ibn Abi Jabalah al-Qurashi that they used to separate the captives, and Sayyiduna Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) would come and bring all of them together.

Ibrahim said: They only disliked the sale of slaves for fear of separating a child from his parent, and brothers from one another.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that when captives were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he would give the household all together, disliking that they be separated.

Hakim bin Iqal said: Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to my father: "Buy for me one hundred households, and do not separate a parent from his child."

Al-Hasan and Muhammad used to dislike separating a slave woman from her children.

Al-Hasan used to dislike it, and he would say: If the boy or girl has reached the age of service, then there is no harm in separating them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade separating a slave woman from her children at the time of sale.

Ibn Awn said: I wrote to Nafi' and asked him: If some members of one household are someone's slaves, may he separate them when selling? He said: I do not consider it unlawful, but it is disliked.

Umar bin Abd al-Aziz wrote to Riyah bin Ubaydah: Sell the state's slaves, but sell the slaves belonging to one family together, so that they are not separated.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote: Do not separate the captives from their children when selling them.

Ibn Sirin said: I was informed that a son of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) complained to him: You dislike separating a child from its mother, yet you have separated me from my mother.

It is narrated from Abu Ja'far that when captives were brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he would give them out household by household, disliking that they should be separated.