Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:
He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) spoke harsh words about the deceased:
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used stern language regarding the deceased,
the details of which, according to Sunan al-Nasa’i, are as follows:
“I intended
not to perform his funeral prayer,”
and in Sunan Abi Dawud it is mentioned,
“If I had known before preparing his grave,
I would not have permitted him to be buried in the Muslim graveyard.”
Since he had made a bequest (wasiyyah) during his terminal illness,
and a bequest is only valid for up to one third of the wealth,
therefore, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) divided the six slaves into three parts.
Since among these six slaves, none had any reason for preference for emancipation,
the right of all was equal,
so there was no option except drawing lots (qur‘ah),
by which two of them could be freed.
Therefore, the majority of jurists (fuqaha) hold that in such situations, when all have equal right
and none has a reason for preference,
the decision should be made by drawing lots (qur‘ah).
The Imams of Hijaz—Imam Malik,
Imam Shafi‘i, and Ahmad—hold this view.
On the basis of this hadith, Imam Ishaq,
Dawud,
Ibn Jarir,
Aban ibn ‘Uthman, and ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz also held this view.
The Hanafis (Ahnaf) have made various excuses to reject this authentic hadith,
to which even Allamah Sa‘idi has responded,
because making decisions by drawing lots (qur‘ah) is established by other authentic ahadith as well.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to draw lots among his noble wives (azwaj mutahharat) when taking them along on journeys,
and he permitted those who arrived at the first row (in prayer) at the same time to draw lots.
Allamah Sa‘idi has written at the end:
“In our opinion, this hadith may not have reached Imam Abu Hanifah, and his own position is that when an authentic hadith is found on an issue,
that is my madhhab (school of thought).
(It is not known,
why the Hanafis, despite this explicit statement, feel the need to make interpretive distortions or strange and unusual explanations of authentic ahadith.)
In any case, whatever anyone may say,
I will say only this:
that what is correct is what the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has said,
and in this matter, freeing two slaves from among the slaves by drawing lots (qur‘ah) is the correct method.”
(Sharh Sahih Muslim,
vol. 4,
p. 617)

1960. Commentary:
➊ The funeral prayer (janazah) of such a person will indeed be performed, but his bequest (wasiyyah) will be corrected in accordance with the Shariah.
➋ A person near death does not have the authority to dispose of more than one third of his wealth; that is, he cannot make a bequest for more than one third of his wealth.
➌ Contrary to this Prophetic ruling, the Hanafi opinion is that “all the slaves will be set free: each one’s freedom will be counted as a bequest for one third, and for the remaining two thirds, the price of each slave will be earned and paid to the heirs.” However, this is an alteration of the decision of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and no member of the Ummah has any right whatsoever to do so.
➍ A bequest can be made not only to a non-heir close relative, but also to anyone else.

Benefits and Issues:

➊
Freeing a slave is a very great virtue.
Making an appropriate bequest near death is a good thing.

➋
It is not permissible to give away all of one’s wealth in charity near death; at most, charity can be given up to one third of the total estate. It is better to give even less than this. See: (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 2708)

➌
The Companion freed all his slaves, whereas he had the right to free only two slaves.
Now, each slave had the right to be counted among those two slaves who could be freed.
From the decision of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), it is understood that when there are multiple claimants with equal right to something, the decision can be made by drawing lots.

➍
Slavery is permissible in Islam, provided that the method by which the person was enslaved is legally valid according to Shariah; otherwise, kidnapping a free person and making him a slave is a very grave sin, whether the person is a man or a woman, a child or an adult. See: (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith: 2442)