Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that Barirah's husband was free, and when Barirah was freed she was given the choice. She said: I do not like to stay with him, even if I were to have such and such.
Al-Thawri inserted it like this into the hadith from Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her); the statement "her husband was free" is the words of al-Aswad, not the words of Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), as the following shows.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14274
Al-Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) bought Barirah, and her family stipulated the wala' for themselves. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): I want to buy Barirah and set her free, and her owners are stipulating the wala'. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Set her free, for the wala' belongs to the one who sets free, or to the one who pays the price." He said: Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) bought her and set her free. The narrator said: Barirah was given the choice, and she chose herself (separation). Barirah said: Even if I were given such and such, I would still not stay with him. Al-Aswad said: Her husband was free.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14275
(Abu Awanah) narrated it similarly, and at its end: Al-Aswad said: "Her husband was free."
Al-Bukhari said: The statement of al-Aswad is munqati' (disconnected), whereas the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), "I saw him as a slave," is more sahih (authentic).
The Shaykh said: Jarir bin Abd al-Hamid, in the narration of Ishaq al-Hanzali from him, from Mansur, followed Abu Awanah in separating this phrase from the hadith and distinguishing it from it.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14276
Al-Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she intended to buy Sayyidah Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her). He narrated the hadith, and in it is: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her the choice, and she chose herself (separation). Al-Aswad said: Her husband was free.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14277
Al-Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she intended to buy Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her) and set her free, but her owners stipulated the wala' for themselves. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Buy her and set her free; the wala' belongs to the one who sets free." And he gave her the choice regarding her husband, and her husband was free. Meat was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was said: This was given in charity to Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "For her it is charity, and for us it is a gift."
Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi and some of the narrators from Shu'bah inserted it like this into the hadith; some of them made it the words of Ibrahim, and some the words of al-Hakam.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14278
Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she intended to buy Barirah in order to free her, and her owners wanted to stipulate her wala' (the right of inheritance through clientship) for themselves. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Buy her; the wala' belongs only to the one who frees." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Meat was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). She said: I said: "This was given in charity to Barirah." Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is charity for her and a gift for us." Ibrahim said: Her husband was free, so Barirah was given the choice regarding her husband.
Al-Hakam said: Barirah's husband was free. (It is mursal.)
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw him as a slave.
The Shaykh said: Al-Qasim bin Muhammad, Urwah bin al-Zubayr, Mujahid and Amrah bint Abd al-Rahman all narrate from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Barirah's husband was a slave.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14279
Ibrahim bin Abi Talib said: Al-Aswad bin Yazid differed from the people concerning the husband of Sayyidah Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her); he says that he was free, while the people say that he was a slave.
(b) Al-Aswad narrates from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): one of the two says that when Sayyidah Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her) was freed, he was a slave at that time, and the other said that he was a slave of the family of Abu Ahmad.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14280
Both of these versions were narrated through Abu Ja'far al-Razi. Neither of these two routes amounts to anything, for the narration of the main body of narrators from al-Thawri and al-A'mash contradicts it, and the reliance is upon what was mentioned earlier. And success is granted by Allah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14281
Ali bin al-Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Which of the two do you consider athbat (more reliable) in narrating from al-Aswad, Urwah or Ibrahim?" Then Ali bin al-Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The people of Hijaz are athbat (more reliable)." The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ali means that the narration of Urwah and those like him from the people of Hijaz is more authentic than the narration of the people of Kufah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 14282