Mistreatment of Slaves Leading to Emancipation – Hadith & Juristic Opinions
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Whoever mutilates his slave must set him free. If the owner refuses, the Imam (ruler) will enforce the emancipation.
① Slapping or Striking a Slave
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من لطم مملوكه أو ضربه فكفارته أن يعتقه
“Whoever slaps his slave or strikes him (without right), his expiation is to set him free.”
[Muslim 1657, Ahmad 2/45, al-Adab al-Mufrad 180, Abu Dawud 5168]
② Incident of Abu Masʿūd al-Badrī رضي الله عنه
He said:
“I was beating my slave with a whip when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: ‘Know that Allah has more power over you than you have over him.’
I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I free him for the sake of Allah.’
The Prophet ﷺ said: لو لم تفعل لمستك النار
‘If you had not done so, the Fire would have touched you.’”
[Muslim 1659]
③ Case of Mutilation
During the Prophet’s ﷺ time, an owner cut off his slave’s private organ. The Prophet ﷺ sent a man to bring him, but he could not be found, so the Prophet ﷺ said to the slave:
اذهب فأنت حر
“Go, you are free.”
[Hasan: Sahih Abu Dawud 3789, Ibn Majah 2680, Ahmad 2/182]
The first view is stronger — emancipation requires the authority’s decision, aligning more closely with the Hadith evidences.
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Ruling
Whoever mutilates his slave must set him free. If the owner refuses, the Imam (ruler) will enforce the emancipation.
Hadith Evidence
① Slapping or Striking a Slave
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من لطم مملوكه أو ضربه فكفارته أن يعتقه
“Whoever slaps his slave or strikes him (without right), his expiation is to set him free.”
[Muslim 1657, Ahmad 2/45, al-Adab al-Mufrad 180, Abu Dawud 5168]
② Incident of Abu Masʿūd al-Badrī رضي الله عنه
He said:
“I was beating my slave with a whip when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: ‘Know that Allah has more power over you than you have over him.’
I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I free him for the sake of Allah.’
The Prophet ﷺ said: لو لم تفعل لمستك النار
‘If you had not done so, the Fire would have touched you.’”
[Muslim 1659]
③ Case of Mutilation
During the Prophet’s ﷺ time, an owner cut off his slave’s private organ. The Prophet ﷺ sent a man to bring him, but he could not be found, so the Prophet ﷺ said to the slave:
اذهب فأنت حر
“Go, you are free.”
[Hasan: Sahih Abu Dawud 3789, Ibn Majah 2680, Ahmad 2/182]
Juristic Opinions
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, and ʿAlī رضي الله عنه – Mutilation does not automatically free the slave; the ruler must order the emancipation. If the owner refuses, the ruler enforces it.
- Imām Mālik – Mere mutilation itself frees the slave instantly.
[Nayl al-Awṭār 4/154, al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/325]
Preferred Opinion (Rājiḥ)
The first view is stronger — emancipation requires the authority’s decision, aligning more closely with the Hadith evidences.
