❖ Ruling:
When a female slave is emancipated, she gains full authority over her personal affairs, including the right to choose whether or not to remain in her existing marriage, if her husband is still a slave.
❖ Evidential Basis:
➊ Narration from ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
"Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ gave Barīrah the choice (regarding her marriage), and her husband was a slave."
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1504, Abū Dāwūd: 2234, Ibn Mājah: 2076, al-Nasāʾī: 6/162
Clear evidence that Barīrah, upon emancipation, was given the choice to stay or separate, because her husband Mughīth was still a slave.➋ Narration from Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
"Barīrah’s husband was a black slave named Mughīth. I can still see him walking in the streets of Madinah, weeping behind her."
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5281–5282Chapter: The choice of an emancipated woman married to a slave
✔ Shows the emotional outcome of this legal ruling—Barīrah chose separation despite Mughīth's pleas.
❖ On the Authenticity of Contradictory Reports:
One narration suggests that Mughīth was a free man.
Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1956, 2235However, this narration is munqaṭiʿ (disconnected). The stronger and correct view, as stated by Imām al-Bukhārī, is that he was a slave.
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6754❖ Juristic Consensus:
✔ Once a slave woman is emancipated, and her husband remains a slave,
→ She is granted the option (خِيَار) to either:
① Remain in the marriage, or
② Separate
Fatḥ al-Bārī: 9/407 — Cited as Ijmāʿ by Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Baṭṭāl❖ Scholarly Opinions on a Related Issue:
❖ Case: Husband is free at the time of wife’s emancipation
◈ Jumhūr (Majority):
— No choice is given to the woman
→ Because the original reason for the option (lack of compatibility due to slavery) no longer applies.
◈ Ḥanafīs:
— The woman still has a choice, even if the husband is free.
◈ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله):
— Agrees with the Ḥanafī view.
al-Umm: 5/122, al-Mabsūṭ: 5/314, al-Mughnī: 9/453, Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/235, Zād al-Maʿād: 5/168❖ Strongest View (Rājih):
The view of the Jumhūr is stronger, based on the following narration:
◈ Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) said:
"Had he (Mughīth) been free, the Prophet ﷺ would not have given her the choice."
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1504, Abū Dāwūd: 3929, Tirmidhī: 2124, al-Nasāʾī: 7/305, Musnad Aḥmad: 6/33✔ This clearly limits the right of choice only when the husband is a slave, affirming the ruling’s connection to social and legal compatibility (kafāʾah) in Islamic law.
❖ Conclusion:
➤ If a female slave is emancipated, and her husband is still a slave,
→ She has the Sharʿī right to choose to stay in the marriage or leave.
➤ If the husband is free,
→ The stronger view is that no such option exists, and the marriage continues.
This ruling is firmly grounded in authentic Hadith, scholarly consensus, and sound juristic interpretation.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
