15. Emancipation

Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Any Muslim, who emancipates another Muslim man, Allah will set free from Hell Fire an organ of his body, for every organ of the other’s (i.e. from the body of the emancipated person ).” Agreed upon. At-Tirmidhi transmitted on the authority of Abu Umamah (RAA), “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Any Muslim man, who emancipates two Muslim women, they will be his release from Hell Fire.” At-Tirmidhi graded it as Sahih. Abu Dawud transmitted on the authority of Ka’b bin Murrah (RAA), “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Any Muslim woman, who emancipates another Muslim woman, she will be her release from Hell Fire.” Abu Dharr (RAA) narrated, I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ‘Which action is the most excellent?’ He replied, “Faith in Allah and Jihad in His Cause.” I then asked, ‘Which slaves are the most excellent (for the purpose of emancipating them)’ and he replied, “Those whose prices are the highest and are the most valuable to their owners.” Agreed upon. Ibn 'Umar (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Anyone who emancipates his share in a slave and has enough money to pay the full price for him, a fair price for the slave should be fixed. His partners should be given their shares, and the slave should thus be emancipated. Otherwise he is emancipated only to the extent of the first man’s share.” Agreed upon, Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Otherwise his value will be estimated and he will be required to work to pay for his freedom, but he must not be overburdened.” Agreed upon.And it has been said that the requirement to work was Mudraj (words of the narrator lumped into the narration). Abu Hurairah (RAA), narrated that The Messenger of Allah said, “A son cannot ever repay his parents what he owes them, unless he finds them in slavery, then buys them and emancipates them.” Related by Muslim. Samurah bin Jundub (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Whoever obtains possession of a relative, who is next of kin, that person becomes free.” Related by Ahmad and the four Imams. Some scholars are of the opinion that it is Mawquf (not connected to the Prophet.) ’Imran bin Husain (RAA) narrated, ‘A man who had no other property emancipated six of his slaves at the time of his death. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)sent for them, and after dividing them into three groups, he cast lots among them, set two of them free and kept four in slavery, and spoke very harshly to the man (who emancipated them).’ Related by Muslim. Safinah (RAA) narrated, ‘I was a slave of Umm Salamah and she said, ‘I shall emancipate you, but on the condition that you serve Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as long as you live.’ Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa’i and Al-Hakim. 'A’ishah (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Wala’ is (legally) for the manumitter.” Agreed upon. It is part of a long Hadith (refer to hadith no. 811). Ibn 'Umar (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The Wala’ (of a manumitted slave) is considered as one’s lineage, not to be sold or donated (refer to hadith no. 984).” Related by Ash-Shafi’i. Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih. It is also related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim with different wording Jabir bin ·Abdullah (RAA) narrated that A man from the Ansar declared that his slave lad would be free after his death (would be Mudabbar), yet he had no other property. When the Prophet heard of that he said, “Who will buy him from me?” And Nu'aim bin 'Abdullah bought him for eight hundred Dirhams. Agreed upon. In a narration by Al-Bukhari: “The man became needy,’ (so the Prophet took the slave and said...).’ A version by An-Nasa’i says, “The man had a debt, so the Prophet sold the slave for eight hundred Dirhams and gave him the money and said, “Pay off your debt.” 'Amro bin Shu’aib narrated on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather (RAA), That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “A slave who entered into an agreement to buy his freedom is still a slave as long as a Dirham of the agreed price remains to be paid.” Related by Abu Dawud with a good chain of narrators. The full hadith is related by Ahmad and the three Imams. Al-Hakim graded it to be Sahih. Umm Salamah (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When a slave of one of your women has made an agreement to pay for his freedom (i.e. he is a Mukatib) and can pay the full price, she must veil herself from him.” Related by Ahmad and the four Imams. At-Tirmidhi graded it as Sahih. Ibn ’Abbas (RAA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The Diyah (Blood money) of a slave who had made an agreement to buy his freedom (Mukatib) and had been killed, is paid at the rate paid for a free man (as a Diyah) as much as he has paid of the amount agreed upon, and at the rate paid for a slave as the remainder is concerned.” Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Au-Nasa’i. ’Amro bin al-Harith, the brother of Juwairiyah the mother of Believers (the wife of the Prophet (ﷺ)) narrated, ‘When Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) died, he did not leave a Dinar or a Dirham, a slave or a slave-woman, or anything but his white she-mule, his weapons and a piece of land which he appointed as Sadaqah.’ Related by Al-Bukhari. Ibn ’Abbas (RAA) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “When a man’s slave-woman bears him a child she becomes free at his death.” Related by Ibn Majah and Al-Hakim with a weak chain of narrators. A group of Hadith scholars held that the stronger view is that it is Mawquf (a saying of a Companion) i.e. 'Umar (ra). Sahl bin Hunaif (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “He who assists a Mujahid for Allah’s sake, a debtor who is in distress (being unable to pay his debt) or a slave who had made an agreement to buy his freedom, Allah will shade him, with His Shade, on the Day when there will be no shade but His.” Related by Ahmad and Al- Hakim graded it as Sahih.