Manumission

A man from the Ansār promised that a slave that he owned would be free after his own death although the master had no other property. As the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was told of this, he considered this deal a waste of resources. So, he did not approve of this act. Meanwhile, he sold the slave for eight hundred dirhams and sent the money to the master. The priority for the poor master was to take care of himself and his family rather than emancipate his productive slave, and thus the indigent family would survive on begging. Finally, even though this tradition was applicable at some point in history and has no relevance today, something can be learned from it. Slavery is still practiced in some places like Africa, just as it was practiced since the time of Adam until after the coming of Islam. However, the attitude of Islam toward slavery is to eliminate it.

صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله البسام -تحقيق محمد صبحي حسن حلاق- مكتبة الصحابة- الشارقة- الطبعة العاشرة- 1426هـ.

If a person has a share, albeit small, to the ownership of a slave, male or female, and he manumits part of it, the slave will be manumitted as much as this part. If the manumitter is well-to-do enough to afford to pay the share of his partner, he ought to manumit the slave wholly, assessing his partner's market value and giving it to him. If he is not that rich, however, he can manumit the slave partially, as much as his share in his ownership, with the rest remaining in bondage.

صحيح البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، ط1، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، 1423هـ. تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام للبسام، حققه وعلق عليه وخرج أحاديثه وصنع فهارسه: محمد صبحي بن حسن حلاق، ط10، مكتبة الصحابة، الأمارات - مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، 1426هـ.

If one of the joint owners of a slave decides to emancipate his share of that slave, he should pay to completely emancipate him, if he can afford that, by paying to his partners the value of their shares of that slave in order for him to be free. However, if he cannot do so, whether because he does not have money, or he has money but it is not enough, or this would harm him, then, in such case, the slave should be given two options to choose from: 1. to remain partly slave and partly free. 2. to work in order to pay for his freedom after a fair price is set for him. This procedure is known as Istis‘ā’.

عمدة الأحكام من كلام خير الأنام -صلى الله عليه وسلم- لعبد الغني المقدسي، دراسة وتحقيق: محمود الأرناؤوط، مراجعة وتقديم: عبد القادر الأرناؤوط، دار الثقافة العربية، دمشق، بيروت، مؤسسة قرطبة، الطبعة: الثانية 1408هـ. صحيح البخاري، محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري الجعفي، تحقيق: محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى 1422هـ. صحيح مسلم، مسلم بن الحجاج القشيري النيسابوري، تحقيق محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت، الطبعة: 1423هـ. تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام، عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن البسام، تحقيق: محمد صبحي حلاق، مكتبة الصحابة، الأمارات، مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، الطبعة: العاشرة 1426هـ.

In this Hadīth, Maymūnah bint al-Hārith (may Allah be pleased with her) freed a slave-girl of hers, because of her knowledge of the virtue of freeing slaves for the sake of Allah. She did this without informing or consulting the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). When it was the day when the Prophet would stay at her house overnight, she told him what she had done. He did not blame her for freeing the slave without first consulting him, but he only informed her that had she given that girl to her maternal uncles, she would have received a greater reward. In other words, he approved of and praised what she did, but told her that had she given it to her uncles from Banu Hilāl, it would have been better and she would have earned a greater reward due to the virtue of giving charity to one's relatives and maintaining good ties with them.

- رياض الصالحين من كلام سيد المرسلين؛ للإمام أبي زكريا النووي، تحقيق د. ماهر الفحل، دار ابن كثير-دمشق، الطبعة الأولى، 1428ه. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف سليم الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي- الطبعة الأولى1418ه. - نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين؛ تأليف د. مصطفى الخِن وغيره، مؤسسة الرسالة-بيروت، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407هـ. - صحيح البخاري –الجامع الصحيح-؛ للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم؛ للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب-الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - شرح رياض الصالحين؛ للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. - كنوز رياض الصالحين»، لحمد بن ناصر العمار، دار كنوز إشبيليا- الطبعة الأولى1430ه مرعاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح - أبو الحسن عبيد الله المباركفوري - إدارة البحوث العلمية والدعوة والإفتاء - الجامعة السلفية - بنارس الهند الطبعة: الثالثة - 1404 هـ، 1984.

Three types of people will have their reward doubled on the Day of Judgment: 1. A man from the People of the Book; i.e. a Jew or a Christian, who believed in his Prophet, Mūsa or ‘Īsa (peace be upon them), before Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was sent and before his call reached him. Then when Prophet Muhammad was sent and his call to Islam reached him, he believed in him. Such a person will receive two rewards; one for his belief in his messenger who was sent to him first, and the second for his belief in Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). 2. A slave who worships Allah, the Almighty, and carries out the duties that his master assigns to him in the best manner will receive two rewards. 3. A man who had a female slave, and he raised her well and taught her the matters of her religion, the lawful and the unlawful thereof, then he freed her and married her. He will receive two rewards; one for teaching her and then freeing her, and the second for his kindness to her after freeing her by marrying her and thus sufficing her from need and helping her preserve her chastity.

نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، نشر: مؤسسة الرسالة، الطبعة: الرابعة عشر، 1407ه 1987م. شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين، نشر: دار الوطن للنشر، الرياض، الطبعة: 1426ه. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، للهلالي، نشر: دار ابن الجوزي. صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422ه. صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) recalls the blessings related to her freed bondmaid Barīrah, finding goodness in that deal of manumission that brought them close: Allah, the Almighty, legislated three Sunnahs related to her which remained as general religious rulings for all Muslims until the end of time. The first Sunnah: She was given the choice regarding her marriage. Barīrah was freed while being married to Mughīth, who was also a slave. So, she was given the choice to either remain married to him or to be separated from him, because after being freed from slavery, they were no longer equivalent in status as she was a free woman and he was still a slave. Equivalency of status is taken into consideration in this case. She chose to annul her marriage, and this became a Sunnah (permissible) for anyone else in a similar situation. The second Sunnah: she was given some meat as a charity while she was still living in the house of ‘Ā’ishah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came in while the meat was cooking on the fire. He asked for food so they brought him some bread and condiment which they normally ate. They did not bring him any of the meat that was given to Barīrah as charity because of their knowledge that he did not eat from charity. So he asked: "Didn't I see meat cooking on the fire?" They replied: "Yes, but it was given as charity to Barīrah and we disliked to give you any." So he said: "It is considered charity for her, and for us it is a gift from her." The third Sunnah: her former masters, when they agreed to sell her to ‘Ā’ishah, stipulated that her allegiance (or right of inheritance) would be to them, so that they would receive pride that she is ascribed to them and perhaps receive some material benefit from her, such as inheritance, or support, or other. So the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Walā' is for the one who frees the slave, not for the one who sells the slave or any other." Walā' is a relation between the master and the slave, after the latter's manumission, via which the master inherits the slave, in case he has no heirs or in case something is left after everyone takes his assigned share of the inheritance.

تيسير العلام شرح عمدة الأحكام للبسام، حققه وعلق عليه وخرج أحاديثه وصنع فهارسه: محمد صبحي بن حسن حلاق، ط10، مكتبة الصحابة، الإمارات - مكتبة التابعين، القاهرة، 1426 هـ. خلاصة الكلام شرح عمدة الأحكام لفيصل بن عبد العزيز آل المبارك ، ط2، 1412 هـ. الإلمام بشرح عمدة الأحكام لإسماعيل الأنصاري، ط1، دار الفكر، دمشق، 1381ه. صحيح البخاري، تحقيق: محمد زهير بن ناصر الناصر، ط1، دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، 1422ه. صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار إحياء التراث العربي، بيروت.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that the slave who faithfully serves his master and fulfills the rights of his Lord will have a double reward. He receives a reward for fulfilling Allah's right upon him in terms of worship and another reward for fulfilling his master's right upon him in terms of service. Abu Hurayrah then added that were it not for the fact that jihad is not obligatory on the slave (and there is a great reward for performing Jihad) and the fact that he used to provide for his mother and take care of her, he would have preferred to die as a slave to receive the double reward.

صحيح البخاري، نشر: دار طوق النجاة (مصورة عن السلطانية بإضافة ترقيم ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي)، الطبعة: الأولى، 1422ه. صحيح مسلم, ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي, دار إحياء التراث العربي, بيروت. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين, مؤسسة الرسالة, الطبعة الرابعة عشر, 1407ه. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، لمحمد بن علان الصديقي, دار الكتاب العربي. كنوز رياض الصالحين، بإشراف حمد العمار, دار كنوز إشبيليا, الطبعة الأولى, 1430ه. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي, دار ابن الجوزي. شرح رياض الصالحين لابن عثيمين، دار مدار الوطن للنشر، الرياض, الطبعة : 1426 هـ.

This Hadīth states the virtue of manumitting Muslim slaves; whoever frees a slave, it is as if he has freed his own entire body from the Hellfire. Freeing Muslim slaves empowers Muslims by ridding them of the humiliation of slavery.

صحيح البخاري، تحقيق محمد الناصر، دار طوق النجاة المصورة عن السلطانية الطبعة الأولى 1422. صحيح مسلم, ترقيم محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي, دار إحياء التراث العربي, بيروت. نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين, مؤسسة الرسالة, الطبعة الرابعة عشر, 1407ه. دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين لمحمد بن علان الصديقي, دار الكتاب العربي. كنوز رياض الصالحين، بإشراف حمد العمار, دار كنوز إشبيليا, الطبعة الأولى, 1430ه. بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي, دار ابن الجوزي. شرح رياض الصالحين لابن عثيمين، دار مدار الوطن للنشر، الرياض, الطبعة : 1426 هـ. تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل بن عبد العزيز المبارك النجدي, تحقيق: عبد العزيز آل حمد, دار العاصمة , الطبعة: الأولى، 1423 هـ.