Sunan Abi Dawud: The Book of Manumission of Slaves

on his father's authority, told that his grandfather reported the Prophet (ﷺ) said: A slave who has entered into an agreement to purchase his freedom is a slave as long as a dirham of the agreed price remains to be paid.

On his father's authority, told that his grandfather reported the Prophet (ﷺ) said: If any slave entered into an agreement to buy his freedom for one hundred uqiyahs and he pays them all but ten, he remains a slave (until he pays the remaining ten); and if a slave entered into an agreement to purchase his freedom for one hundred dinars, and he pays them all but ten dinars, he remains a slave (until he pays the remaining ten).

Abu Dawud said: This narrator 'Abbas al-Jariri is not the same person. They said: It is misunderstanding. He is some other narrator.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to us: If one of you has a slave, and he enters into an agreement to purchase his freedom, and can pay the full price, she must veil herself from him.

Return to your people ; if you like that I make payment for the purchase of your freedom on your behalf and I shall have the right to inherit from you, I shall do so. Barirah mentioned it to her people, but they refused and said: If she wants to purchase your freedom for reward from Allah, she may do so, but the right to inherit from her shall be ours. She mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Purchase her (freedom) and set her free, for the right of inheritance belongs to only to the one who set a person free. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then stood up and said: If anyone makes a condition which is not in Allah's Book, he has no right to it, even if he stipulates it hundred times. Allah's condition is more valid and binding.

Barirah came seeking my help to purchase her freedom. She said: I have arranged with my people to buy my freedom for nine 'uqiyahs: one to be paid annually. So help me. She ('Aishah) said: If your people are willing that I should count them ('uqiyahs) out to them all at one time and set you free and that I shall have the right to inherit from you, I shall do so. She then went to her people. The narrator then transmitted the rest of the tradition like the version of al-Zuhri. He added to the wordings of the Prophet (ﷺ) in the last: What is the matter with people that one of you says: Set free, O so-and-so, and the right of inheritance belongs to me. The right of inheritance belongs to the one who has set a person free.

Juwayriyyah, daughter of al-Harith ibn al-Mustaliq, fell to the lot of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, or to her cousin. She entered into an agreement to purchase her freedom. She was a very beautiful woman, most attractive to the eye.

Aisha said: She then came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asking him for the purchase of her freedom. When she was standing at the door, I looked at her with disapproval. I realised that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would look at her in the same way that I had looked.

She said: Messenger of Allah, I am Juwayriyyah, daughter of al-Harith, and something has happened to me, which is not hidden from you. I have fallen to the lot of Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, and I have entered into an agreement to purchase of my freedom. I have come to you to seek assistance for the purchase of my freedom.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Are you inclined to that which is better? She asked: What is that, Messenger of Allah? He replied: I shall pay the price of your freedom on your behalf, and I shall marry you.

She said: I shall do this. She (Aisha) said: The people then heard that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had married Juwayriyyah. They released the captives in their possession and set them free, and said: They are the relatives of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) by marriage. We did not see any woman greater than Juwayriyyah who brought blessings to her people. One hundred families of Banu al-Mustaliq were set free on account of her.

Abu dawud said: This evidence shows that a Muslim ruler may marry a slave woman himself.

Safinah said: I was a slave of Umm Salamah, and she said: I shall emancipate you, but I stipulate that you must serve the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as long as you live. I said: Even if you do not make a stipulation, I shall not leave the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). She then emancipated me and made the stipulation with me.

On his father's authority (this is AbulWalid's version): A man emancipated a share in a slave and the matter was mentioned to the Prophet (ﷺ). He said: Allah has no partner.

Ibn Kathir added in his version: The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed his emancipation.

A man emancipated his share in a slave. The Prophet (ﷺ) allowed his (full) emancipation, and required him to pay the rest of his price.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If a man emancipates a slave shared by him with another man, his emancipation rests with him (who emancipated his share). This is the version of Ibn Suwaid.

If anyone emancipates his share in a slave, he emancipates him (completely) by his property if he has property. The narrator Ibn al-Muthanna did not mention al-Nadr b. Anas. This is the version of Ibn Suwaid.

If anyone emancipates a share in his slave, he should completely emancipate him if he has money; but if he has none, then slave will be required to work (to pay for his freedom), but he must not be overburdened.

If anyone emancipates his share in a slave, he is to be completely emancipated by his money if he has money. But if he has no money, a fair price for the slave should be fixed, and the slave is required to work for his master according to the proportion of his price, but he must not be overburdened.

Abu Dawud said: In the version of both the narrators the words are "he will be required to work and must not be overburdened". This is the version of 'Ali.

The tradition mentioned above by Rawh b. 'Ubadah from Sa'id b. Abu 'Arubah. In this version he did not mention the words "the slave should be required to work." If has also been transmitted by Jarir b. Hazim and Musa b. Khalaf from Qatadah through the chain of Yazid b. Zurai' and to the same effect. In this version they mentioned the words "the slave should be required to work"

If anyone emancipates his share in slave, a fair price for the slave should be fixed, give his partners their shares, and the slave be thus emancipated. Otherwise he is emancipated to the extent of the share which he emancipated.

He will be emancipated to the extent of the share which he emancipated, and sometimes he did not say these words.

I do not know whether the following words are part of the tradition of the Prophet (ﷺ) or Nafi' told them himself: "Otherwise he will be emancipated to the extent of the first man's share."

If anyone emancipates his share in a slave, he should emancipate him completely if he has enough money to pay the full price ; but if he has none, he will be emancipated to the extent of his share.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Ibn 'Umar from the Prophet (ﷺ) to the same effect as mentioned by Ibrahim b. Musa through a different chain.

The tradition mentioned above has also been narrated by Ibn 'Umar through a different chain of transmitters to the same effect as mentioned by Malik. In this version there is no mention of the words "otherwise he will be emancipated to the extent of the first man's share." His version ends "and the slave be thus emancipated," to the same effect as he (Malik) mentioned.

If a man emancipates his share in a slave, the rest will be emancipated by his money if he has enough money to pay the full price for him.

If a man is shared by two men, and one of them emancipates his share, a price of the slave will be fixed, not more or less, and he will be emancipated by him in case he is rich.

On the authority of his father: A man emancipated his share in a slave. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not put the responsibility on him to emancipate the rest.

Ahmad said: The name Ibn al-Thalabb is to be pronounced with a ta' (and not with tha). As Shu'bah could not pronounce ta, he said tha.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: (The narrator Musa said in another place: From Samurah ibn Jundub as presumed by Hammad): If anyone gets possession of a relative who is within the prohibited degrees, that person becomes free. AbuDawud said: A similar tradition has also been transmitted by Samurah from the Prophet (ﷺ) through a different chain.

Abu Dawud said: Only Hammad b. Salamah has transmitted this tradition and he had doubt in it.

Qatadah reported Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) as saying: If anyone gets possession of a relative who is within the prohibited degrees, that person becomes free.

If anyone gets possession of a relative who is within the prohibited degrees, that person becomes free.

The narrator sa'id retained te tradition more carefully than Hammad.

My uncle brought me (to Medina) in the pre-Islamic days. He sold me to al-Hubab ibn Amr, brother of AbulYusr ibn Amr. I bore a child, AbdurRahman ibn al-Hubab, to him and he (al-Hubab) then died.

Thereupon his wife said: I swear by Allah, now you will be sold (as a repayment) for his loan.

So I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah! I am a woman of Banu Kharijah Qays ibn Aylan. My uncle had brought me to Medina in pre-Islamic days. He sold me to al-Hubab ibn Amr, brother of AbulYusr ibn Amr. I bore AbdurRahman ibn al-Hubab to him. His wife said: I swear by Allah, you will be sold for his loan.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Who is the guardian of al-Hubab?

He was told: His brother, AbulYusr ibn Amr. He then sent for him and said: Set her free; when you hear that some slaves have been brought to me, came to me, and I shall compensate you for her.

She said: They set me free, and when some slaves were brought to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he gave them a slave in compensation for me.

We sold slave-mothers during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and of AbuBakr. When Umar was in power, he forbade us and we stopped.

A man declared that his slave would be free after his death, but he had no other property. So the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered (to sell him). He was then sold for seven hundred or nine hundred (dirhams).

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: You are more entitled to his price, and Allah has no need of it.

A man of the Ansar called Abu Madhkur declared that his slave called Ya'qub would be free after his death, but he had no other property. So the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) called him and said: Who will buy him ? Nu'aim b. 'Abd Allah b. al-Nahham bought him for eight hundred dirhams. When he handed them over to him, he (Prophet) said: If any of you is poor, he should begin from himself ; if anything is left over, give it to your family; if anything is left over, give it to your relatives ; if anything is left over (when they received something), then here and here.

A man who had no other property emancipated six slaves of his at the time of the death. When the Prophet (ﷺ) was informed about it, he spoke severely of him. He then called them, divided them into three sections, cast lots among them, and emancipated two and kept four in slavery.

The tradition mentioned above has also been transmitted by Abu Qilabah through a different chain of narrators on the authority of 'Imran b. Husain to the same effect. But in this version he did not mention "He spoke severely of them."

A man of the Ansar ... The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Had I been present before his burial, he would not have been buried in a Muslim cemetry.

A man emancipated six slaved at the time of his death and he had no other property. The Prophet (ﷺ) was informed about it. He cast lots among them, emancipated two and retained four in slavery.

If anyone emancipates a slave who has property, the property of the slave belongs to him except that the master makes a stipulation.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The child of adultery is worst of the three.

Abu Hurairah said: That I give a flog in the path of Allah (as a charity) is dearer to me than emancipating a child of adultery.

Al-Arif ibn ad-Daylami said: We went to Wathilah ibn al-Asqa and said to him: Tell us a tradition which has not addition or omission. He became angry and replied: One of you recites when his copy of a Qur'an is hung up in his house, and he makes additions and omissions. We said: All we mean is a tradition you have heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: We went to the Prophet (ﷺ) about a friend of ours who deserved. Hell for murder. He said: Emancipate a slave on his behalf; Allah will set free from Hell a member of the body for every member of his.

Along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) we besieged the palace of at-Ta'if. The narrator, Mutadh, said: I heard my father (sometimes) say: "Palace of at-Ta'if," and (sometimes) "Fort of at-Ta'if," which are the same.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: he who causes an arrow to hit its mark in Allah's cause will have it counted as a degree for him (in Paradise). He then transmitted the rest of the tradition.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If a Muslim man emancipates a Muslim man, Allah, the Exalted, will make every bone of his protection for every bone of his emancipator from Hell; and if a Muslim woman emancipates a Muslim woman, Allah will make every bone of hers protection for every bone of her emancipator from Hell on the Day of Resurrection.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If anyone emancipates a Muslim slave, that will be his ransom from Jahannam.

"If a man emancipates two Muslim women, they will be deliverance from Hell fire; two bones of their will be emancipation for each of his bone."

Abu Dawud said: Salim did not hear (traditions) from Shurahbil. Shurahbil died at Siffin.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: the similitude of a man who emancipates a slave at the time of his death is like that of a man who gives a present after satisfying his appetite.