Muhammad bin Ubaid reports: ‘Adi bin ‘Adi al-Kindi sent me to Safiyyah bint Shaybah, so that I could ask her about the narrations she transmits from Lady ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). That woman informed me: Lady ‘A’ishah narrated to me that she heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say:“Emancipation (of slaves) and divorce done under compulsion do not take effect.”

Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates this statement of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Emancipation (of a slave) and divorce do not take effect under compulsion."

Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "There are four ways of divorce; two of them are permissible, and two of them are forbidden. As for the two permissible ways, they are that a man divorces his wife while she is in a state of purity, without having had intercourse with her, or he divorces his wife when she is pregnant and her pregnancy is evident. As for the two ways that are forbidden, they are that a man divorces his wife during her menstruation, or he divorces her after having intercourse with her, in which it is not known whether as a result of that intercourse she has become pregnant or not."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: A man came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained that his master had married him off, and now the master wants to separate him from his wife. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praised Allah, then (while delivering a sermon) said: "What is the matter with people, they first marry off their slaves to their slave women and then want to separate them? Beware! The right to divorce belongs to the one who holds the calf (of the leg)."

Ikrimah narrates: A slave came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) (after this, the hadith is as previously mentioned), so the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The right to give divorce belongs to the one who holds the leg." The narrator did not mention Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas in its chain of narration.

Sayyiduna Asmah bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A slave came to the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "My master first got me married, now he wants to separate me from my wife." The narrator says: So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended the pulpit and said: "O people! The right to divorce belongs to the one who holds the calf (of the leg)."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will be two divorces for a slave woman, and her waiting period (‘iddah) will be two menstrual cycles."

The same narration is transmitted with another chain; ‘Umar ibn Shayb is unique in transmitting this narration as a marfu‘ hadith, and this narrator is weak. The same is authentically transmitted from Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), which Salim and Nafi‘ have narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) as his own statement.

Salim narrates: "If a person is a slave and his wife is a free woman, or the man is free and his wife is a slave girl, then whichever of the husband or wife is a slave, the number of divorces will be reduced due to that slavery; however, in the waiting period (‘iddah), the status of the woman will be taken into consideration."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: "A slave (husband) can give two divorces to a free (wife), and the waiting period (‘iddah) for the woman will be three menstrual cycles. A free (husband) can give two divorces to a slave wife, and the waiting period for that woman will be the waiting period of a slave woman, that is, two menstrual cycles."