Here begins the Book of Freeing Slaves (Kitab al-Itq). It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever frees a person (a slave), Allah Almighty will free every limb of his (the one who frees) from the Fire in return for every limb of his (the slave)." This hadith has a sahih chain of transmission, but the two Shaykhs did not record it. It also has supporting narrations from the hadiths of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Wathilah bin al-Asqa'.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever frees a person or a slave, he (the slave) will be his means of release from the Fire, limb for limb."

Gharif bin al-Daylami relates: We came to Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Narrate to us a hadith that you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in which there is neither addition nor omission. He became angry and said: Even the Qur'an hanging in your homes is (in its reading) subject to addition and omission. We said: That is not what we meant; rather, we want you to narrate to us a hadith that you heard directly from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning a companion of ours who had made Hell obligatory upon himself (through a grave sin), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Free (a slave) on his behalf; Allah Almighty will free every limb of his (the sinner) from the Fire in return for every limb of it (the slave)." This Gharif is a nickname of Abdullah bin al-Daylami.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) during the expedition of Tabuk when some people of Banu Sulaym came and said: O Messenger of Allah! Our companion has made Hell obligatory upon himself (through sin). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Free (a slave) on his behalf; Allah will release every limb of his from the Fire in return for every limb of it." With these narrations, this hadith of Wathilah is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs, and Imam Muslim recorded from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah its wording regarding a Muslim freeing a Muslim (being a protection from the Fire).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin al-Asqa' (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever frees a Muslim, he will be his means of release from the Fire, from Hell: every limb of his (will be saved from the Fire) in return for every limb of the other." This Abd al-A'la is, without doubt, the same Abdullah bin al-Daylami, as we mentioned concerning Gharif.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Habibah al-Ta'i (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: My brother made a bequest to me concerning a portion of his wealth. Then I met Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: My brother has bequeathed a portion of his wealth to me; where should I spend it now: on the poor, on those fighting in the path of Allah, or on the needy? He said: As for me, I would not rank anyone equal to those fighting in the path of Allah, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "The example of one who frees (a slave) at the time of death is like that of one who gives a gift after he has eaten his fill." These are the words of the narration of Sufyan al-Thawri. This hadith has a sahih chain of transmission, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.