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.

It is narrated from Sayyidah Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: I freed a slave girl of mine. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me, and I informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) that I had freed her. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Listen! Had you given this slave girl to your maternal relatives (your maternal uncles' family), it would have been greater for your reward." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him), the slave of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) (Sa'd was his slave, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was very pleased with his service); the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Abu Bakr! Free Sa'd." He said: O Messenger of Allah! We have no servant other than him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Men (other servants) have come to you, men have come to you." This hadith has a sahih chain of transmission, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Safinah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), said to me: I will free you on the condition that you serve the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as long as you live? He relates: I said: Even if you did not impose this condition on me, I would not leave the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as long as I live. So she freed me and imposed this very condition on me, that I would serve the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) all my life. This hadith has a sahih chain of transmission, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that a man said: O Messenger of Allah! May I free (a slave) on behalf of my father? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.