It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever comes to own a relative within the prohibited degrees (a close blood relative), that relative is (automatically) free."

Abu Ali narrates with the same chain that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of wala' (the right of inheritance from a freed slave) and giving it as a gift. I heard Abu Ali al-Hafiz say: "I mentioned this second text only so that the misconception concerning Dimrah (the narrator) would be removed." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but they did not record it. It is supported by the sahih and mahfuz (well-preserved) hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever comes to own a (close, unmarriageable) relative, that relative is free."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The child of fornication is the worst of the three (the father, the mother and himself)." Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Giving a whip in the path of Allah (as equipment for jihad) is dearer to me than freeing a child of fornication. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The child of fornication is the worst of the three."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Urwah bin al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) that it reached the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That I should make use of my whip in the path of Allah (that is, wage jihad) is dearer to me than that I should free a child born of fornication (offspring born of illicit relations)," and that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The child of fornication is the worst of the three (the father, the mother and himself), and the deceased is punished because of the weeping of the living." At this Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: May Allah Almighty have mercy on Abu Hurayrah; he erred in hearing and he erred in answering (in conveying the matter). As for his saying, "That I should make use of a whip in the path of Allah is dearer to me than freeing a child of fornication," what actually happened is that when these verses were revealed, "But he has not attempted the steep path. And what can make you know what the steep path is?" [Al-Balad: 11, 12] , it was said: O Messenger of Allah! We have nothing to free except that one of us has a black slave-girl who serves him; so shall we order them (to commit fornication) so that they bear children, and then we free those children? At this the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That I should make use of my whip in the path of Allah is dearer to me than that I should order fornication and then free the child." And as for his saying, "The child of fornication is the worst of the three," the hadith was not like this; rather, a man from among the hypocrites used to harm the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), so he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will excuse me in the matter of so-and-so?" It was said: O Messenger of Allah! Along with his misdeeds, he is also a child of fornication. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He (because of his own deeds) is the worst of the three," whereas Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another" [Al-Isra: 15] . And as for the saying, "The deceased is punished because of the weeping of the living," this hadith too was not like this; rather, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the house of a Jew who had died while his family were weeping over him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "These people are weeping over him while he is being punished (because of his disbelief)," whereas Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity" [Al-Baqarah: 286] . This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of Imam Muslim, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a slave-girl came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: My master accused me (of fornication) and made me sit on fire until my private part was burnt. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Did he see this act on your part? She said: No. He asked: Did you confess it to him? She said: No. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Bring him to me. When he saw the man, he said: Do you punish with the punishment of Allah (fire)?! He said: O Commander of the Believers! I had suspicions about her. He asked: Did you see her in this act? He said: No. He asked: Did she confess it? He said: No. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: By the One in whose Hand is my soul! Had I not heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying, "Retaliation is not taken from the owner for his slave, nor from a father for his child," I would certainly have taken retaliation from you for her. Then he took him aside and gave him a hundred lashes, and he said to the slave-girl: Go, you are free for the pleasure of Allah, and you are the freed woman of Allah and His Messenger. Imam al-Layth says that this saying is acted upon. This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ma'qil (may Allah be pleased with him) that some captives of the tribe of Khawlan were brought, while Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was obliged to free a slave from the descendants of Isma'il (peace be upon him). When captives came from Yemen, she intended to free one of them, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade her. Then when captives of the tribe of Mudar, probably Banu al-Anbar, came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered her to free one of them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Ma'qil (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was obliged to free a person from the descendants of Isma'il (peace be upon him). Then captives of Banu al-Anbar were brought to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: "Free one from Banu al-Anbar, or he said, from Banu Lihyan, and do not free one from Banu Khawlan." This hadith has an authentic chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.