‘This is the document’ which so-and-so son of so-and-so has written of his own free will, in a state of soundness and full control, in such-and-such year and such-and-such month, for his Roman slave whose name is so-and-so and who, until today, has been in his ownership and possession, that I have freed you for the sake of attaining nearness to Allah and seeking His great reward, a complete and unconditional freedom, with no right of retraction remaining for me. Now, for the sake of Allah and the reward of the Hereafter, you are free. Now neither I nor anyone else has any authority over you except the right of wala’ (inheritance), for that belongs to me and, after me, to my agnates.

‘Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). She sought permission from him while you were lying with me under a sheet. You gave her permission. She said: O Messenger of Allah! Your wives have sent me to you; they are demanding justice from you regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah (Aisha), and I am silent. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her): O my daughter! Do you not love whom I love? She said: Why not! He said: Then love her too. When Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) heard this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), she got up and returned to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told them everything that she had said to him and what he had said to her. They all said: We do not think you have accomplished our task; go again to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and say: Your wives appeal to you for justice regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah. Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: No, by Allah! I will never speak to you about them again. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Now the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Zaynab bint Jahsh to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and Zaynab was the only one among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who had a status equal to mine in the sight of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I have never seen a woman better in matters of religion, more God-fearing, more truthful in speech, more upholding of kinship, more generous in giving charity, more self-effacing in acts of charity and seeking nearness to Allah than Zaynab, except that she was quick-tempered, but her anger would quickly subside. So she sought permission from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was with Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) under the sheet just as he was when Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) had come to him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave her permission. She said: O Messenger of Allah! Your wives have sent me to you because they are all demanding justice from you regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah, and she began to speak ill of me and used harsh words. I was watching the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his gaze was upon me, as if to see whether you would permit me to respond to her. Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) was still there, and I realized that if I responded to her, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not mind. So when I spoke ill of her, I did not let her get the better of me until I surpassed her. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“She is the daughter of Abu Bakr.”

‘Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gathered together and sent Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said to her:“Your wives”—and she said a word to this effect—“are demanding justice from you regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah.”So she went to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he was with Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) under her sheet. She said to him:“(O Messenger of Allah!) Your wives have sent me to you; they are demanding justice from you regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah (Aisha).”The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her:“Do you love me?”She replied:“Yes!”He said:“Then love her (Aisha) as well.”Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) returned to the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told them everything he had said (to her). They all said:“You have done nothing for us; go again to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”Fatimah said:“No, by Allah! I will never go to him regarding this matter again, and indeed she was the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”Then the noble wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) to him. And Zaynab was the one among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who had a status equal to mine (Aisha’s) in his eyes. She said:“(O Messenger of Allah!) Your wives have sent me to you because they are all demanding justice from you regarding the daughter of Abu Quhafah,”and she began to speak harshly to me. I was watching the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his gaze was upon me, as if to see whether he would permit me to respond to her. Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her) was still there when I realized that if I replied to her, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not mind. So (when) I spoke harshly to her (I did not let her stay for long) until I prevailed over her. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her):“She is the daughter of Abu Bakr.”Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I have never seen a woman better in religious matters, more God-fearing, more truthful in speech, more upholding of family ties, more generous in giving charity, more self-effacing in acts of charity and seeking nearness to Allah than Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her), except that she had a quick temper, but her anger would quickly subside. Abu Abdur Rahman Nasa’i says: There is a mistake in this (narration); the correct version is the one that has preceded.