27/8. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1657b — Freeing a Slave After Wrongful Beating
Treatment of slaves, and the expiation of one who slaps his slave
Hadith About Beating Slaves and Setting Them Free
Sahih Muslim : 1657b
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1657b
وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ - وَاللَّفْظُ لاِبْنِ الْمُثَنَّى - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ، بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ فِرَاسٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ ذَكْوَانَ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ زَاذَانَ، أَنَّ ابْنَ عُمَرَ، دَعَا بِغُلاَمٍ لَهُ فَرَأَى بِظَهْرِهِ أَثَرًا فَقَالَ لَهُ أَوْجَعْتُكَ قَالَ لاَ . قَالَ فَأَنْتَ عَتِيقٌ . قَالَ ثُمَّ أَخَذَ شَيْئًا مِنَ الأَرْضِ فَقَالَ مَا لِي فِيهِ مِنَ الأَجْرِ مَا يَزِنُ هَذَا إِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " مَنْ ضَرَبَ غُلاَمًا لَهُ حَدًّا لَمْ يَأْتِهِ أَوْ لَطَمَهُ فَإِنَّ كَفَّارَتَهُ أَنْ يُعْتِقَهُ " .
Zadhan Narrated from:
Ibn Umar called his slave and he found the marks (of beating) upon his back. He said to him: I have caused you pain. He said: No. But he (Ibn Umar) said: You are free. He then took hold of something from the earth and said: There is no reward for me even to the weight equal to it. I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who beats a slave without cognizable offence of his or slaps him (without any serious fault), then expiation for it is that he should set him free.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1657bIn-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 46USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 15, Hadith 4079
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1657b
This Hadith gives more detail about the same teaching on slave rights. Ibn Umar called his slave and saw marks on his back. He asked whether he had caused him pain. The slave said no, but Ibn Umar still said, “You are free.” He then said he did not expect reward for it even equal to a small thing from the earth, because he had heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say that whoever beats his slave for an offence he did not commit, or slaps him, his expiation is to free him. The Hadith about beating slaves is not a license to harm. It is a warning that wrongful harm needs repair.
What we learn from this hadith
- Seeing marks of harm led Ibn Umar to free the slave.
- The Hadith mentions beating without a valid offence and slapping.
- The expiation given in the text is freeing the slave.
- The narration teaches accountability even when the harmed person says he is not in pain.
