27/8. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1658c — Suwaid's Anger Over a Slap
Treatment of slaves, and the expiation of one who slaps his slave
Hadith About Slapping a Slave-Girl and Accountability
Sahih Muslim : 1658c
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1658c
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ حُصَيْنٍ، عَنْ هِلاَلِ بْنِ يَسَافٍ، قَالَ كُنَّا نَبِيعُ الْبَزَّ فِي دَارِ سُوَيْدِ بْنِ مُقَرِّنٍ أَخِي النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ مُقَرِّنٍ فَخَرَجَتْ جَارِيَةٌ فَقَالَتْ لِرَجُلٍ مِنَّا كَلِمَةً فَلَطَمَهَا فَغَضِبَ سُوَيْدٌ . فَذَكَرَ نَحْوَ حَدِيثِ ابْنِ إِدْرِيسَ .
Hilal b. Yasaf reported: We used to sell cloth in the house of Suwaid b. Muqarrin, the brother of Nu'man b. Muqarrin. There came out a slave-girl, and she said something to a person amongst us, and he slapped her. Suwaid was enraged-the rest of the hadlth is the same.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1658cIn-book reference : Book 27, Hadith 50USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 15, Hadith 4083
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1658c
This narration gives the setting of the same lesson. Hilal b. Yasaf said they were selling cloth in the house of Suwaid b. Muqarrin. A slave-girl came out and said something to one of them, and he slapped her. Suwaid became angry, and the rest of the Hadith is the same as the earlier report. The core topic is slave rights in Islam, with attention to accountability after harm. The wording does not allow the reader to turn her words into an excuse for the slap. It simply states what happened and shows Suwaid's anger at it. The related teaching remains: harm was not ignored.
What we learn from this hadith
- The narration gives the setting in Suwaid's house.
- A slave-girl was slapped after saying something to a person.
- Suwaid became angry at the slap.
- The report points back to the same command to free the slave-girl.
