Freeing Slaves
There are various narrations about Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) freeing slaves. It is mentioned in a narration that when Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) accepted Islam, he had 40,000 dirhams. He spent that in the way of Allah and freed seven people who were persecuted due to their belief in Allah [and Islam]. The slaves freed were Hazrat Bilal (ra), Aamir (ra) bin Fuhayrah, Zinnirah (ra), Nahdiyah (ra) and her daughter, as well as a female slave of Bani Mo’mal and Umm Ubais (ra).
(Al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez Al-Sahaba, Vol. 3, p. 247, Abdullah bin Uthman, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 1995)
Narration 1
Hazrat Bilal (ra) was the slave of Banu Jumah tribe and Umayyah bin Khalaf would persecute him severely.
(Usd al-Ghabah Fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahaba, Vol. 1, p. 283, Bilal bin Ribah, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2003)
Narration 2
According to one narration, when Hazrat Bilal (ra) accepted Islam, his owners laid him on the ground and placed stones and a leather skin on top of him. They said to him, “Your lord is Lat and Uzza”; however, Hazrat Bilal (ra) would only say “Ahad, Ahad”. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) came to them and asked, “How long will you go on persecuting him for?” The narrator states that Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) bought Hazrat Bilal (ra) for seven auqiah and freed him. One auqiah is 40 dirhams, and so he was bought for 280 dirhams.
Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) then informed the Holy Prophet (sa) of this incident, to which the Holy Prophet (sa) said, “O Abu Bakr! Include me as part of it as well.” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) submitted, “O Messenger of Allahsa! I have already freed him.”
(Al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Saad, Vol. 3, p. 175, Bilal bin Ribah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2012) (Lughat-ul-Hadith, Vol. 1, p. 82, Numani Kutub Khana, Lahore)
Narration 3
Hazrat Aamir (ra) bin Fuhayrah was a slave of African descent. He was the slave of Tufayl bin Abdillah bin Sakhbarah, who was the [step] brother of Hazrat Aisha (ra) from his mother’s side. Hazrat Aamir (ra) is counted amongst the earliest Muslims. He was persecuted in the way of Allah. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) bought him and freed him.
(Usd al-Ghabah, Vol. 3, p. 31, Aamir bin Fuhayrah, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2003)
Narration 4
Hazrat Zinnirah (ra) al-Rumiyyah was among the early female Muslims and accepted Islam in the beginning. The idolaters would inflict cruelties on her. She was the female slave of the Banu Makhzum. Abu Jahl would persecute her. It is recorded that she was the slave of Banu Abd Al-Dar. When she accepted Islam, she lost her eyesight. Upon this, the idolaters said that Lat and Uzza caused Zinnirah (ra) to lose her sight because she rejected them. Upon this, Zinnirah (ra) said, “Lat and Uzza do not even know who worships them, how could they take away my sight when they themselves cannot see anything. This is from the heavens and it was Allah’s decree that I lost my sight. My Lord has the power to enable me to see again.”
This was her reply to the disbelievers. The next morning, when she woke up, Allah the Almighty restored her vision and she was able to see again. Upon this the Quraish said, “This is because of Muhammad’s sorcery.” When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) saw the pain and suffering inflicted upon her, he bought her and set her free.
(Usd al-Ghabah, Vol. 6, p. 127, Zinnirah (ra) Al-Rumiyyah, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2003)
Narration 5
The accounts in relation to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) freeing slaves were being narrated. There are some further accounts with regard to this. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) freed Nahdiyah and her daughter, both of whom were slaves of a woman from the Banu Abd al-Dar. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) passed by both of them. At the time, their master had sent them to grind the flour and she was saying, “By God (or whoever she was swearing by) I shall never free you!” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) said, “O mother of so and so! Break your oath.” She replied, “Leave here, you are the one who is ruining them. If you care so much, why don’t you free them?” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) then said, “Tell me how much I need to pay in order to free them.” She then stated an amount for each of them. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) said, “I have taken both of them, and freed them.” He then said, “Return the flour to this woman”, i.e. he said to the two of them who were enslaved to return the flour which she was taking in order to grind it. The two of them said, “O Abu Bakr, shall we complete this task and return the flour?” In other words, to fulfil the duty that they were given of grinding the flour and then return it to her. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) answered, “Do so only if you wish to.”
Narration 6
Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) once passed by a salve of the Banu Mu‘ammal. Banu Mu‘ammal was a branch of the Banu Adiyy bin Kaab tribe. This slave was a Muslim. Umar bin al-Khattab was punishing her in order to force her to abandon Islam. In those days, Hazrat Umar (ra) was still a polytheist and had not yet accepted Islam. He would strike her until he would tire, and would say, “I only let you go due to being tired.” Thereupon she would reply, “Allah shall treat you the same.” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) also purchased her and granted her freedom.
Narration 7
It is recorded in one narration that Abu Quhafah, the father of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), said to him, “O my son, I see that you are freeing the weak. If you wish to carry on doing so, then you should free the stronger men that they may protect you and so that they may stand by your side.” The narrator says that Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) replied, “O my beloved father, I only desire the pleasure of Allah the Almighty.”
(Ibn Hisham, Al-Raud al-Unf fi Tafsir al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Dhikr Udwan al-Mushrikin ala al-Mustad‘afin [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2001], p. 236)
Some commentators, such as Allama Qurtubi and Allama Alusi etc. say that the following verses were revealed due to this action of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra):
فَأَمَّا مَنۡ أَعۡطَىٰ وَاتَّقَىٰ ۔ وَصَدَّقَ بِالۡحُسۡنَىٰ ۔ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلۡيُسۡرَىٰ ۔ وَأَمَّا مَنۢ بَخِلَ وَاسۡتَغۡنَىٰ ۔ وَكَذَّبَ بِالۡحُسۡنَىٰ ۔ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلۡعُسۡرَىٰ ۔ وَمَا يُغۡنِيْ عَنۡهُ مَالُهُٓ إِذَا تَرَدَّىٰٓ ۔ إِنَّ عَلَيۡنَا لَلۡهُدَىٰ ۔ وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلۡأٓخِرَةَ وَالۡأُوْلَىٰ ۔ فَأَنذَرۡتُكُمۡ نَارًا تَلَظَّىٰ ۔ لَا يَصۡلَٰهَآ إِلَّا الۡأَشۡقَى ۔ الَّذِيْ كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ ۔ وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا الۡأَتۡقَى ۔ الَّذِيْ يُؤۡتِي مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّىٰ ۔ وَمَا لِأَحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِنْ نِّعۡمَةٍ تُجۡزَىٰٓ ۔ إِلَّا ابۡتِغَآءَ وَجۡهِ رَبِّهِ الۡأَعۡلَىٰ ۔ وَلَسَوۡفَ يَرۡضَىٰ ۔
“Then as for him who gives and is righteous, And testifies to [the truth of]what is right, We will facilitate for him [every] facility. But as for him who is niggardly and is [disdainfully]indifferent, And rejects what is right, We will make easy for him the path to distress. And his wealth shall not avail him when he perishes. Surely it is for Us to guide; And to Us belongs the Hereafter as well as the present world. So I warn you of a flaming Fire. None shall enter it but the most wicked one, Who rejects [the truth]and turns[his]back. But the righteous [one]shall be kept away from it, Who gives his wealth to become purified. And he owes no favour to anyone, which is to be repaid, except [that he gives his wealth] to seek the pleasure of his Lord, the Most High. Surely, will He be well-pleased with him.” (Ch.92: V.6-22)
(Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (ra), Shakhsiyyat aur Karname, Urdu Tarjumah, p. 74) (Imam al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami‘ li-Ahkam al-Quran, Vol. 3, Surah al-Layl [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Hazm, 2004] p. 333)
Hazrat Musleh Mau’d’s (ra) Narration
Narration 1
Among the slaves who were freed by Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) was Hazrat Khabbab (ra) bin al-Aratt. Whilst mentioning Hazrat Khabbab (ra) bin al-Aratt, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:
“Another companion who was previously a slave, once took off his upper garment to bathe. Another person who was stood nearby saw that the skin on his back was so hardened and rough that it was like the hide of a buffalo. He was astonished to see this and asked, ‘How long have you had this illness? The skin on your back is so hard that it is like the hide of animals’ Hearing this, Hazrat Khabbab (ra) laughed and replied, ‘This is no illness. When we accepted Islam, our master decided to punish us. So he laid us down in the scorching heat and began beating us, telling us to renounce our belief in Muhammad (sa). In reply, we would recite the Kalimah [Muslim creed] and he would hit us even more. Even after this, when his anger would not subside, he would drag us on the rocks.’”
Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) further writes:
“In Arabia, in order to protect the houses from water which were made from mud, they would place a type of rock near the area which is called ‘khingar’ in Punjabi. This is an extremely rough and sharp rock which people place on the walls of their homes to protect them from any harm from the pouring of water, i.e. so that the walls are not damaged. So this companion said, ‘When we refused to reject Islam, and the people would become tired from beating us, they would then tie our legs with a rope and continue to drag us on these rough rocks. So whatever you see on my back is as a result of that beating and dragging.’ Hence, such injustice was inflicted upon them year after year. Eventually, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) could no longer tolerate this, so he sold a large portion of his property in order to free them.”
(Khutbat-e-Mahmud, Vol. 22, pp. 546-547, Khutbah Farmudah 31 October 1941)
Narration 2
Then, whilst mentioning how Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) would free slaves, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) states in one instance:
“Those slaves who believed in the Holy Prophet (sa) came from different nations; there were Abyssinians, like Bilal (ra) and Romans, like Suhaib (ra); there were also Christians among them, like Jubair (ra) and Suhaib (ra); there were idolaters, like Bilal (ra) and Ammar (ra). The master of Bilal (ra) would force him to lay on scorching sand and either place stones on him or have young boys jump on top of him […] When Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) saw this cruelty against them, he freed them by paying their master their price.”
(Dibacha Tafsir al-Quran, Anwar-ul-Ulum, Vol. 20, pp. 193-194)