She frees a slave, and is told what would have been better

Madinah, on a day that was her turn with the Prophet ﷺ.

Moment 1 of 1MadinahThe Madinan years1 min read

Maymunah owned a slave-girl, and one day she freed her without asking the Prophet ﷺ about it beforehand.

When her turn with him came, she told him what she had done.

He asked her whether she had in fact done it. She said yes, and he told her that giving the girl to her maternal uncles instead would have brought her a greater reward.

The point was not that freeing her had been wrong. It was that a need met close to home, through kinship, can outweigh the same good done further off.

The report is carried in Sahih al-Bukhari.

In this moment: The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

Quick recall

What did the Prophet ﷺ tell Maymunah after she freed an enslaved woman she owned?

That she should free another slave to match itThat giving her to her maternal uncles instead would have brought a greater rewardThat she should have asked his permission firstThat freeing her was not valid without a witness

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Sahih al-Bukhariصحيح البخاري
Hadith collection · Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari

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