Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he said: “We used to say among us that if a man frees the mother of his child and then marries her, it is like riding his she-camel.”

The Shaykh : Summary: The question is valid. So, “We used to say among us that if a man frees his slave woman and then marries her, it is like riding his she-camel.” This was a custom in Khurasan, as indicated by this question from that man to al-Sha'bi. It was a custom among them that it was considered ugly for a man to have a slave woman, then free her, and then marry her. They used to cite an analogy for this, saying it is like riding his she-camel. By “his she-camel,” they meant his female camel. So, the custom there was likening the slave woman to an animal, a camel. It was as if it was a disgrace in their view. So, 'Amir al-Sha'bi answered him with what refutes their custom and establishes that this is a praiseworthy matter for which its doer is rewarded with two rewards. He narrated to him this hadith. He said: 'Amir told me, Abu Burdah told me from his father, Abu Musa, as we said. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: . This makes it clear that he has two rewards. The first reward is that he was not an atheist or a heretic throughout his life until Allah sent His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he believed in him. Rather, he lived as a believer in Allah and in 'Isa (peace be upon him), and in what he brought from Allah, until before his belief in Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). So, this man from the People of the Book, when he believed in Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah, Allah recorded for him two rewards: the reward for his belief in 'Isa and the reward for his belief in Muhammad (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). And this is clear, as we said, because the man who lived in atheism and heresy lives like the animals; he has no reward naturally, unlike the one who was a believer in 'Isa and his law, so he was rewarded by his Lord. When the call of the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) reached him, he also believed in it, so another reward was recorded for him in addition to his previous first reward. And this, of course, is a general text, not as some commentators say that it is specific to the People of the Book who were in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Some say this, but the hadith does not contain this specification. Then there is another specification that we also do not see any validity for. They say this reward is for the one who was from the People of the Book, provided that his belief in 'Isa was not mixed with any deviation, aberration, or misguidance. This, too, is not valid to restrict the hadith with, because the hadith is absolute. Especially since we know that those who were from the People of the Book in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and believed in him (peace and blessings be upon him) were not believers in 'Isa and the law of 'Isa as Allah revealed it. This is almost impossible in those days. But the intent is that the one from the People of the Book who encountered the message of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), whether by his person or by the report about him, as is the case with the People of the Book today, and then believed and affirmed it, then he has his reward twice, even if his first belief was mixed with some deviation, as is the nature of all the People of the Book. In any case, he is better than the polytheists, better than the mushriks who do not have any of the knowledge or morals that people usually inherit from the prophethoods and messengerships that were before the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The second type is , meaning: his masters. This, too, has his reward twice, as mentioned in the hadith before it. .
The point of the hadith is the last paragraph. With it, al-Sha'bi refutes that man from Khurasan who reported that his people considered it ugly for a master to free his slave woman and then marry her, and they considered it like riding his she-camel. So, al-Sha'bi narrated to him this hadith, in which it is stated that the one who has a slave woman, educates her and improves her education, teaches her and improves her teaching, then frees her, and then marries her, also has his reward twice. So, it contains a great encouragement for the master that if he has a slave woman, he should free her and make her freedom her mahr (bridal gift) and marry her in exchange for his freeing her from slavery. This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself did with Safiyyah. And it is known to you all that Safiyyah was originally a woman belonging to one of the Jews. She was a Jewish woman, the daughter of a Jewish woman from Khaybar. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Khaybar and a large number of captives fell into the hands of the Messenger (peace be upon him), Safiyyah fell into the share of Duhayhah. Duhayhah was one of the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). “So a man came and informed the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that Duhayhah had a slave woman or concubine that was not fit for anyone but you. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) sent for Duhayhah and took her from him for seven heads,” meaning, he bought her from him for seven slaves in exchange for Safiyyah. “Then the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) freed her, made her freedom her mahr, and married her.” So, in his action (may peace and blessings be upon him), there was confirmation of his statement in this hadith that among the three persons who have their reward twice is the man who has a slave woman, so he frees her, and for that he has two rewards.