The Chapter on One Who Curses His Slave and Then Frees Him, the Hadith of A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Abu Bakr cursed some of his slaves, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said

The Shaykh : Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) establishes a chapter in which he clarifies what the sincere one does when his tongue slips and he curses one who is not deserving of cursing. The author narrates in this chapter: The Chapter on One Who Curses His Slave and Then Frees Him. He narrates with his authentic chain from the Lady A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that Abu Bakr cursed some of his slaves, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . This is the narration according to the author, and it is found in others, such as al-Bayhaqi in *Shu'ab al-Iman*, with a clearer and more explicit wording, saying: ; meaning that these are two things that do not coexist: you are the sincere one, and you are also cursing? twice or three times; that is, he repeated this phrase (peace and blessings be upon him): . So what did Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) do? This indicates the strength of his faith and the truth of his sincerity. So Abu Bakr freed some of his slaves on that day as expiation for cursing a slave from among his slaves without right. After that, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) completed his path in repentance, as it comes at the end of this hadith: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) came and said: "I will not return to it." So he did not merely repent between himself and his Lord by freeing some of his slaves, but he also, after doing that, hastened to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), displaying to him his regret for what he had done and his resolve not to return to it.