A MENTION OF HIS SLAVE BOYS AND SLAVE GIRLS
A mention of his slave boys and slave girls. and a mention of his workers and entrusted scribes (of qur’anic verses)
They are presented here in alphabetical order of their names and a mention of some of their stories. Let us mention what he mentioned with some additions and deductions.
From them:
Usamah Ibn Zaid Ibn Harithah from the adopted children of the Messenger of Allah Abu Zaid Al-Kalbi and it is said: Abu Yazeed, and it is said: Abu Muhammad the adopted child of the Messenger of Allah and son of his adopted child, his beloved and son of his beloved.
His mother was Umm Aiman, her name was Barakah and she was the nursemaid of the Messenger of Allah in his youth and from the first of those who believed in him after his Prophethood. The Messenger of Allah made Zaid in command in the last days of his life when he was 18 or 19 years old. And he passed away when he was the leader of a big army.
When the Messenger of Allah entrusted Zaid Ibn Harith with the flag of leadership some of the people objected to his choice. So the Messenger of Allah addressed and said in his speech: “If you defame his leadership then you have indeed defamed the leadership of his father before. And by Allah he indeed has the characteristics for leadership and he was indeed from the most beloved of the creation to me and indeed this (person) is from the most beloved of creation to me after him.” And it is in the Saheeh from the Hadith of Moosa Ibn Uqbah from Salim, from his father.
It has been affirmed in Saheeh Al-Bukhari that Usamah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Messenger of Allah would take me and Al-Hasan and would say: “O Allah, I indeed love them so love them.”
This is the reason that when ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab distributed some money to people he also allocated to Usamah some money and allocated to his son ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar some amount. When he was asked about it, he replied: “Indeed he was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than you and his father was more beloved to the Messenger of Allah than your father.”Narrated by Usamah: “Verily, the Messenger of Allah placed him behind him on a donkey laden with velvet when he went to visit Sa‘d Ibn ‘Ubadah before the Battle of Badr.”
From them was Aslam and it is said, Ibraheem and it has been mentioned, Thabit.
And it is mentioned Hurmuz Abu Rafi‘ Al-Qibti.
He accepted Islam before Badr and did not take part in it because he was with his masters in Makkah – the family of Al-‘Abbas. Thereafter, he migrated and took part in Uhud and (the battles) after it. He was a writer (of Qur’anic Verses and letters) and wrote for ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib in Al-Kufah as Al-Mufaddal Ibn Ghassan Al-Ghallabi mentioned. And he participated in the conquest of Egypt in the days of ‘Umar. He was initially owned by the family of Al-‘Abbas Ibn ‘Abdul-Muttalib, then Al-‘Abbas gave him to the Prophet and freed him, then married him to his freed slave Salma. She gave birth to several children and he used to carry things for the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
And from them Anasah Ibn Badah Abu Misrah and he is nicknamed Abu Masrooh from MuwalladisSarat Muhajiri.
He took part in Badr according to what ‘Urwah, Az- Zuhri, Moosa Ibn Uqbah, Muhammad Ibn Ishaq and Al-Bukhari mentioned. They said: He was from those (guards) who would (be asked permission to) let people enter on the Prophet when he sat.
And from them was Aiman Ibn ‘Ubaid Ibn Zaid Al-Habashi and his lineage is Ibn Mandah to Awf Ibn Al-Khazraj and there is doubt in it. He is the son of Umm Aiman Barakah, the maternal brother of Usamah.
And from them is Badham.
And from them was Thawban Ibn Bujdud and it is said, Ibn Jahdar Abu Abdullah and it is said, Abu Abdul-Kareem and it is (also) said, Abu Abdur- Rahman (was his name).
His origin is from As-Sarat (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) an area between Makkah and Yemen. And it is mentioned from Himyar from the people of Yemen. And it is also said, from Al-Han and it is said, from Hakam Ibn Sa‘d Al-‘Asheerah from Madh-hij he was enslaved in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. The Messenger of Allah bought him then freed him, and gave him a choice that if he willed he could return to his family or if he willed he could remain and be considered from the household (of the Prophet). So he remained upon being adopted by the Messenger of Allah and he did not depart from him whether on a journey or not until the Messenger of Allah passed away. And he participated in the conquest of Egypt in the days of ‘Umar and settled in Hims after that and built a house there. He remained there until he died in the Year 54 A.H. and it is also said Year 44 A.H. which is an error. It is mentioned that he died in Egypt and the correct (opinion) in Hims as we mentioned. And Allah (SWT) knows best. Al-Bukhari narrated from him in the Book of Manners, Muslim in his Saheeh and the authors of the Four Sunan.
And from them was Hunain, a freed slave of the Messenger of Allah, and he was the grandfather of Ibraheem Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn Hunain.
We narrated that he used to serve the Prophet and pour (the water for) his ablution. When the Prophet would finish he would exit with the leftover from his ablution to his Companions, then from them were those who would drink from it and from them were those who would wipe themselves with it. Then (on one occasion) Hunain held it back and hid it in a jar until they complained about him to the Prophet, so he said to him: “What do you do with it?” He replied: “I store it (and) I drink it, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said: “Have you seen a servant who calculated what he calculated?” Thereafter the Prophet gave him to Al-‘Abbas, who later freed him.
And from them was Dhakwan. His mention will come in the biography of Tahman.
And from them was Rafi‘ or Abu Rafi‘. He is also known as, Abul-Bahiyy.
Abu Bakr Ibn Abu Khaithamah said he belonged to Abu Uhaihah Sa‘eed Ibn Al-‘As Al-Akbar. His sons inherited him and three of them freed their share. And he participated with them on the day of Badr and the three were killed. Thereafter Abu Rafi‘ bought the shares of the rest of the children of Sa‘eed, his freed slave, except for the share of Khalid Ibn Sa‘eed. Then Khalid gave his share to the Messenger of Allah he accepted it and freed him. And he would say: “I am the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah” and his sons after him would also say that.
And from them Rabah Al-Aswad. He was to guard the Messenger of Allah’s sittings.
He was the one who got permission for ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab to enter upon the Messenger of Allah in the place of drinking when he vowed to not come near his wives (’Eela’ a type of divorce in Islam).
And from them was Ruwaifi‘, his adopted child – may peace be upon him. Similarly, Mus‘ab Ibn Abdullah Az-Zubairi and Abu Bakr Ibn Abu Khaithamah counted him from his freed slaves. They said: His son came to ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdul-Azeez in the days of his Caliphate and allocated for him (money/provisions) and he had no children.
I say: ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdul-Azeez used to take great care of the adopted children of the Messenger of Allah; he would love to get to know them and be good to them. And he wrote in the days of his Caliphate to Abu Bakr Ibn Hazm, the scholar of Madinah, during his time that he should search for the freed slaves of the Messenger of Allah.
And from them: Zaid Ibn Harithah Al-Kalbi. We have already mentioned something about him in the mention of his death in the Battle of Mu’tah in the month of Jumada of the Year 8 A.H. before the Conquest (of Makkah) by a few months. And he was the leader at the forefront, then after him Ja‘far, then after them ‘Abdullah Ibn Rawaha (May Allah be pleased with him)
And from them is Zaid Abu Yasar.
Abu’l-Qasim Al-Baghawi said in Biography of the Companions, that he lived in Madinah, and narrated one Hadith, I don’t know of any other. He heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: “Whoever says I seek forgiveness from Allah, there is no god worthy of worship except Him, the Ever Living, the Sustainer, and I repent to him”, he will be forgiven, even if he had fled the battlefield.
And from them was Safeenah Abu ‘Abdur- Rahman, and it is said his name was Abul-Bakhtari, Mihran and also Abas. It is also said that he was called Ahmar and Rooman. Then the Messenger of Allah named him Safeenah – for a reason which we will mention – and it became popular.
He was the slave of Umm Salamah, then she freed him and stipulated upon him that he should serve the Messenger of Allah until he dies, so he accepted that and said: “If you had not stipulated upon me I (still) wouldn’t have left him, and this Hadith is in “the four Sunan (Sunan Abu Dawood, An-Nasa’i, AtTirmidhi and Ibn Majah).” He was from the Muwalladi Arabs and his origin is from the sons of Persia, he was called Safeenah Ibn Marfannah.
Ahmad narrated from Sa‘eed Ibn Jumhan, Safeenah informed me: The Messenger of Allah said, “The Caliphate in my nation is for 30 years, then kingship after it.” Then Safeenah said to me: Calculate the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, and the Caliphate of ‘Umar, and the Caliphate of ‘Uthman and calculate the Caliphate of ‘Ali; we found it to be 30 years. Thereafter I looked after that at the Caliphs and didn’t find that they had 30 years between them. I said to Sa‘eed: Where did you meet Safeenah? He replied: In Batn Nakhlah in the era of Al-Hajjaj. I stayed with him for three nights asking him about the Ahadeeth of the Messenger of Allah.
I asked him: What is your name? He replied: I am not going to tell you, the Messenger of Allah named me Safeenah. I said: And why did he name you Safeenah? He replied: The Messenger of Allah exited and his Companions were with him, when their provisions became too heavy for them, then he said to me: “Open your cloth.” So I opened it, then they placed their provisions in it. Thereafter they placed it on me, then the Messenger of Allah said to me, “Carry for you are only but a ship (Safeenah in Arabic).” So if I were to carry on that day the burden of a camel, or two camels, or three, or four, or five, or six or seven it wouldn’t be heavy for me unless they were to turn away.
And from them: Salman Al-Farisi, Abu ‘Abdullah the freed slave of Islam.
His origin was from Persia and his circumstances changed until he was owned by a man from the Jews in Madinah. When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, migrated to Madinah, Salman embraced Islam, and the Messenger of Allah commanded him to make a contract of Mukatabah (a contract of manumission between a master and a slave according to which the slave is required to pay a certain sum of money during a specific time period in exchange for freedom) to his Jewish master. The Messenger of Allah helped him to fulfill the payments he was indebted for, so he was attributed to him. And he said, “Salman is from us people of the household (of the Prophet).”
We have already mentioned the description of his migration from his country and companionship with monks, one after the other until a series of events brought him to Madinah. We have also dealt with the description of his embracing Islam – may Allah be pleased with him – in the beginning of the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. His death was in Year 35 A.H. in the last days of Uthman’s reign, or in the beginning of Year 36 A.H. It is said that he died in the last days of ‘Umar Ibn Al- Khattab and the first is more common.
Al-‘Abbas Ibn Yazeed Al-Bahrani said: The people of knowledge would not doubt that he lived for 250 years, and they differed in what was greater than that up until 350 (years). Some of the later memorizers claimed that he didn’t pass 100 (years). And Allah (SWT) knows best.
And from them Shuqran Al-Habashi; his name was Saleh Ibn ‘Adiyy. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, inherited him from his father. Mus‘ab Az-Zubairi and Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d said: He belonged to ‘Abdur-Rahman Ibn ‘Awf, then he granted him to the Prophet.
And from them was Dumairah Ibn Abu Dumairah Al-Himyari. He was enslaved during the Jahiliyyah, then the Prophet bought him and freed him, according to Mus‘ab Az-Zubairi. He said: He had a house at Al- Baqee‘ and a child.
And from them was Tahman. It is said (that his name was) Dhakwan. He was also called Mihran, Maimoon, Kaisan and Badham.
And from them: ‘Ubaid the freed slave of the Prophet.
And from them: Fadalah, the freed slave of the Prophet as Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d mentioned. And from them: Qafeez. The beginning of it is (Arabic letter) “Qaf” and the end of it is (Arabic letter) “Zay”. Anas he said: The Messenger of Allah had a servant called: Qafeez.
And from them Kirkirah. He was entrusted with the Prophet’s belongings in some of his battles. Abu Bakr Ibn Hazm mentioned it in what he wrote to ‘Umar Ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez.
And from them was Ma’boor Al-Qibti, the emasculated slave. The Viceroy of Alexandra gave him as a gift to the Prophet along with Mariyah, Seereen and a mule. And we mentioned part of it in the biography of Mariyah which is sufficient.
And from them: Mid‘am, and he was black man from Muwalladi Hisma. Rifa‘ah Ibn Zaid Al-Judhami gave him as a gift. He was killed in the lifetime of the Prophet and that was upon their return from Khaibar. When they reached Wadiy ul-Qura, while Mid‘am was removing the saddle from the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah, a stray arrow hit and killed him.
And from them Mihran and it is said: Tahman, and he is the one whom Umm Kulthoom Bint ‘Ali narrated from the impermissibility of giving charity to the Banu Hashim tribe and their freed slaves as was mentioned.
And from them: Maimoon.
And from them: Nafi‘.
And from them was Nufai‘. He was also called Masrooh and Nufai‘ Ibn Masrooh. His correct name was Nufai‘ Ibn Al-Harith Ibn Kaadah Ibn Amr Ibn ‘Ilaj Ibn Abu Salamah Ibn ‘Abdul-‘Uzza Ibn Ghiyarah Ibn ‘Awf Ibn Qusayy.
He was Thaqeef Abu Bakr Ath-Thaqafi and his mother was Sumayyah Umm Ziyad. He and a group of the slaves descended from the wall of At-Ta’if. Then the Messenger of Allah freed them and stopped at a place called Bakrah so the Messenger of Allah called him Abu Bakrah. Abu Nu‘aim said: He was a righteous man. The Messenger of Allah created brotherhood between him and Abu Barzah Al-Aslami (a rule which was changed shortly afterward which was making Mu’akhat (brotherhood) between the Muhajiroon and the Ansar that enabled them to inherit from each other).
I say: He is the one who prayed the funeral prayer upon him due to his will. Abu Bakrah didn’t participate in the Battle of the Camel, or the Days of Siffeen (the two battles between ‘Ali and the other group of Muslims who opposed him). His death was in Year 51 A.H. or Year 52 A.H.
And from them: Waqid or Abu Waqid, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah.
And from them: Hurmuz Abu Kaisan, It is also said Hurmuz or Kaisan. He was also known as Tamhan.
And from them: Hisham, the freed slave of the Prophet.
And from them: Yasar. It is said that he was the one who the Aal-‘Uraniyyoon killed and they had mutilated him.
And from them: Abul-Hamra’, freed slave of the Prophet and his servant. He was also called Hilal Ibn AlHarith, Ibn Zafar and Hilal Ibn Al-Harith Ib Zafar As-Sulami. He was enslaved during Jahiliyyah.
And from them: Abu Sulma, the Prophet’s shepherd; he was called Abu Sallam and his name was Huraith.
And from them: Abu Safiyyah, the freed slave of the Prophet.
And from them: Abu Dumairah, the freed slave of the Prophet, the father of Dumairah mentioned earlier, and the husband of Umm Dumairah.
And from them: Abu ‘Ubaid, his freed slave And from them: Abu ‘Aseeb, and from them (scholars) are those who say Abu ‘Aseem, and the first is the correct opinon. There are some scholars who made a differentiation between them. And it has been mentioned earlier that he witnessed the prayer on the Prophet and attended his burial, and he narrated the story of Al-Mugheerah Ibn Shu‘bah.
And from them: Abu Kabshah Al-‘Anmari from ‘Anmar Madhhij based on the renowned opinion. Mawla (freed slave) of the Prophet.
There are several other opinions regarding his name, the most famous of them is that his name was Sulaim. He was also called ‘Amr Ibn Sa‘d. His origin was from Muwalladi, the land of Daws (tribe). And he is from those who participated in Badr (as) Moosa Ibn ‘Uqbah mentioned from Az-Zuhri. Ibn Ishaq, Al-Bukhari, Al-Waqidi, Mus‘ab Az-Zubairi and Abu Bakr Ibn Abu Khaithamah also mentioned it.
Al-Waqidi added: He participated in Uhud and the battles which came after it, and he died the day ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab was appointed Caliph and that was on Tuesday with 8 days left from Jumadal-Akhirah, Year 13 A.H. And from them: Abu Muwaihibah, the freed slave of the Prophet g. He was from Muwalladi Muzainah. The Messenger of Allah purchased him and then freed him, and his name is unknown. Abu Mus‘ab Az-Zubairi said: Abu Muwaihibah fought at Al-Muraisee‘, and he was the one who guided ‘Aishah’s camel for her.
And from them was Amatullah Bint Razeenah. And the correct (opinion) is that her mother Razeenah was the Companion of the Messenger of Allah.
And from them: Barakah Umm Aiman and Umm Usamah Ibn Zaid Ibn Harithah, and she was Barakah Bint Tha‘labah Ibn Amr Ibn Husain Ibn Malik Ibn Salamah Ibn Amr Ibn An-Nu‘man Al-Habashiyyah.
She was known by her nickname, Umm Aiman,; Aiman was her son from her first husband ‘Ubaid Ibn Zaid Al-Habashi. Then Zaid Ibn Harithah married her after him, whereupon she gave birth to Usamah Ibn Zaid from him and she was known as Ummuz-Ziba’. She made two Hijrahs (Abyssinia and Madinah) and she was the nursemaid of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with his mother Aminah Bint Wahb.
She was from those who the Messenger of Allah inherited from his father as Al-Waqidi stated. And others mentioned: Rather he inherited her from his mother, and it has been said that she belonged to Khadeejah’s sister, then she gave her as a gift to the Messenger of Allah and she believed from the start and migrated and lived after the Prophet. We have previously mentioned the visit Abu Bakr and ‘Umar paid her after the death of the Prophet and she burst into tears, so they said to her: Do you not know indeed that which is better for the Messenger of Allah? So she replied: Indeed, however, I cry because the revelation has ceased from the sky, thereafter they began to cry with her.
And from them: Khadirah, Ibn Mandah mentioned her.
And from them: Khulaisah Mawla Hafsah Bint ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab.
And from them: Khawlah, the servant of the Prophet.
And from them: Razeenah. Ibn ‘Asakir said: The correct (opinion) is that she belonged to Safiyyah Bint Huyayy, and she would serve the Prophet.
I say: It has been mentioned previously in the biography of her daughter, Amatullah, that the Prophet, may peace be upon him, gave Safiyyah Bint Huyayy her mother Razeenah as dowry. So on this basis her origin would be that she belonged to him.
And from them: Radwa.
And from them: Raihanah Bint Sham‘oon Al-Qurziyyah and it has been said: An-Nadariyyah, and she was mentioned previously after his wives.
And from them: Zareenah. The correct (opinion) is Razeenah as was mentioned previously.
And from them: Sa’ibah, Mawla of the Messenger of Allah.
And from them Sadeesah Al-Ansariyyah, and it has been said: Mawlat of Hafsah Bint ‘Umar.
And from them: Salamah, the nursemaid of Ibrahim, son of the Messenger of Allah.
And from them: Salma. She was Umm Rafi‘, the wife of Abu Rafi‘.
I say: It has been narrated that she would cook Al-Hareerah for the Prophet and it would please him. She lived until after his death – and witnessed the death of Fatimah. She initially belonged to Safiyyah Bint ‘Abdul-Muttalib, his paternal aunt, then she came in possession of the Messenger of Allah. She was the midwife for the children of Fatimah. to She was also the one who was a midwife for Ibrahim, the son of the Messenger of Allah,. She witnessed the washing of Fatimah (when she died) and washed her with her husband ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib, and Asma Bint Umais, the wife of As-Siddiq.
And from them: Sheereen. It is said that Sheereen the sister of Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah, the maternal aunt of Ibrahim.
We have mentioned that Al-Muqawqis was the Viceroy of Alexandria and his name was Juraij Ibn Meena. He granted them along with a slave called Ma’boor and a mule called Ad-Duldul. Thereafter the Messenger of Allahgranted her to Hassan Ibn Thabit and she gave birth to his son Abdur-Rahman Ibn Hassan.
And from them: ‘Unqoodah Umm Sabeeh Al- Habashiyyah, the servant of ‘Aishah. Her name was ‘Inabah (grape), then the Messenger of Allah named her bunch (of grapes), Abu Nu‘aim narrated it. It is also said her name was Ghufairah. Farwah the wet nurse of the Prophet, i.e., his suckling mother, Fiddah An-Noobiyyah, Laila Mawlat ‘Aishah.
Mariyah Al-Qibtiyyah the mother of Ibrahim. She has been mentioned with the Mothers of the Believers. And Ibn Atheer made a differentiation between her and Mariyah Ummur-Rabab. He said: She also was a slave girl of the Prophet.
And from them: Maimoonah Bint Sa‘d.
And from them: Maimoonah Bint Abu Anbasah or Bint Anbasah, (as) Abu Umar and Ibn Mandah said. Abu Nu‘aim said: It is a writing error and Maimoonah Bint Abu ‘Aseeb is correct.
And from them: Umm Dumairah, the wife of Abu Dumairah, and they have already been mentioned.
And from them: Umm Ayyash, the Messenger of Allah sent her with his daughter in order to help her when he married her to ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan.
So these are his female slaves – may Allah be pleased with them. Thumamah Ibn Hazn narrated: I asked ‘Aishah about An-Nabeedh (a drink made from dates). She replied: This is the servant of the Messenger of Allah so ask her – (pointing) a Habashiyyah slave girl. She said: I used to make Nabeedh for the Messenger of Allah in a water skin in the evening, and then covered it. When he would wake up in the morning he would drink from it.
This is how the people who wrote Atraf (the starting words of Ahadeeth) mentioned it in the collection of ‘Aishah (‘Aishah’s narrations). And it is more befitting for it to be mentioned in the collection of the Habashiyyah slave girl who served the Prophet, and she is either from those we mentioned or additional to what we mentioned. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
By Ibn Katheer
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