Three-Narrator Ahadith · Book 3 · Hadith 86
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غَزَا خَيْبَرَ فَصَلَّيْنَا عِنْدَهَا صَلَاةَ الْغَدَاةِ بِغَلَسٍ، فَرَكِبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَرَكِبَ أَبُو طَلْحَةَ، وَأَنَا رَدِيفُ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، فَأَجْرَى نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم…
Ismāʻīl narrated to us: ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz narrated to us, from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ﷺ raided Khaybar. “We prayed the dawn prayer near it while it was still dark, then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ﷺ mounted and…
[{"graded_by": "", "grade": "Ṣaḥīḥ", "priority": 50, "grade_detail": "Musnad Aḥmad 3/102, no. 11992. Its isnād is ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim.\nThe izār (lower garment) covers the body from the navel to the knees, while the ridā’ covers the upper body.\nḤuyayy ibn Akhṭab was the chief of the exiled Jewish tribe of Banū al-Naḍīr, who moved to Khaybar. Banū Qurayẓah and Banū al-Naḍīr were two well-known Jewish tribes of Madīnah.\nAbū Ḥamzah is the kunyah of Anas ibn Mālik.\nAl-sawīq is fine parched barley or wheat flour that the Arabs mixed with honey, milk, ghee or water; al-ḥays is a dish of stoneless dates mixed with dried yoghurt and clarified butter.\nAl-Bukhārī records the account of Khaybar, Ṣafiyyah’s emancipation and marriage, and the wedding feast through several routes (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, nos. 371, 4200, 4211, 5085, 5159), as does Muslim (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, no. 1365). Variants state that Ṣafiyyah initially fell into Dihyah al-Kalbī’s allotted share, and that the Prophet ﷺ compensated him with another captive, or with seven captives, before freeing Ṣafiyyah and marrying her. Her emancipation itself constituted her bridal gift (ṣadāq), a valid form of dowry recognized by the jurists. The report thus explicitly describes a transition from captivity to freedom and marriage; it does not describe Ṣafiyyah as remaining the Prophet’s ﷺ property.\nThis report belongs to the seventh-century law of war, when captivity was universal among neighboring empires and societies. Islam did not issue an instantaneous, single-text abolition decree in the modern legislative sense; classical Islamic law continued to regulate an inherited institution. But it radically constrained that institution, elevated the enslaved person’s human standing, and created repeated legal, financial, moral, and devotional routes toward freedom. The Qurʾān calls freeing a person in bondage “the steep path” of moral ascent (Q 90:13); makes emancipation an expiation for acciden