CHAPTER ON LEASING · 73 – THE STATUS OF SOMEONE WHO FINDS A DEFECT IN THE SLAVE AFTER PUTTING IT TO WORK
It is related from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Benefit is proportionate to responsibility.” [281]
**Explanation:**
If a person buys a slave, utilizes him for a period, and then a defect appears, he is not obligated to pay anything for the time he utilized him. For the slave is responsible while in his possession, and correspondingly, the benefit is also his.
Mahled bin Hufaf al-Gifari, may Allah be pleased with him, related:
There was a slave whom some people and I shared. While one of the partners was absent, I worked the slave. He brought me some income. The absent partner complained to a judge regarding his share. The judge ordered that I not give him any of the income. So I came to Urwa bin Zubayr and informed him of the matter. Urwa bin Zubayr then went with me to the judge, and he related that Lady Aisha narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: “Benefit entails responsibility.”
COMMENTARY
A slave is obligated to sustenance as long as he remains with his master; therefore, the responsibility for him belongs to the one with whom he resides. It can be understood from this honorable hadith that compensation should not be demanded for the work of a slave in return for these obligations.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) related:
A man purchased a slave. He kept him for as long as Allah willed, then found a defect in him and appealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him), returning the slave to the one who had sold him. The seller said: “O Messenger of Allah, this person utilized (benefited from) my slave.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said: "Benefit entails responsibility." [282]
Abu Dawud said: This isnad is not for this hadith.