The ITK (AZAT) Section · 13 – The Virtue of Manumitting Slaves
Garîf bin Deylemî (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: We came to Wasile bin al-Asqa’ and said to him, "Relate to us a hadith without excess or deficiency." Wasile (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry and said, “One of you reads the Qur'an while the Mus haf is hanging in his house, adding to it or taking something out of it.” We said, “We asked you to relate a hadith that you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him), not the Qur’an.” Upon this, Wasile (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) concerning a friend of ours who had earned entry into Hellfire [through his actions], seeking relief for him." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) then said to us, “Let your friend manumit a slave. For every limb that you free, Allah will release a member of your friend from the Fire.”
COMMENTARY: This honorable hadith encourages freeing slaves, and informs that the slave freed by one who has committed major sins will lighten the sins of the liberator. The hadith should not be misinterpreted. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) is not saying that anyone who kills a person can be absolved from killing by manumitting a slave. When a slave attains freedom, it is as if he has gained new life. The one who frees a slave has brought someone back to life.